Stealth Updating
A couple of years ago I saw a rod-braked Raleigh with a Shimano Nexus-7. If you didn't look closely, you'd never notice and the owner said it made the bike much more rideable -- and unlike some of the travisties shown here lately, it was a bolt-on upgrade that didn't damage the original. That said, I have that Falcon/Merckx but all that came with it is a pair of 27 inch clinchers with Campy hubs. No bars, stem, seatpost, saddle, brakes (original specs were for center-pull), or crank. The wheels would have been tubulars so I might not even want to use those particular hubs.
Since I don't have an stash of NOS Campy laying around, I'm thinking about building it up with modern (or relatively modern) components that have a classic look. I'm not above removing the paint from a pair of modern rims but I'll avoid going to hubs that require cold-setting the frame. And a new derailleur should be able to handle a on 5-speed freewheel. What about cranks? What can a guy find that looks old? Bars and stems should't be too much of a problem, but what kind of levers would give the right look? If you had to put together a bike to look old, what components would you look for?
Conversely, convince me I'm wrong (but you'd better be telling me where to find the parts for less than a fortune!)
Last edited by reverborama; 04-23-08 at 01:16 PM.