Classic & Vintage - Darwin and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Well, the Ted Williams Free Spirit has arrived in Pennsylvania from Nebraska, and has been unpacked.

Assembly is in progress, and I will not be likely to do any "in progress" pics since it is pretty much a done bike except for a few mods.

I will be going fenderless, and going with a Nitto Technomic Stem and Noodle bar with Shimano 600 levers (the stem and levers provided by 23skidoo) with black Cane Creek hoods that I have read are supposed to be reasonable replacements for the Shimano levers (not perfect, but close enough).

23skidoo has started the sanding of the stem to accommodate the french sized headset, and I will be completing that, and then installing the bar and wrapping with black cork wrap.

I will also shortly be adding a Pletscher style rack, since it just seems so appropriate for a Free Spirit. ;)

What I haven't decided yet is what to put on the Pletscher style rack. ;)

I have a Kalloy seat post I will be using, and had the LBS confirm the seat post size, and ream the seat tube, after removing the shim that was in place to accomodate the steel seat post that Ted had. I think I may have a 27.2 laprade style post (modern) that would look a little more "vintage" on the bike, but I am not sure where it is right now.

Depending on how things go with the current wheels, I may switch to wheels down the road with hooked rims so I can inflate to higher pressure.

I should be able to post pictures by the end of the long weekend, so stay tuned. I am excited to ride my first 531 bike. ;)

What I haven't decided yet is what to put on the Pletscher style rack. ;)



6-pack of Steig, of course!:D
What ever happened to that Ross Signature you picked up a while back?
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I'm actually in the process of selling it to a local that had one back in the day and got rid of it, and wants to relive his youth... It is the exact model/color etc he sold, and wished he had held onto.

I saw a WTB ad in the local CL, and it reminded me of my hunt for my LeTour IV, so I couldn't hold out... Things have stalled, and I am not pushing, so for now, it is still in my stable. Completely stock 1986 Signature 292s (including bar tape from what I can tell from the catalog scan on Velobase) except for potentially tires and toe clips. The bar tape needs to be reploaced, but does apear to be the translucent white tape it came with. ;)

I was just coming in to post a status on the Ted Williams... I have completed the modification of the Nitto Technomic stem, by sanding it down to fit the French sized headset...

Stem and bar mounted... now on to mounting the brake levers and hoods, and wrapping the bar and installing cables... then seatpost and saddle, and adjusting derailleurs and brakes etc.

Well, the adventure continues...

As I was mounting the Shimano 600 levers, or rather trying to, I discovered that some vintage levers used clamps too small to accommodate Nitto Noodle bars. I was unable to get the Shimano 600 levers on the bar, and so I went down to the basement and searched through my parts, where I found aset of Nashbar aero levers that I thought I might get stuck using, and as I was about to give up I ran across a set of Dia Compe Gran Compe levers... I have no idea where I got them, but I grabbed them and brought them up too.

So, to get to the poiint, Ted will sport a pair of Gran Compe levers.

While digging around, I also found my fluted seatpost, and confirmed that it is 27.2, so I will be cutting it down, and using it in the build. The flutes are painted black, and I did see a picture of a Ted Williams bike with a fluted post, with the fluted painted red... So, I am considering painting them red, as there are a few other red highlights on the bike (crank dust cap, washer on shifter, part of head badge)

Of course, with the black Brooks saddle and cork tape, the black flutes will do for now... but, perhaps in a later phase. ;)