View Single Post
Old 09-11-18, 02:21 AM
  #1100  
RiddleOfSteel
Master Parts Rearranger
 
RiddleOfSteel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Portlandia's Kuiper Belt, OR
Posts: 4,405

Bikes: 1982 Trek 720 - 1985 Trek 620 - 1984 Trek 620 - 1980 Trek 510 - Other luminaries past and present

Mentioned: 221 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1557 Post(s)
Liked 2,029 Times in 989 Posts
I'll have to post a build thread of it, but I completed my full-boat refurbishing of my '81 Trek 710. She is a beautiful bike and is such a sweet ride. The combination of 600 Arabesque RD geometry (aka not slant parallelogram) and 7-speed, Hyperglide-toothed cassette make for fidgety--or just over-eager--shifting. I'm learning the ways of this particular setup in its nearly 40-year-old condition.

Did some sleuthing to tame the noises caused by the fenders I mounted to my '74 Paramount. Yes, it is now a rain/winter bike! I have grown weary of canti brakes. Limited braking power combined with insane noise levels have killed it (mostly) for me--and I set things up well, with Kool Stops. I like the fender clearance and I love the classiness, aesthetic, and visual statement of status-in-the-lineup that cantis communicate. Seattle, and really, the city environment combined with steep hills and skittery traffic, is pretty hostile to safe operation of less-than-razor-sharp bike setups. I could ride at a sloth-like pace, and then could use almost anything, but if one is to get about with a modicum of efficiency, it is best to bring a gun to a gun fight. Machined brake tracks, Kool Stop pads, good levers, cables and housings, and a very eager pair of dual pivot side-pull calipers means that I have enthusiastic braking with out vibration, noise, or power limits. Plus it looks really sharp.
RiddleOfSteel is offline