Originally Posted by
southpawboston
Yeah, even on my period-correct restorations, the several concessions I'll make include modern lined housing. It just works better! (The other concessions include SS cables, SS spokes if I'm building the wheels, new tubes, modern tires, modern chains and clipless pedals. I also use modern grease
).
Amen to the modern consumeable items(!), and can I include chain?
I've had old bikes where a modern chain was literally the only item replaced before putting hundreds of miles on, even as the original tread wore off the tires at an alarming rate.
For getting old, neglected (and not-so-haughty) bikes back on the road, I usually start by hitting every moving part and every threaded fastener(!) with a fine-tipped squeeze applicator containing 60% motor oil and 40% mineral spirits.
This includes the cable housings (this mix flows right in) but excludes the bolts/nuts that hold centerpull brake pivots together (I tighten those first, then apply a penetrating grade of LocTite
before lubing the pivots).
The diluted oil doesn't seem to harm the liner inside modern cable housing, but when assembling new parts I apply only a bit of the former silicon/teflon GripShift lube to the inner wire. The Gripshift lube is the slickest lube available for the plastic-on-metal interface, and was developed for the friction-sensitive "sliding ramp" mechanism of the older 2:1 (Shimano-compatible) GripShifters.
The "Dry Lubricant" spray shown contains solvent with PTFE "Teflon" and is used together with the kinked cable wire to effectively scrub out lined housings, (followed by a blast of air from a Presta head).
