Kinetikx

I've been commuting on an insanely horrible mountain bike since June of last year. Recently I've been lusting after a road bike to make my commutes more enjoyable- and it HAD to be an old steel road bike. I finally found this poor old frameset- which while certainly not the best, speaks to my nature as a guy who likes to wrench:

(way too many pictures and questions to follow- sorry, I'm just excited about finally getting started on this project)






BB which looks like it hasn't seen new grease since the factory put it in. Otherwise seems to be in good condition


Does the chrome on these forks look like it could be brought back to life with some aluminum foil (or other trick- I'm up for suggestions) or should I just paint over them when I refinish the rest of the bike?


T-mar if you're around I would really appreciate it if you could give me the run-down on this frame; Its year, the components it probably came with etc. because if at all possible I would like to start scouring Ebay for vintage parts. Serial#1208829. Was it Miyata built? (it has a "made in Taiwan" sticker at the bottom of the seat tube)


"Light".


Since I'm sure it wouldn't be considered sacrilege to strip the frame down to bare metal and repaint- that is my plan. And although I kind of like the idea of building it with original components, I don't know how feasible that will be so I'm thinking maybe shimano 105 stuff. If T-mar or others can give me some clue of its original configuration I can start my Ebay searches. Also, any good sources for decals on something like this? I doubt there are but I would like to at least replace the "Univega" on the downtube that it currently has.

I'm not in much of a hurry for all of this though because I have a complete '89 Trek 330 on it's way to me so I can ride that while I build this into whatever I dream up

I'm sure it will never be like some of the great bikes I've seen posted here in C&V but I'll be happy that I'm building something from the ground up. And it will be a true "Custom Ten" when I'm done with it

TimJ

Oxalic acid. Do a search in the vintage forum for oxalic acid. It's a miracle rust-taker-awayer. All you have to do is soak the parts in a solution- you could soak the entire frame.

Little Darwin

I had a Custom 10, but I donated to the Salvation Army.

I do occasionally see it around town, so if I see it I will check the components. As I recall they were low end Shimano with chrome rims.

Back when I posted questions about it here, I failed to note the components or post a picture (I did a search), but it is pretty much an entry level lugged steel framd bike with stem shifters and turkey wings.

I would build it with any reasonably nice components, and make it more than it was originally.

Mine was purchased NOS from eBay from a retired bike dealer in the area. Cost to me was $80...

Kinetikx

Thanks for the suggestion of oxalic acid. Searching on these forums turned up a thread here:
https://www.vintagebmx.com/cgi-bin/ul...c;f=4;t=004702
with before and after pictures. Pretty dramatic results. Looks like a trip to Home Depot is in my future.

Oh, and the frame came with my first Italian part- A kickstand! (tongue planted firmly in cheek- this cast aluminum part will be lost in the garage by tomorrow)

AGuinness

Don't be shy—send T-Mar a private message. I asked him for info on my Univega Gran Premio a few weeks back and he was very helpful and very nice too.

Are you sure that frame is your size? It looks quite big.

Kinetikx

Heh, I'm 6'3" so I'm fairly sure the frame will fit That's been one of the challenges of finding a good old bike- seems most people aren't very tall

Thanks for recomending that I PM T-Mar. I'll probably do that tomorrow if he doesn't see this thread first.

AGuinness

I'm 6ft tall and felt a 58 was little a big for me... I guess I have short legs for my height.

I started a thread a few weeks back on my Univega hoping T-Mar would come around, but he never did. I PM'ed him and he wrote back right away... But I know what you mean. I wouldn't have started a thread had I not felt a bit embarrassed about writing T-Mar directly.

Well, I wish you the best on your new project!



Sebastián

tolfan

I've sold a couple tall bikes in the last year , thay just sit and sit until that 6 foot 4 guy stops buy and gets real happy to find it

Kinetikx

Well I ran a ball point pen over the races of the bottom bracket and it seems that it's not as good as I first thought. Any suggestions for a replacement? Can I just use a new BB with proper spacing or will I have to use something more correct for the period?

AGuinness

Any BB of the right width and threading will do. I'm almost positive it has a 68mm, English-threaded bottom bracket shell—considering it is a Japanese frame. The dimensions should be on the original fixed cup... What BB was it, by the way?

Kinetikx

Not sure. Other than a "5S" stamped onto the spindle there are no other markings. I looked at Sheldon's site and he doesn't list that particular code.

https://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html

AGuinness

Post pictures when you're done!

Kinetikx

I don't think I would be able to stop myself

And I just bought some oxalic acid from ebay. A pound for less than $5 ($9.14 total with shipping) so I'll be posting my results once I get it.

roccobike

Check the race in each cup. You may have to replace one of them. Wear will usually show up as a lip on one side of the race. But check both fixed and adjustable sides. I've found just because one has a wear mark, doen't mean the other will so you may not have to replace both, if any.

T-Mar

!!! #5 Maxy style spindles were for 70mm bottom bracket shells!!! Given Taiwanese manufacture, the bottom bracket shell should be 68mm. Maybe you had better measure the shell width to be sure.

cuda2k

And replacement BB will be largely determined by what crankset you go with. 6 & 7speed 105 and 600 stuff is quite common on ebay and can be had fairly cheap. There are lots of great threads in this forum about the best way to go about stripping, prepping and repainting the frame. Good luck, and look forward to lots of pictures.

Kinetikx

Good thing I did. I broke out the cheap calipers I've got that unfortunately measure in inches and it is 2.76 inches. So yeah, 70 mm.

Looks like I've got an oddball.

Kinetikx

I'm assuming something like this combo from Nashbar would work?
https://www.nashbar.com/profile_combo.cfm?combo=19635

I'm still not dead set on using 105 components, but hey, new stuff would be nice.

T-Mar

Now you'll determine if the cups are Italian or English threaded. Normally, a Taiwanese bicycle would have English threading, but a 70mm spindle is typically associated with Italian threading, so we have to be sure. You can go about this two ways. An Italian fixed cup (ie drive side) will be right hand thread, while an English threaded fixed cup will be left hand thread. Or you can measure the thread diameter of the cups with English being 1.37"/34.8mm and Italian being 1.42"/36mm.

With separate cups and spindle you can mix and match different systems, but this is not always the case with sealed cartridge bottom brackets as the one cup is often fixed to the cartridge assembly. So when you buy a cartridge for a 70mm shell you get Italian threading.

If, for some reason, you have English threading with a 70mm shell, you have three options:
1. Use a non-cartridge bottom bracket where you can mix and match cups and spindles.
2. But an expensive cartridge bottom bracket where the cups are separate.
3. Have the shell milled down to 68mm.

Given that this is an entry level, hi-tensile frame, the cost involved with the latter two solutions are probaly not justifiable. Hopefully, you have Italian threading with a 70mm shell, but that would be very strange on a Taiwanese frame.

reverborama

I'm 6-3 also. I've managed to find a few bikes my size, but you're right, the vast majority are much smaller. I suggest you haunt the thrift stores over the next couple of weeks. Your mission: Find a bike with the components you want no matter what the size is. Strip them off, put them on the Univega and sell the donor's frame. That's worked for me when I've found a bare frame in my size.

Kinetikx

That's what I was afraid of. Definitely English threading.

So now if I want to get a new BB I will need to get a spindle (of the correct length for whatever crankset I plan to use) AND a new pair of plain old English threaded cups. Which I'm sure will probably mean getting two whole bottom brackets in most cases. Eh, I enjoy a good challenge. Ebay just became my second home.

All this trouble over 2mm.

T-Mar

Well you may want to considering having the shell milled to 68mm, if there if an LBS close to you that can do this. It takes about 1/2 hour, so depending the shop's rates, it may be cheaper than mixing and matching BBs. I'd do it for you, but I'm about 1000 miles distant.

Kinetikx

I've been a thrift store junky lately. Hell, I even have someone from work who frequently goes to yard/garage sales on the hunt for "anything that looks like this" (hands her a picture of a road bike) This has been going on for about two months- Even Craigslist has been a bust for good cheap bikes locally (with the exception of way too many walmart bikes).

I'll try them tomorrow. And thanks for all your help with this bike so far. I guess you can add 70mm Taiwanese bottom brackets with English threading to the tons of information you already have about these bikes.