Avoid the wire brush or steel wool. You don't want scratches in the chrome.

A few new pictures. Even with the cheap replacement components, it looks good.
Nobody notices the dull spots on the chrome or the scrapes in the paint.

The back wheel axle was bent, so I replaced it with the wheel from a donor bike. They both had the same rear derailleur, so I swapped that, too. The frame is a bit too small for me, so I got a new longer seatpost. It has new cables and bar tape, new grease in all the bearings, (except the bottom bracket, which still spins like new). I used car polish, then car wax on the paint, aluminum polish on the stem and rims.

I have straight wall non-hooked rims, so they can't handle high pressure tires without the chance of blowing the bead off the rim. So I have 1 1/4 70-80 psi (32 mm equivalent) tires. With these tires and the steel frame, I can glide over a lot of manhole covers, small potholes, etc. At first, I have to remember to avoid those when I get back on my Orbea.





http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wc7ef8CMbxA/Sm...2/IMG_7759.JPG