Originally Posted by
Classtime
After a couple of sleepless nights fretting over the drivetrain issues and wondering if I made a mistake taking on this project, I will sleep well tonight.
Thoughts that kept me up:
-Did I screw up the chain line that badly when I spread the rear triangle?
-Is the spring shot on this old steel boat anchor Suntour GT?
-Is the right flange to locknut distance on my Mavic 500 hub too great for this Suntour to reach?
-Are the Synchro shifters incompatible with the rear derailleur?
-I've never had this much effort into a POS and have it continue to be a POS.
Last night after another test ride, my wife asked how it went, "Is it fast?". I complained about the chain.
Two POS spliced together.
Today, I picked up. PC850 at REI and I used the entire length. (That surprised me because I'm using a full PC870 on my Trek 620 with its 47cm chain stays.) It works well enough now that I'm contemplating a long Saturday on it. I'm also eager to see what these Pasela Protites are all about.
The bar tape has been on 4 other bikes.
1. Doubt it.
2. Can't tell from picture. Will have to test-ride. Not the worst thing in the world if you need to swap springs or RDs
3. Doubt it. Sun Tour was generous on the range. Is a matter of proper rear wheel spacing, BB spindle selection, adjusting angle on FD and stops on the rear.
4. Not familiar with Syncros. I don't see any indication they're indexed, so, as with the rear derailleur, is a matter of the range they can move. If they don't have it, swap out for Sun Tour and you should be good.
5. You can do it. I've never gotten to ride a PX-10, but I have put in many rides on a 71-ish Fuji Finest (which aside from more modestly relaxed frame angles and I assume a slightly heavier frame seems very much designed to clone a PX-10), and after my best previous bike being a '78 Raleigh Super Course - the Fuji was night and day a better riding bike. The next bike I got after my restart was a duplicate Super Course, and as great as it seemed when I was 18 - 22, it didn't measure up. I only bring this up because a Grand Sports is little different from that Super Course - aside from stays and head tube being 531 on the Grand Sports. I've since acquired most Raleighs of that era, and what I'm getting to in a long-winded way is that, if you're comparing this to your PX-10, it won't be favorable. Once you get all the mechanical matters dialed in, you'll have a fine bicycle for most riding. However, it isn't going to accelerate or climb, or nimbly navigate rapid turns like a PX-10.
Yeah - I'd consider a new, or a much cleaner chain. Bear in mind that worn freewheel and chainring cogs can cause issues with an incompatibly worn chain.
Pasela Pro-Tites are a slight compromise of a tire. They're not what I would call performance, but they aren't awful either. If you're going to be on rough pavement, or gravel, they are one of your better choices without breaking the bank, imo. I have them on my '75 Raleigh Competition that I was intending to take to Cino this year (it didn't work out). They haven't done poorly on pavement, but they aren't quite the equal of Grand Bois or Compass (or possibly others which I haven't ridden).