I have been fixing up the 16 y/o daughter's UO-8 lately, and thought I'd show the work in progress and ask for some suggestions.
The thread showing the bike as it came to us is here.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-New-quot-UO8?
Daughter rode her bike, kvetched about the seat until we found a Terry that fit, learned to shift the gears and handle the drop bars, climbed some hills, fell a couple of times. She decided that she liked her bike.
The braking was terrible and the tubes blew out at 80 psi. We swapped in salmon KoolStop pads, and finally relaced the Normandy hubs to used Mavic MA40 700C rims.
This summer, she asked for a "basket" so that she could carry her books to school or some groceries from the store. I'd been wanting her to get around by bicycle more anyway, as opposed to taking the bus or calling us for rides. So, I made some changes and currently we have this.
The bike now has a wider handlebar, a Modolo that required hogging out the stem's clamp. Aero levers of uncertain make ("BRS"?), they came from a bin. Inline levers, at her request. A VO porteur rack and fenders. Pedals that aren't heavy steel Lyotards. New cables and housing.
I was warned that the bike wasn't designed for a front rack, but it seems to work just fine. There are plenty of eyelets. The steering with the rack is smooth, stable, a little deliberate.
So, here are my questions.
- I got wide fenders because I'm thinking of wider tires, sort of randonneur like. Is that a good idea? It has 25mm tires at 100 psi now, I was thinking like a 32mm or larger, lower pressure. Any brands to recommend?
- Can you suggest a good lighting system? Something shiny and silver, a bit vintage looking, not too expensive. Front light will be mounted under the rack. Maybe the rear light should be on the fender. Battery? Generator? Doesn't need to be a flame thrower.
- Bar tape ideas? I have some generic black cork laying around, but don't have to use it. The seat needs to stay, though.
- Does the rack look bad, not being flat? I thought it would work better with a slight angle, but I'm not sure I like it.
- Mudflaps. Practical, or precious?
- Anything else you would do here? While staying on the budget side of things? It is just a high school kid's UO-8 after all.
