cyccommute 

I consider the Epic to be the best dual suspension bike ever made. Stiff when you need it, squishy when you need it. I have two S-Works (one in Colorado and one in Tucson) as well as a spare frame. I got one for my daughter that was ugly green and we went so far to the dark side of ugly that we came out the other side. At home

Rachael right by Stuart Black, on Flickr

In its natural habitat

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

canklecat

Might be time to overhaul the Noisy Cricket. Probably hasn't been done since it rolled out of Waterloo, WI in 1993.

I think this was the earliest Trek 5900 monocoque crabon fibber frame, back when even carbon fiber forks were still curved - as bicycle forks should be, ya buncha heathens with your straight forks.

Early Chris King headset too, the NoThreadSet titanium. Still looks serviceable. But a gunky mess. Fortunately Chris King still supports their products. With luck I'll need only an O-ring seal, maybe

Fork felt fine in August when I swapped out the original Ibis titanium stem and Nitto B65LL drops for a shorter FSA stem and Omega compact drops. Much easier on my cranky old neck.

But the steerer felt grindy, just like my own neck, a few days ago. I've avoided rain rides but did get caught once in October. I've heard this particular fork was vulnerable. Overdue for servicing anyway.

Took a couple of days with penetrating oil before a gentle whack detached it.

Appropriately, this 1993 fork steerer is from the Grunge Era. Looks, feels and smells worse than teen spirit.

noglider 

I found this wheel at the bike coop. The hub bearings were seized. So were the spoke nipples. I overhauled the hub at the coop and then brought the wheel home.

Today, I removed all the nipples and spokes. I threw away the nipples. I scrubbed the spokes clean. They had been black with grime. I scrubbed the hub, which was also black with gritty grime. I lubricated the spoke threads and rebuilt the wheel. I didn't even know the spokes were stainless steel, but they look good now. The wheel built up really nice and straight and true, and the spokes felt new with the new nipples.





So this heap of junk wheel is transformed into a nice wheel, ready for years of service.

Jmpierce

I finished one and started another...

Before,



After,




On to the next one...


This is not really C&V

noglider 

Jmpierce, I like what you've done with that Trek. What bars are those?

"That chain" was not ours. I shot the picture in the apartment building's bike room where most bikes don't get used throughout the year. Our bikes there get used once a year.

UKFan4Sure

My new Voyageur....

Phil_gretz

It came with little details like spare spokes on the NDS chainstay and a chain peg. For my daughter's friend, it came in just under $240. It had the typical non-functional RSX controls.

Mad Honk 

Tom,
You are being way too nice to some youngster who will put that on a 10spd frame and deliver Jimmy John's on it. Smiles, MH

noglider 

Ha! It's for someone specific, though. I previously found a nice wheel for him at the coop, and he paid for it and took it home and then discovered it's 27" and not 700c. So I felt I owed this to him. He said I shouldn't go through the trouble of a wheel rebuild, but I did it for my enjoyment as much as for him.

mengruen

Overhauled a Suntour Vx derailleur as part of a complete rebuild on a 1981 Univega Viva Sport for my brother-in-law. I've only rebuilt Shimano RDs previously, so it was fun to note some of the differences!

verktyg 

First brand new bike built up from scratch in about 10 years.




verktyg

BFisher 

That blue is great! What crank is that?

verktyg 

New black and blue Ed Litton frame on my new frankenbike... Thanks.

175mm Grand Cru Noir Drillium 110 BCD 34x48T. Very nicely made. I bought it from veloORANGE...

https://velo-orange.com/collections/...et-34x48t-noir

verktyg

Jmpierce

I didn't really think you would let a chain get that bad.

The bar is an inexpensive Chinese made bar I got from Ebay.
FMF Aluminium Vintage City Urban bike Handlebar Cruiser riser bar 25.4*600mm
They are very comfortable.

ollo_ollo

[QUOTE=noglider;21272454]We are visiting my mother in law where we keep a couple of bikes for the one visit we make every year. Yesterday we took out our bikes, and Carol said there's some thumping going on. We stopped and looked, and her tire was ripping open right on the tread. So today I rode to the bike shop and picked up a pair of tires and put them on her bike.
Indeed, there was "Thumping going on"

xiaoman1 

This was posted originally in "Saved from the dump" but it belongs here.
I picked this up today and am going to repaint it....it has been repaired so a cleanup and perhaps some filing to clean up the weld. Good thing is that it's all there, no missing pieces that I am aware of...just really grungy! Chrome parts will be soaking in OC. while I give it a good wash.
It's super heavy duty and super heavy Merziac said it was originally designed for use on motorcycle wheels but I have seen old pics of them used in some Japanese factories to build wheels..it is marked TANAKA tools Japan so?
Anyway, I am happy to have this piece of history even with the repair.
Best, Ben

before the washdown.

3speedslow

Aint nothing wrong with that! Let the youngin’s Deliver the food, leave the paper to the rest of us!

mechanicmatt

This is awesome. It does look like a motorcycle trying stand however it also looks very similar to a VAR trying stand. You'll need a dishing tool if you don't have one to ensure your wheels are centered.

Super cool!!!

stardognine

Now that's cool. Do you have any wheel building experience. If not, you'll have to learn now. 👍

merziac

I meant it seems that they were used for both from early on and originally came from the motorcycle industry, I don't think they had lightweight ones to begin with and the heavy duty one would have been well suited for production work as you noted.

Obviously another history lesson to be had here, I saw the same stands in bike shops and motorcycle shops in the 70's although some bike shops had light weight versions instead.

BFisher 

The last step to servicing my Super Course, the removing the cottered cranks to get at the bottom bracket, and...



...success!
Well, mostly success. The drive side came out fine, but the other pin deformed a bit before popping loose. I saved it by knocking it back in line, rethreading the post to 7x1mm, and then tapping a nut to match.

Here's the spindle.


Note the lack of wear! The bottom bracket area inside was like new, just old hard grease. It's all back together and ready to go.

xiaoman1 

It's on My list of things to do...but excited not to have to leave the wheel mounted on the bike to do simple truing.

[QUOTE=merziac;21280463]I meant it seems that they were used for both from early on and originally came from the motorcycle industry, I don't think they had lightweight ones to begin with and the heavy duty one would have been well suited for production work as you noted.

Obviously another history lesson to be had here, I saw the same stands in bike shops and motorcycle shops in the 70's although some bike shops had light weight versions instead.[/QUOTE]



I think it cleaned up really well, the grease saved a lot of the original finish...maybe just leave the patina on and not repaint..thoughts?
Best, Ben


Although not completely gone the OC got most of the rust off the pieces/knobs that were chromed.

I will need to get some wing nuts and plastic washers for ease of use...the metallic paint worked wonders on the few galvanized/cad pieces (rod and conical holders.

martl

"wrenching" may be the wrong expression here, but i started to clean the leather wrapped bits on my Casati... (white is an unfortunate colour for outdoor sports equipment)

Before-aft pic from the handlebars

mechanicmatt

I think it cleaned up really well, the grease saved a lot of the original finish...maybe just leave the patina on and not repaint..thoughts?
Best, Ben


Although not completely gone the OC got most of the rust off the pieces/knobs that were chromed.

I will need to get some wing nuts and plastic washers for ease of use...the metallic paint worked wonders on the few galvanized/cad pieces (rod and conical holders. [/QUOTE]

I think it looks great. I also think it will look good either by a repaint or leaving as is. Love the colors underneath.

mechanicmatt

First, finally pulled out most of my packed away bike parts and started to get organized at my new house. Doesn't look like much but it was great to figure all the stuff I already own. Found out that I already had a set of chainrings that I recently bought.

Yesterday, this Dura-Ace derailleur attempted to kill me while I was test riding my Patrick Mahomie bike around. Broke off while I was standing and shifting.

Luckily because I had pulled out all those parts this weekend, I knew I had an old Shimano 600 derailleur that fit. It was the original to the bike, but it was super rusty and grimey. 30 mins with a wire brush and steel wool later and I had this. It's late when I took the pic but it's shiny and surprisingly works perfect with the 10spd drivetrain.

Current state, you can see why it's my Chiefs bike. Trued both wheels and cleaned the brakes for good measure after changing the derailleur.