Skylineracer329

Picked this up super cheap off of CL this afternoon; a Made in Japan Shogun Selectra. I have too much time on my hands and needed a new project so I figured bringing an old road bike back to life should be entraining. I have no idea what year it is but the frame is in pretty good shape given its age. Some rust spots here and there, but nothing that can't be cleaned up with some elbow grease. I plan on stripping and respraying the frame anyways. The first bit of work that needs to be done is replace the chain, brake and shifter cables, and repack the bearings.

I want to eventually upgrade the down tube shifters to STI shifters and maybe switch over to Shimano Tiagra drivetrain. Need to do more research before making the swap though. I'll probably just save my money for now and replace things as they break.

Any additional info, tips, pertinent links to restoring/overhauling an old bike are welcomed and appreciated. Loving this forum so far.



















Here's a little before an after: The bottom one cleaned up nice with some lemon juice, metal polish and elbow grease. Now they're both new looking.

numbernine

Why repaint the frame? I kind of like the teal/yellow combo. If you're interested in saving money I'd skip the STI drivetrain and ride friction after replacing the cables/housing/chain and cleaning the derailleurs/freewheel. Looks like somebody got "creative" replacing the housing last time. Follow Sheldon's advice about routing with minimal bends:

Cables

Besides that perhaps replace the (likely hard as a rock) brake pads and just ride!

Velocivixen

My 1987 Miyata mixte has those shifter levers and rear derailleur. Six speed Shimano Light Action, so Ill venture a guess thats from around then. The back of the derailleur will have a two letter code. Vintage-trek.com has instructions for deciphering date codes.

Skylineracer329

I knew I was forgetting something, felt like I was getting long-winded haha.

Initially, I thought I would want to do the STI swap right away because friction shifting freaks me out. But, this model has Shimano's SIS shifting so the shifter for the rear derailleur is indexed making it way easier to use than I was expecting. So I probably won't swap to STI until something fails on the bike. Definitely need to replace all the cables because they're pretty rusted and frayed.

I want to strip and respray the frame mostly so I can be 100% sure I cleaned up all the rust. I do like the original paint scheme and that's the biggest debate I'm having; repaint with the original color or go with something else.

top506

I had one of these pass through my hands a few years ago. Too tall for me, it was sold to a long-legged young lady as her first road bike:







FWIW, I like the Light Action RD and shifters.

Top

bulldog1935

before you paint anything, rub the frame with Mequiar's polish and see what you think. If you like it, wax it.

These are great sleeper stealth frankenbike frames. Not the lightest but built to last forever. My buddy's daughter just rebuilt one 100%, both as a learning exercise to get a practical campus bike that's not a theft magnet. Her's had a tire clearance issue under the rear brake bridge.
Challenge Strada fit it perfectly, and is the widest tire that will fit her frame.

long john

Nice bike if you find a nice fitting brake hood cover let me know I have the same and they are to sticky to use.
The shifting system you got is great I love mine, it surprised me.

Skylineracer329

I took it for a real quick spin around my apartments parking lot to see how well the shifters functioned. I certainly didn't hate them, especially since the shifter for the RD is indexed making life easier. I'll probably keep them on there for the time being until the have to be replaced.

Skylineracer329

A sleeper concept is kinda what I had in mind. I'm gonna give her a quick wash and see how well the paint cleans up. I do like that it has the original decals and it'd be a pain to try to source new ones.

I'd just have to find matching paint to repair the few rust spots.

bulldog1935

yes, touch up is great. There is a local hobby shop with a wall of paint. Buy the closest gloss or lacquer color you can find, maybe find another on the green/blue side, buy white and black, and mix your own.

TimmyT 

Alternatively, pull the fork and take it with you to a place that sells nail polish. You should be able to get a pretty close match.

I did this. I felt a bit like a weirdo, but I embrace my bike nerdiness.

Fahrenheit531 

Late 80s, I'd say. '87 or '88. The serial number can tell you for sure.

And unless you've observed some genuinely cancerous rust that demands drastic solutions (I see none in the pictures provided), I stand firmly in the "You may think you do, but you really don't want to repaint it" camp. That's a cool-looking bike.

Skylineracer329

So I decided against respraying it, mainly because i suspect it'll be very difficult trying to find replacement decals for it. Also, for it to be a true sleeper, painting it up like a high end bike would defeat that end. Plus if I ever wanted to sell it, I feel like I could get a better price with the original paint. I'm just going to do some paint correction and modernize the drive train.

This may be a noob question, but I gather it's doable to run a 10 speed RD with a 7 speed freewheel? Assuming you properly adjust the limit screws?

numbernine

Doable, yes, but why would you want to? Many 6 to 9 speed derailleurs are cheaper, as effective, and better looking than 10 speed. I'd only go that route if you already have one lying around. Trying seeing how the drivetrain feels after, in order: cleaning chainrings, freewheel, rear derailleur pulleys free of gunk, applying lube to derailleur pivots, replacing cables/housing and the chain with one of these:

Sram 8 speed chain

KMC chain

If you are unsure whether your gear range is wide enough, for instance if you live around lots of hills, then try finding a 110 BCD forged crankset from the 80s at your LBS or co-op and replace that 52-42 with 48-36 or similar. They might also have some chainrings to choose from. That will make your range much wider without replacing the whole drivetrain.

Skylineracer329

Thanks for that info! I was wondering about the RD because in the future, I'd like to change out the DT shifters for STI's. I could be wrong, but I was thinking I'd need a more modern RD to accommodate the STI's.

I haven't started work on the freewheel yet, that's Monday's project. I'm hoping its salvageable but it looks to be in rough shape. I do live in a hilly area and was looking at the Shimano Mega Range 7 speed free wheel to make climbs a little easier without fiddling with the crankset, not to mention the crankset seems to be in great shape.

numbernine

Ok if you are getting a large range cassette you will probably want to replace the RD with one that accepts a large cog (like 32 or 34 or whatever) and will be compatible with future STIs. It will need to be long cage. I use one of these on my touring bike with a 5 speed cassette but if I wanted to it would work with up to 10 speed STIs:

Shimano 105 5500 long cage derailleur

Skylineracer329

That's perfect, thanks. I'm starting to order parts this week.

Skylineracer329

Pulled the old, nasty bar tape off today and found the bars were super rusted. Going to try to remove as much of it as I can, hopefully the structural integrity hasn't been compromised.

Velocivixen

I'm no expert, but I personally would not chance it with those bars. Interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

numbernine

Riding on rusty bars like that seems like begging for facial reconstruction surgery. Replace those with some alloy bars for god's sake!

Skylineracer329

Bars cleaned up pretty nicely. I soaked the rust in apple cider vinegar and cleaned it away with a wire brush and some WD40. 150 grit sandpaper took care of most of the pitting. A little pitting left behind but nothing some Eastwood rust inhibiting paint won't fix. Doesnt have to pretty since it's underneath the bar tape anyways.





I did run into this problem though... The stem bolt looks totally F'd. I don't who did what before I got this but I wish they hadn't. Brain storming ways to get this off that don't involve a hack saw.

Fahrenheit531 

I'd start with a healthy dose of PB Blaster. Give it a little bit, then get a hex-wrench you're not real attached to and (probably) hammer it in there. Gently-ish.

Follow up with application of massive torque and prayers that the inside doesn't look like the outside. Should be clear sailing from there.

Skylineracer329

Starting to make some progress on the build. Parts have started coming in and more are on the way. Managed to piece together an Ultegra group set, except for the shifters. The last piece of the puzzle is going to be wheels and tires.

Handlebars have been stripped of rust and primed for future rust prevention.



Picked up a set of 2x9 Tiagra shifters off of ebay for cheap as well as an Ultegra 9 speed RD. I also cleaned and polished the stock seat tube even though I'll probable swap that out later. Looking at a few saddles on craigslist and ebay to replace the one that came with it.



Can't wait to clean up this crankset, also a cheap Craigslist find for $30. I was going to keep the original Sugino cranks and just replace the BB with a cartridge style for $20. But for only $10 more, I figured why not swap out the whole lot.



This stuff is magic once I figured out how to use it properly

numbernine

I think the seat post looks great, i have the same on two bikes. If you are going to upgrade to 9 speed wheel in the back you will need a 130mm spaced Shimano hub on it to fit the cassette. To fit such a wheel on your frame you will probably need to widen the rear dropouts by cold setting: Bicycle Frame/Hub Spacing

Skylineracer329

Yeah at first I was going to keep it 7 speed because the Sheldon brown method freaked me out. But then I saw this guy on YouTube, "RJthebikeguy" cold set a frame with a piece of threaded rod, some washers and nuts. Seemed way easier and more precise. I've got a 9 speed dura ace cassette on the way, just need to choose a reasonable set of wheels