Fifty Plus (50+) - Uncle Duke, my new old bike

I've been gradually building up an old Fuji S12-S road bike that I bought on eBay a couple of months ago. I've set it up as an all-around bike for rides around town, to the store, to work (once in a long while) and whatever. Here are some pictures of the results:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/th_DSCF2177.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/DSCF2177.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/th_DSCF2172.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/DSCF2172.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/th_DSCF2128.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/DSCF2128.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/th_DSCF2121.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/DSCF2121.jpg)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/th_UncleDuke.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Uncle%20Duke/UncleDuke.jpg)

I was able to use most of the original 1980-ish components with a few replacements and add-ons. I took everything off the frame, cleaned and serviced the parts, painted the frame with flat brown Rustoleum and put it all back together. I added fenders foe all-weather rideability and put stickers all over it just to be different. The heart of any bike is the frame. This one is a 58cm lugged 441 chromoly steel frame with fairly slack geometry, making it a very stable ride.
Parts include:
Fuji-branded Sugino double crank - original
Fuji-branded Suntour VX derailleurs - original
loose ball bottom bracket - original (replaced bearings)
Tange headset - original (replaced bearings)
Ukai 27" rims on 36 spoke generic Japanese hubs - original (replaced bearings)
Kenda 27X1-1/4" tires - new
Nashbar 6 speed 14-28 freewheel - new
KMC chain - new
Kalloy 26.6 seatpost - new
Brooks B17 saddle - I had it laying around
Nitto Dirt Drop stem - I had it laying around
Nitto Moustache handlebar - I had it laying around
"Schwinn Approved" Suntour friction bar end shifters - laying around
Dia Compe "G" brake calipers - original
Kool Stop Continental salmon brake pads - laying around
Dia Compe "G" brake levers - original
Planet Bike hardcore fenders - new
MKS track platform pedals with steel toe clips and leather straps - laying around
Cheap Chinese rear rack - new
Campagnolo top tube cable guides - NOS from eBay (had to have something Campy on the bike!)

I've taken the bike on a few rides up to 25 miles. Everything works better than I expected. The bike rides very smooth and stable and is very comfortable.

I like it, especially the Uncle Tupelo sticker.

Kind of nice for a "beater" bike, though.;)

Kind of nice for a "beater" bike, though.;)

Yeah, it's hard to keep from "niceing up" a bike once you start building it. But really, the only especially nice parts I added were the handlebar, shifters, stem and saddle (not an option, it had to have a Brooks if I was going to ride it). Well, I guess those Rivendell bags would qualify too. But all of that was used stuff I already had around and needed to put on some bike. I guess the new fenders and rack are a little extra. Like I said, it's hard not to do :)

But even so, I can be a lot less careful with this bike than my Bridgestone. I treat her like a queen!

Beautiful bike! I wish I had those skills... :(

I hear you about the RB-1. There was one in a LBS that specializes in used bikes and the frame was my size. It was a bit beat up cosmeticly, but otherwise sound. Instead of making the impulse purchase I walked out and it was gone in a heartbeat.:(

Quite elegant, are you going to shellac the bar wrap?

BluesDawg, you ol' dawg you, you've done it again: is it stable enough to blow some blues on your harp while pedaling down the road?

A question about your barend shifters: you said in another post that ALL your bikes have barends (or so I seem to remember). Why do you use them? My MTB has the shifters on the flat bar & are pretty convenient to me. I've had my LBS talk up the new brake/shifter combos known as 'brifters'. I understand some of the reasoning behind barends from reading Cyclocross postings that (at least for cyclocross) barend shifters are much less vulnerable to destruction in crashes, that they are less expensive initially & to replace than brifters, etc.

But when I think about actually using them on my own bike, their positioning doesn't seem to be 'near' anything. Of course I've not ridden a bike with drops in decades and Uncle Duke has Nitto moustache bars. Do you shift with your pinkie or 4th fingers on both hands? Does this mean you sort of let go of the handlebars to shift or shift your hands almost off the ends to work them? I guess I'm asking about the actual ergonomic mechanics of the barends & how you work them and why you like them so much?

Sorry to ask such a newbie question but curiosity has the better of me on this and I AM getting close to ordering my new bike frame & putting a component list together...:o

Tom

Quite elegant, are you going to shellac the bar wrap?

I hadn't thought of that, but this might be a good bike to experiment with that. I won't go the cloth tape route as I need a softer bar to prevent cutting off circulation and hand numbness. But shellac over cork tape is mentioned in the latest Rivendell catalog and it might be a good way to go.

BluesDawg, you ol' dawg you, you've done it again: is it stable enough to blow some blues on your harp while pedaling down the road?
Tom

Might be. I'm sure I'll find out one of these days.

A question about your barend shifters: you said in another post that ALL your bikes have barends (or so I seem to remember). Why do you use them? My MTB has the shifters on the flat bar & are pretty convenient to me. I've had my LBS talk up the new brake/shifter combos known as 'brifters'. I understand some of the reasoning behind barends from reading Cyclocross postings that (at least for cyclocross) barend shifters are much less vulnerable to destruction in crashes, that they are less expensive initially & to replace than brifters, etc.

But when I think about actually using them on my own bike, their positioning doesn't seem to be 'near' anything. Of course I've not ridden a bike with drops in decades and Uncle Duke has Nitto moustache bars. Do you shift with your pinkie or 4th fingers on both hands? Does this mean you sort of let go of the handlebars to shift or shift your hands almost off the ends to work them? I guess I'm asking about the actual ergonomic mechanics of the barends & how you work them and why you like them so much?

Sorry to ask such a newbie question but curiosity has the better of me on this and I AM getting close to ordering my new bike frame & putting a component list together...:o

Tom

I have bar end shifters on all my road bikes. My MTB currently has bar top thumb shifters. I definitely see the need to have the shifters right at your fingers on a MTB.

The perception of convenience in using bar end shifters on drop (or moustache) bars depends on what you are comparing it to. My '92 Bridgestone came new with bar ends and they were much more convenient than the down tube shifters I had been using before that. Being able to stay in contact with the bar while shifting was a big improvement over reaching all the way down to the down tube. I can see how someone who has never needed to move their hands at all to shift might see it differently. Friction (non-indexed) shifting is especially easy with bar ends. I just seem to have a lot better feel and control compared to down tube shifting. I slide my hand to the end of the bar. Moving the lever down (that's an upshift on the right/rear or a downshift on the left/front) can be done either with the heel of the hand or with the two smallest fingers or with the thumb and index fingers. I do whichever feels right at the time. Pulling the lever up I usually do with my first two fingers with my thumb resting on top of the bar just ahead of the shifter pod.

I'm not a big fan of the combination shift/brake levers. I find them too expensive, lacking in feedback and limited in application. There is no friction option on them. You have to have compatible drivetrain components to use them. With friction shifting, I can use whatever derailleurs andwhatever freewheels or cassettes I have and everything works together. On my Bridgestone, it means I can keep using my wonderful Phil Wood hubs with a 7 speed freewheel. I don't have to worry about getting the cable position just right for the shifting to work and I don't have to adjust the cables when they stretch. I also get to use a skill I developed as a kid. With quality components, frictiion shifting is easier than you might think if you have always used indexing or if your memories are of crappy cheap junk that never worked right.

Nothing wrong with the new stuff, but the good old stuff works great.

Dawg: thanks for such a good response. Easy to visualize your shifting process and the options available. Sounds relatively simple and ergonomically 'natural' (whatever that may mean to an individual!)

I've not used friction shifters since my Schwinn Urban Express back in the 70's but I've not been riding much except in the past year, either. Especially appealing is that the barend shifters can get moved around and will pretty much accomodate whatever freewheels or cassettes you've decided to put on any of your bikes. That kind of flexibility appeals to me because it typically means that the system is simple enough to accomodate variations - one of the tenets of sustainable design.

thnx,

Tom

- tks for sharing this... gotta love a restore on a ride!

- i keep swapping out stuff on my two Specialized bikes (Crossroads [see sig] and a 2003 Allez)...

- beautiful job!