Tourist in MSN

No, I am keeping the bike somewhat vintage. I am putting on a newer rear derailleur (from the 70s) so I can put on a wider range cassette.

I usually use that bike for exercise on a route that is mostly flat, thus not much shifting. If I am going somewhere where there is a lot more shifting, I take another bike.

djb

I've mentioned this before, but once in a blue moon my hand will move down towards a DT shifter that isn't there. I certainly don't miss DT shifters, but the old instincts pop out sometime. Kinda like driving, I haven't owned a standard transmission for a long time, but sometimes my hand goes onto the auto shifter like it's a manual.

nfmisso

I think that it is a great fun hobby project - which of course has to NOT make economic sense by definition

My recommendations:
* spread the frame to 135mm - I prefer the threaded rod technique instead of Sheldon's 2x4. You will have to open it up to 160 to 175mm range to get it to spring back to 135mm. My technique is to go to 150mm, relax the load and measure, make a conservative guess on how far to go, then relax, measure and repeat in 5mm increments till done. For example, if after spreading to 150mm, it measures 128 (started from 126); I'd go to 160mm next, then if more is needed 165mm, etc. Cr-Mo does spring a LOT more than hi-ten steel - as you'd expect with the yield strength differences. 135mm hubs are less expensive than comparable quality 130mm hub due to manufacturing volumes - at the low end there is almost a 2X difference, the difference reduces as you go up in price.
* make sure you re-align the drop outs to parallel and symmetric with respect to the bicycle's center line, THEN the RD hanger.
* 9 speed RD such as a M592 with 7 to 10 speed Shimano road shifters - 10 speed MTB RD will not work with road shifters.
* 9 speed 12-36 or ten speed 11-36 cassette. I'd go 9 speed, because it is 11% less fussy.
* I like Tektro brakes - R539 and R559 depending on the reach required - MEASURE.
* I like 40h Wheelmaster "tandem" hubs because they are cartridge bearing, easy to rebuild (Chinese copy of Phil's); but I am 350lbs......
* Double butted spokes for more compliance (evens the loading of the spokes, and better ride).
* Velocity DYAD or NoBS rims - NoBS are heavier, wider and stronger; depends on how much tire you want/can fit. For me the cross over point is 38mm. If you have even more width, Velocity Cliffhanger rims.
* brake pads: Koolstop Salmon - really do make a difference.
* IF you spread to 135mm; follow the BB recommendation of the MTB crank you pick. Reduce by 5mm if you only spread to 130mm.
* use BLUE thread locker to secure racks, etc. Do NOT use red.
* cross levers are very useful.

Tourist in MSN

A friend of mine was telling me two days ago that he went to the grocery store, forgot his lock, figured if he ran in and out really fast that it would not be a risk. Came out after a few minutes and the bike was gone. It was about 100 yards away abandoned. He told me that he suspected that the thief got disgusted with the downtube friction shifters and abandoned it.

djb

you know, that really made me laugh out loud.

irwin7638

To keep it from becoming a money pit, you might take it slowly in stages. See how much tire will fit and plan on something like raceblade fenders for touring. After knowing what works for tires, I would look at replacing the crank and BB with a cartridge BB and compact double to increase the range. Then, if I wanted to widen the range I would look at different 6-8 speed freewheels.

Marc

DropBarFan

Nice build, like the Mafac brakes! Vintage Italian/Columbus road-racing bikes had a fairly comfortable ride & great handling. Down-tube shifters are kind of a pain, apparently even racing pros did not shift as often as necessary: once read an article about ace Hennie Kuiper--his coach noted how he always shifted promptly & that helped him do well at TT's.

Tourist in MSN

Yeah, with the friction down tube shifters, often if I approach a small hill I do not bother shifting for it, just push a little harder. Same with stop signs or stop lights. Bikes with indexed shifting, I always shift for stop signs, stop lights, minor changes of grade, etc.

Rode it again yesterday for a 21 mile exercise ride, but forgot how early it gets dark these days. Last mile and a half was pretty dark. I have a tail light on it, no headlight on it - yet.

scozim 

I converted a 1989 Peugeot hybrid for my touring rig and it runs great. Yes, it was heavier than probably a normal touring frame, but it was rock solid on the road.

I used Suntour bar end friction shifters with a 48-36-26 triple and 7 spd 13-28 in the rear. You could use a 7 spd on yours with no problems. To go to 8 spd it would be worth having the rear triangle cold set to 130 mm. In hindsight I should have gone with a 24 for the small ring up front (but I only really needed that for one hill). Fortunately for me I had almost all of the parts on hand. Classic road triple cranksets (Sugino, Sakae, etc) look better than mtb ones - but that's just my personal opinion. I did go with a Shimano Deore LX long cage rear derailleur and it worked flawlessly. A Suntour VX-GT was my other option.

If you really want to use the Bianchi you have on hand then I would recommend posting this also in the Classic & Vintage section for some good advice. There's a lot of experience there with building up commuters and touring rigs on classic/vintage frames. The biggest expense I had was having new wheels built up. I didn't want to take a chance.

Maelochs

My '83 Cannondale has a freewheel and 126-mm spacing, but i found an 8-speed cluster online. I hope to have it installed by next week---seems it is supposed to fit in the same space as a 5-6-7-speed cluster (same as 8-9-10 all fit on 130-mm hubs---just thinner gears.) Will be going from 14-34 to 13-28, which with a 48-38-28 triple ought to get me up most hills around here (I about never use the 28 ring with my current cluster.)

If it works out and isn't trash quality I will report back

BTW there were a couple companies offering 8-speed clusters--I risked going with one which looked a little sketchy but advertised 200 grams lighter (which makes it lighter than the excellent Shimano 7-speed I use now.) The other one looked exactly like my current Shimano unit but weight 50-100 grams more. if the other doesn't work, I will buy one of those (and again, share anything I might learn.)

I believe the 8-speed was also available in 13-34 and 14-34, which is about perfect for loaded touring (I will need to get one for the next time the Cannondale takes me far, far away.)

mtnbud

Nice looking frame.

Check the chainstay length. If you want to use rear panneirs, you'll want to make sure you'll have enough heel clearance.

scozim 

An 8 spd cassette would be fine. The problem with 8 spd freewheels back in the day was bent axles. On a touring bike I would be concerned about that happening with the added weight over the axle.