Originally Posted by
lubloi
How do these plastic guides (entry/exit points of the hidden cable routing) come off? Do you just pry them out with a screwdriver or is there a trick?
Have you decided on a strategy to fix the ovality of the top tube? I would probably not even touch it, 2 mm of ovality in a steel tube is nothing. My Giant Terrago has steel tubes that are ovalized on purpose. In any case, it's unlikely to have a measurable effect on strength (if anything - more 'lateral stiffness and vertical compliance').
From what I've read you can twist them 90 degrees and then just pull them out. But the general advice is
not to replace the inner and outer cable at once.
I will probably try frame blocks but this is a weird size so I will probably have to custom make them myself. But I'll double check some time. There are guides how to make some yourself (
Instructables or Donard) or you can buy them (
theBicycleAcademy.org and ParagonMachineWorks). Combined with a sliding hammer for the final bit I might be able to get it as good as new.
I think I want to respray this bike some time in the future but I have yet to decide on paint and parts. Something like a
RAL3003 ruby red with silver parts and golden accents should work nicely together but I also have a pair of blue Koga Beachracer hubs + handlebar on the way so a nice contrast like a white frame with blue accents could be nice too.
On another Dutch forum I came across someone who has all the brochures from 1988 to 2010 with all the additions so I might just dig into the history of the bike a bit more and makes some higher-res scans to share here.
For now I have an Excel file that I plot any and all data in for an easy overview. It's a work in progress but I think these are fun to show for now:
Frame material frequency, excluding fork material
Average weight per general model type.