As I have continued to refurbish/rehab my old LeJeune TDF, I have mentioned several anecdotes referring to the young LBS guy who shows absolute disdain for c/v bikes. I have come to believe his disdain is really ignorance of the genre and how to work on them.

Most recent story is about installing full brake hoods to replace original Mafac 1/2 hoods. I purchased full gum RUSTINES from Velo orange. They'll go pretty well the Brooks b17 and attendant tool bag. Didn't want to spend the exorbitant amount on NOS. they'll be fine. So, went to the lbs guy again to give him another chance. Asked about putting new bar tape on since I was redoing the hoods. Also asked whether I could cover the original white tape that is already there and still quite usable. His comment was that since it is obviously something more like electrician's tape rather than bar tape, he would remove it and replace it with all new tape. My tape is original as is evidenced by pix of [MENTION=208016]seypat[/MENTION] original 1973 LeJeune TDF......I know he's wrong, but I just said, "OK, thanks a lot." I also asked if I could replace the hoods without removing the brake cables. He said no, I would have to remove the brake unit and release the harness in the back and pull slack, rehhood, and then retighten everything back up. Is he correct, or is there a way to loosen up front and leave rear settings alone. Seems like something I should be able to do while on my "learning curve" about bike maintenance.......any help is greatly appreciated as always.....

thanks guys