Of course you guys are right. I thought the same thing right about the time you were posting, when reviewing my photos again.

So today I found a section of brake housing the right length, and went about replacing it.

But since I’m removing the derailleur cable anyway, might as well do a wee bit more filing for a wee bit more angle.

And while the chain was off, I noticed my cranks were spinning notchy, so I pulled them to inspect the bottom bracket.

Turns out the spindle bearing surfaces were seriously galled, so I binned the spindle and went looking for another.

Then I took some measurements, and discovered that this is one of those weird early Nishikis with the English threaded 70mm shell.

Huh?

Nobody sells English threaded 70mm bottom brackets.

After a bunch of searching and reading, I found a 70mm Shimano 600 spindle the right length. But it won’t arrive until late next week.

So I can’t reassemble to see if the additional filing and the shorter cable housing improved things.....