Salamandrine 

Looking forward to hearing how you like your new Nitto rando bars. I was thinking of trying those as well on my touring machine -- either the B132 or B135. Not sure what the ultimate is. It's fun just to try new stuff sometimes. TRP levers I have already. I really really like them, FWIW.

Nice to see the grab ons gone. Pink tape shows confidence.... Tape is temporary anyway, like socks.

Fenders of that era would have been either silver laminate Esge (SKS) or Bluemels (now owned and made by SKS), so no problem there...

sunvalleylaw

Looking forward to checking out the new bars too. May be the weekend before I get the rest of this part of the project done. Mountain bike ride night tomorrow night. The B135 sure seems like just a widened version of that is on there, and I like that bar other than it being too narrow. So I am betting I will like it. I find on this bike I use the drops a lot more than I do on my other road bike with the lower, racier riding position. I am hoping with the new bar I will feel the same. I am thinking I will want 100m stem length max, but we shall see.

On the tape, it is embossed with a nice floral pattern too. Looking forward to that!

sunvalleylaw

The black pin stripes on the current fenders seem nearly identical to the SKS on some models, so I am thinking that is what they have to be. Without going out to the garage to look more closely. Time to pre-make the morning coffee to auto-start and head to bed!

sunvalleylaw

Just ordered a new chain finally, and ordered the brake levers. should have ordered those before as they are not Prime. Oh well. Will swap out the bar this weekend, along with the chain to clean things up. The tape is only a buck so will go ahead and re-install the current levers so I can ride around. Too much fun not too. The new levers don't come until next week.

3speedslow

Sounds like you are fighting the good fight with this build. They always start so fast then slow down with the details later.

I will enjoy seeing pics when you have some.

sunvalleylaw

Thanks! There were a couple pics last page of the new bar and tires.

Yeah, I am a father of 3 and May is always a crazy season. Soccer and such. Very little weekend time. AND I like to waterski and have been working on my boat too. But, the project is starting to move along. It should be ready for summer (sans fenders) in the next couple/few weeks. At least that is the goal.

sunvalleylaw

Was walking by the bike store and had a couple bucks in my pocket. For the price, I couldn't resist, for more back ups, to have on hand, etc. Or maybe to just use. For a while. Always fun to have a pair of obnoxious "socks" as @Salamandrine says.

himespau 

If nothing else, I'm sure it could go under some cloth tape to make things nice and cushy.

sunvalleylaw

Continued working on replacing the bar. Pretty much got that accomplished, and cleaned up the current brake hoods. Those get replaced after I verify what size stem I want and swap everything out again.

But having trouble with the bar end shifters, as there is very little friction after replacing the levers. I started a thread on that. Thinking I will like the bar.

sunvalleylaw

See barcon/handlebar replacement stuff here. https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...r-problem.html

As I said, ran into a problem with the barcons.

sunvalleylaw

Well, I just ordered a Technomic stem (90mm) to try, since I got slowed down with the barcons anyway, and so will hope to put it all together after everything comes in in the next several days. Also have a new chain to put on, and probably will have someone service the hubs, bottom bracket, and head for me.

Salamandrine 

Looks like it's getting close!

Yeah the pin stripes give it away. SKS are a newer model of the same fenders. They originals were sold as "ESGE" at the time. Long story short: same German made laminated fenders - different name. New ones are safer because they have a breakaway clip.

Those bars look perfect. Nitto quality is nice isn't it?

This may have been discussed already, but you will need a 23.0 puller for the TA cranks.

sunvalleylaw

Parts are still enroute and we are camping this weekend, so probably no progress. I have in bar tape, "new" bar con replacements/parts, and am waiting on stem and brake levers. If we were home, I would put it together with what I have and try out the bar before the new stem. But, since we are out, I will wait.

Met with DA yesterday afternoon, and she gave me some pictures of her tour along the Lewis and Clark trail from St. Louis west to go through. That trip was in 1991. Here is a pic of DA now. This was right before she showed me, at age 95, how she keeps her back limber by hanging forward over soft knees, when I told her my lower back was tight. She, again at age 95, had her hands down there basically on the floor for a couple/few minutes showing me the finer points of technique which have kept back spasms she used to have under control. Amazing lady.



And here is just one pic from that St. Louis trip, DA on her bike, back in 1991. I can see from her height here how her bike fits me so well. And she had that tight lower back, which accounts for the short stem for an upright riding position.


EDIT: I have no idea why this pic is not oriented correctly. I replaced the wrong one in photobucket with a correctly oriented one, and deleted and replaced the link a couple times. Oh well, you get the idea. Enjoy the ride.

Her mottos and secret seem to be the "Life is a beautiful ride" saying, and to just keep moving.

Kobe 

With those legs it looks like she did her share of touring. Pretty cool to have a picture of how it looked originally.

sunvalleylaw

Yeah, she did a lot of touring on that bike, with that Boeing Bicycle Club group, and friends from there. And the bike looked pretty much just like in that pic, with the same foam grips, but missing the rear red reflector on the rear fender. Same saddle, same pump, . . . basically the same! She gave me some stuff that she felt went with the bike yesterday: a tool kid she put together, and sewed a burrito style tool holder for, a couple bags, (she offered me those ones on the bike in that pic, but the zippers are trashed, and I have my Ortliebs. I might grab them anyways ), a bag that goes on the top of the rear rack with some patches from some of her trips, and a mirror/reflector like the one that is on her wrist in that pic. She said they loved to use that style mirror. The patches, save the Japanese one, are very PNW. She also thinks she has the crank puller for the TA cranks and is going to look for that in her tools out in the shed.

sunvalleylaw

Got my new stem, and fiddled with the new cockpit. It is coming along! Feels like this stem will be a good fit for me. Also tried on the new brake levers. Now have to stop at the bike shop and get a length of cable for the RD shift lever. Housing is still going to work. Also need to cable in the brakes. The front derailleur I can just put back on the end of the new bar.




Will fine tune the placement of the brake levers, but I am liking the feel on a test spin around the driveway, (with no brakes).

Salamandrine 

It's all looking good. I think you will like those TRP levers.

sunvalleylaw

^^ Thanks. Also fixed my problem with the right hand shifter. Now, as I said, just have to install new cable and put it all back together up there. And get the hubs and bottom bracket serviced. Will probably wait on the fenders at this point until fall.