TugaDude

In all instances of internal cable routing I've encountered, I've had success leaving the old cable in place and then taping it to the new cable before pulling it through. Old comes out, new goes in, easy.

Also, no offense intended but please spell brake correctly. Break is not correct. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to this, and I am certainly not perfect, but when I see break used instead of brake, it takes away from what the writer is trying to say.

It is obvious you are really excited with bikes as hobby. That's great, enjoy the ride because it is fun and can be rewarding. Good luck!

JReade

Small thread and a shop-vac will pull the thread throught he hole, tape it to the new cable and pull it on through. I've used ol brake cables since they are stiffer too.

Johnny 831

Hey thank you for the comments! I was thinking of going the 105 route because I have 2 sets of 105 hubs that I'd like to complete into a wheel set when I get some funds together. I'll probably just get it all fixed up, keep the ex age for now, swop em later. I'll see if there are any local. Co ops around as well.

Another problem I have run into is the crank set not coming off. I have a crank puller that screws in fine, but the cranks are on so tight I'm afraid I might strip out the threads. Are the bio pace cranks different in some way?

One more question I have would be about pedals. I have like 3 pairs of clip on pedals, but no shoes! I'm considering getting some entry level shoes, any suggestions?

TugaDude

Now is a great time to shoe shop. There are deals all over the Net. You will get all kinds of opinions on shoes, but to me, for casual riding, Mtb shoes make sense for daily use. The bottom of the shoe allows you to walk around without the cleat hitting the ground. Road specific shoes don't work that way. If you want to stop and go in a store, Mtb shoes are the ticket. So even if you never mountain bike, it is fine.

Now if you intend to race crits or want optimum performance and aero characteristics, go the road shoe route.

bent-not-broken

Biopace should have no impact on crank removal, as it refers to the rings. Square tapered fits can be quite tight.

fettsvenska 

I used to have this exact model (see the pic, the only pic I have). I loved this bike and getting rid of it was the biggest mistake of my cycling life. I had to thread the derailleur cable through the chain stay just like you're trying to do. Here is what I had to do...

First, go to church and pray. Repent of your sins and promise god/allah/buddah/your-deity-of-choice that you will never do anything wrong again in your life. Then meditate for awhile and think positive thoughts. Only then will you be prepared to accomplish this task.

Seriously though...I put the frame in a repair stand and oriented it so that the chain stays were straight up and down. Then I took some very, very thin wire that my wife had for making crafts and straightened it out as straight as I possibly could. I think I used about 6 to 8 inches. I wrapped about half of it up the length of the derailleur cable making sure to get it as tight around the cable as possible. I then threaded the wire and cable into the chain stay at the bottom bracket end. This is the part that requires patience, grasshopper. I slowly fed the cable down through the chain stay until I could feel that the wire was hitting the bottom. Be careful because you don't want to bend the wire. I just kept slowly probing for the exit hole until finally got lucky. I think that I had to do that for about 30 to 45 minutes but finally I was able to thread the wire through. Next, you have to be extra careful. When enough wire is exposed that you can grab it, use the wire as a guide to thread the cable the rest of the way through. Just use the wire as a guide. Don't pull on the wire, push on the cable from the other end, because if you pull that wire off before it is exposed, you get to do this all over again. I learned that the hard way. Once the cable is threaded all the way through you can obviously just pull it through.

Now go light a candle.

This was a royal pain to do but well worth it because it functions great and looks cool too.

For those that may not be aware, the cable housing doesn't run through the frame on this bike, only the cable itself.

IMG_0167 by FatSwede, on Flickr

Johnny 831

HAHAHAHA that cracked me up! I was cursing mad this afternoon trying to get it through. Funny thing, my 75 year old father in law comes out, takes a wire wiggles it in the far end while I'm threading it, and it went right through... of course this was after an hour of messing around first hahaha definitely a cool feature IMO. Took it for a quick test ride, but I'm cleaning up what I can then going out tomorrow hopefully if it doesn't rain. One thing I am stuck on is the cranks... my crank puller is snug and all, but I'm pull a ton of torque on it and they aren't moving. I'm scared I might strip the threads out. Any thoughts here would be helpful.

On another note: I'm noticing that my components are kinda matching in that most of it is Exage 400, but with a Acera x rr derail, and 105 fr derail, exage brakes and brake levers. Is this a lesser tier lane? Cuz it would be so much cheaper to finish the group off with exage hahah but I might go for 105 when I get some more funds going.


Got that wire through, put on some Suntour Sprint pedals from an RB-3, took some masking tape off the Trek logo (why it was there who knows), and did a quick detailing. I'm probably going to go white lacing and bar tape soon. New tires too. Still debating 105 vs tri color components...

TugaDude

Personally, I think you need to determine what you ultimately want out of it before doing any replacement. If it is to be a rider, clean it up, lube it and go. The components on there are rider quality. Exage is lesser to 105 which is lesser to 600. But I doubt you'd see significant difference in daily riding so long as everything is adjusted properly.

If you intend to flip, then you have options. Option #1 would be to put the original equipment on it. Go to Vintage Trek website and find the catalog. Option #2 is to polish everything and sell as-is. Making it correct as far as original kit is not going to enhance the price that much, IMHO. I suppose a third option is as stated above, to at least get all components to match. I think that is also a losing proposition unless you score some cheap replacements or find a donor bike at a bargain price.

So decide what you want to do. Don't waste time and money upgrading if you can't increase the sale price enough to make it worthwhile. If it is a keeper, leave it as-is or upgrade to your heart's content.

Johnny 831

Great advice! I'm gonna ride the hell outa it at least for the foreseeable future. I'm still undecided which route to go, ideally I would go 600 series (6400) but that is pretty pricy. For now Ima get it functional as hell, then figure it out as I go. I haven't been able to put in many miles yet as I've been super busy, but I got to ride for like 30 mins today before a huge storm came in. I have to say I think this bike is going to work out great. It's a little tall at 22.5 inches as I'm 5'6", but somehow it feels great. This is also my first indexing system bike. Pretty awesome actually. Got it dialed in and it shifts really accurately.

TugaDude

When you say it feels great when you ride it but it seems a little tall brings up a valuable point. On some frames you can throw stand-over height out the proverbial window. What would you rather have, a bike with stand-over clearance or a comfortable fit when riding? Sometimes you get both, often you don't.

I'm 5'11" and my most comfortable ride is a 60cm Miyata. Feels like it was made for me. Because I have a long torso and long arms, it just works. When I straddle the bike, the top tube is way up in my crotch. Since that condition only happens when I'm stopped, who cares. When I'm moving it is bliss.

So to me bottom bracket height and top tube length are at least as important or even more important than how it fits when you straddle it.

Find what works for you and dial in the fit.