Nemosengineer 

You would think handlebars, levers, and a stem would not be a big deal, I have obsessed over this decision for this build for much longer than I care to admit. The Serotta is a restomod and my personal opinion is the cockpit should reflect the period the bike was built in, so a Brooks Swallow saddle (more or less timeless) perched on a Campagnolo post, Cinelli XA stem clamped to 3ttt Superleggero Giamondi bars with Campagnolo Record levers, so roughly 83-84 with cables flying in the breeze. The restomod part begins below the top tube. So enough yaken lets get on with the photos...

Untitled by nemosengineer, on Flickr

Untitled by nemosengineer, on Flickr
Untitled by nemosengineer, on Flickr

: Mike

merziac

Great combo, I just added another set of 3ttt's to my stock, not Giamondi's I think but makes 3 sets I have at present.

capnjonny 

Just finishing up a Miyata 914 that I found in the attic at the Bike Exchange as a frame/ fork. Dug up a 105 groupset from our various boxes of parts and a Modolo bar and stem. Just finished routing the cables through the frame and bars and need to go to the shop Wednesday to get a spacer so I can use a 7 speed cassette on the aero spoke wheels I grabbed. Pics when finished.

Pastor Bob just sent me decals he made me for my 1948 Schwinn New World. I pulled the frame down from the ceiling where it has been drying and gave it another coat of Burgandy paint . Another 2 or 3 weeks and I will put on all the decals, then clear coat with 2 part clear. It's going to be a stunner.

Burning Man is just around the corner and I have been getting ready, New front end on my old Pick up, Cleaning out my 1966 Shasta Compact trailer, tuning up my playa bike and my E zip Electric bike. preping a new heavy duty shade structure, making lists of food, clothing etc.

8/3/23 here are some pics of the 914. I did a quick and dirty repaint on the black frame/ fork.Wet sanded with 1500 then masked off the decals and sprayed a few coats of Rustoleum black enamel, pulled the tape , and sprayed everything with clear. didn't make the chips go away but with the black paint it looks great from 3 ft away. I didn't think 28's would fit. They rubbed the brakes before the cables were installed but once the cables were adjustet I had at least 1/8" clearance.

VintageSteelEU

Looks like a Weinmann workshop here now. Yes, none of these are especially funky, high grade. But one thing I appreciate about Weinmann is that many of their brakes were very light, no-nonsense and functional. Simple as knife and fork and easy in maintenance. They also tend to polish nicely and end up looking quite decent. Still work better than Campagnolo Delta and actually stop the bicycle ;P Sorry, Campy tends to be an easy target for mockery

The 605 single pivots are complete now and ready to use. I will be pairing them with Weinmann AG Carrera #185 levers as these are slightly better than 605's. Though have to say I actually love the look of the grooved 605 better. So perhaps the jury is still out on this one
With all the hardware, pads etc. they went up to 310g per set, so not too bad. Comparing these with Weinmann AG Carrera photos I've seen, these calipers are nearly the same as early Carrera ones. The finish quality is not as nice, but other than that, it's essentially the same design. They did improve them in the early 80's, but I don't think the asking prices for those are that reasonable, so for the time being, I think these 605's will do just fine.
The other sets are immortal Vainqueur 999. One set is 610, one is 750 and one is mixed (610 front and 750 rear). I still need to complete some hardware for those (washers, some cable clamp bolts and some brake pads), but for now all is stashed away in a box. These will be only used if I have some bicycles to fix up and give away or something. Probably should hunt for some levers to go with these, especially the flat handlebar ones.



Next in the pipeline: Bianchi branded, 32H Maillard 700 hubs I just got delivered. They look fabulous, but I can feel some resistance and crunchiness when turning the axles in both of them. It looks like they've never been opened or adjusted, so it's time for an overhaul. I think I still have some grade 10 bearing balls left. I will be lacing these to Ambrosio Excellight at some point for a lightweight clincher wheelset build.

JaccoW

I found the Focus Adventure rack earlier this year and I wanted one for my Koga-Miyata Graveller. The German webshop that originally sold them did not ship outside of Germany unfortunately.
However, Bike24 had them in stock earlier this week (and also ships to a wide variety of countries) so I ordered it on a whim.

No actual riding impressions just yet but it seems like a solid piece of kit and should work on most bikes, as long as you have fender/rack mounts and a place to bolt a fender to at the seatstays.
I had to do some minor adjustments like bending the strut but all in all it was a 30 min job and will help me carry more water or more gear in the future. Most likely I will add a 1.5L/48oz Nalgene bottle to one side and my tent to the other side.

2cam16

Started the disassembly of the freebie Sirrus. Loving the color even more after giving the frame and fork a wash. Can't wait to polish and wax it. The tri-color pedals it came with should look good too after a clean up and polish.
IMG_4065 by 2cam16, on Flickr
IMG_4059 by 2cam16, on Flickr
IMG_4060 by 2cam16, on Flickr
IMG_4061 by 2cam16, on Flickr
IMG_4062 by 2cam16, on Flickr

tombc

needs grips but i think you get the idea. Not quite vintage, just dated. but may be seen as a classic someday.

noglider 

@Nemosengineer, Mr Bill! Oh no!

noglider 

My commuter bike, a 1974 Raleigh International, had Nitto mustache handlebars since 2015. I decided they’re not right for me. @ascherer said I should try these old Randonneur bars. Yesterday after work, I took them to the bike coop in Brooklyn, hoping that having all the tools on hand would make it quick and easy. It didn’t, because I ended up helping two people work on their bikes. I can’t give up the opportunity to teach when it arises. I didn’t finish the job on my bike, but it’s safe and working. I need to replace the brake cables, re-tape the bars, adjust the lever positions, etc.

New handlebars always make it feel like I have a new bike. I have a tall stem with a short extension, and that makes sense for mustache bars. Now I’m more upright than I’m used to. I’ll take some time to decide if I want to change the stem. Maybe this is best for me, now that my back is so stiff and weak. I just got home from work, and I am definitely less fatigued than I was with the low-slung bars. But I know I rode more slowly because riding fast while so upright doesn’t come naturally to me. Ideally, I will look for a sweet spot, but it seems tricky.

ascherer 

I’m glad you didn’t rush into that decision!

2cam16

What bars are those and do they come in silver or black? Thanks!

tombc

Got them here

https://fortnine.ca/en/moose-7-8in-c...teel-handlebar

Canadian webstore but surely available elsewhere!

seedsbelize2

I've been wanting to get the 79 Trek 930 back on the road. The last few times I rode it, it felt odd in the back end. Like a cracked DO, or a cracked something else. I didn't find anything and hung it up anyway
This morning I put together a nine speed rear wheel and crammed it into the dropouts and then grabbed the first front wheel I cane across. Tubular. I hope to test ride it in the evening coolness or, failing that, the morning coolness tomorrow. And, if the seven speed rear on the Paramount fits, I'll trade it for the nine speed on the Trek. Trek dropouts measure 124mm and somewhere around here is a wheel built specifically for it.
I almost forgot. I was getting those results while riding low tire pressures. Both are currently pumped up to 100 psi. Vamos a ver.
Addendum: That back wheel was missing a spoke, and was wrapped in Velox rim tape. I didn't want to pull it off, so punched a hole in it with an awl from the woodshop, and then taped over it with electrical tape. Again, vamos a ver

VintageSteelEU

In preparation for a lightweight clincher wheelset build I was looking at various rims and hubs and decided to eventually go for Amrosio Excellight as good quality rims that are probably one of the lightest clincher rims available right now. As much as I'd like to keep everything period correct, it's not that easy to find new old stock rims and also modern rims are, generally speaking, better (except for Mavic, which seem to be getting worse with each generation). When it comes to the hubs though, I decided that since I want to go for 6 speed freewheel, I could stay with late 70's - early 80's hubs. Of course, that led to some problems, as Excellight come only with 28 or 32 spoke holes and 32H hubs were not generally that popular back in that era. Bicycle the wheelset is going to be for originally came with Maillard hubs and I was lucky to find a set of Bianchi-branded set of Maillard 700 32H hubs from the late 70's. I bought them as used and in need of servicing. They certainly have been laced to a rim before, but when I opened them, I found out they are almost new or barely used. No trace of any wear on the cups and cones.
The rear one was filled with old grease which dried out to a consistency of tar or adhesive, no wonder the axle spinned with a lot of resistance. Someone probably attempted to overhaul the front one at some point, because grease was alright in that one and different from the rear and the axle didn't look like a MAillard one, but cones were too tight. Both hubs were thoroughly cleaned, packed with Mobil XHP 222 and despite the old bearing balls being perfectly OK, I decided to replace them with some grade 10 ones I had in the parts box. Nice and smooth now. I just hope the XHP 222 is going to be OK for the plastic dust caps, but these can also be replaced and metal ones can be cannibalised from pretty much any Maillard hob out there.
I also converted them both to solid axles. This is mostly because solid axles + track nuts are lighter than than hollow axles with skewers and also to make possible wheel theft slightly more time consuming. Though it seems the one I used for the rear is bent ever so slightly (and it was the only one I had at hand), so that will have to be replaced. Looks like I also run out of proper track nuts, so that's on the shopping list. Thankfully, I'm not going to use them over the next couple of months. Looking forward to building that wheelset though.



All seems good, packed with sticky grease though

I don't know what kind of grease this is, but definitely not anything you want inside bicycle hubs

New grease, new bearing balls, new life

So shiny! So smooth!

That was yesterday though. The next project is already being planned. Some time ago I got a decent deal on a used MA40 wheelset. I was only really interested in the rims and using them on my daily commuting bike (hopefully the wheels arrive soon and the rims are in good condition) and will be lacing them to Shimano hubs I have. The rims, however, come laced to two Campagnolo Athena (8sp) hubs. Which gave me an idea of using them to build a wheelset for a mate of mine as his birthday is coming soon. His bicycle has 10sp Campagnolo (Chorus / Veloce mix, I think) drivetrain. The problem is, the wheels he has on that bicycle are completely unsuitable for him. Firstly, it's a heavy, hybrid bicycle. With a rack and panier bags. With a rider who weighs around 90kg himself. The wheels are both 28h in a weird, sporty pattern, so in short, they are totally unsuitable for what that bicycle is meant to be used for. Ages back he managed to loose a spoke at the rear as well as get the rim cracked and the bicycle now is not getting any use and slowly rotting away. So I decided I'll build him a proper set of heavy duty wheels. Honest, 36 spokes each, 3 cross laced, as they should be.
The rear hub on the wheelset I'm waiting for has the freehub and axle missing. So I found a possible donor, Campy Veloce 9sp. I think this should take the 10sp Campy cassette (smallest cog 12T) currently on that bike. That again, was bought on the cheap in need of service. Quite a chunky one too, at 400g, but weight is not important with this project.
Today I opened it and cleaned everything. Gave the shell a bit of a polish too and it actually looks quite nice now. Looks like everything is in decent condition, so if the transplant to Athena proves impossible, I can always pack the Veloce with grease and build the rear wheel on that.

Got to say, I like the quality of the materials. Cups and cones are in very good condition and everything seems to be well made. What I'm not sure I like is the drive side bearings being somewhere in the middle of the axle (ok, I know, there's an additional cartridge in the freehub, but I'm just not used to such design). And also the proprietary axle design. Should something go wrong and I had to replace an axle in a hub like this couple of years down the line, I might as well just toss the whole thing out as the part will very likely not be available (or cheap). I'm also not sure about using Alu for the freehub body of a hub that's not exactly meant for the professional racers. Certainly an interesting design, but I'm not sure I follow the Campy engineers design philosophy. Which is fine, the thing will still work as intended, probably for quite some time.



Ready to be dissected

All nice and clean

jdawginsc 

I think it looks pretty cool!



1 ring + guard

Looks pretty zippy!

4 color palette

gaucho777 

I just finished the first draft of my Motobecane Grand Jubilee project. These aren’t the tires I plan to use. I have some 34mm gravel tubular tires I plan to use instead. However, I wanted to see what the bike would look like with tanwalls before I glue on the other tires. These are 28mm, and imho they kind of look puny with this frame’s generous clearance.

Nemosengineer 

Just beautiful, sir you hit the mark.
: Mike

Nemosengineer 

Swag...

Untitled by nemosengineer, on Flickr

: Mike

gaucho777 

gaucho777 

I was 11, turned 12, living in SoCal, during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Watching Alexi Grewal win gold in the ‘84 Olympic Road Race is what sparked my interest in road cycling. Years later, as a 16-year-old jr. racer during the Whiskey Creek Stage Race in Mammoth, CA, my teammates and I were enjoying an evening post-race hot tub at the small hotel when Alexi joined us. It was just a few teammates and Alexi. I think this was ‘89 or ‘90. He was on the Crest/Cannondale Team at the time. It was the night of the penultimate stage and he had been penalized (maybe even disqualified?) for getting caught throwing a punch at another rider earlier that day. We talked about his time with 7-11, European racing, doping (paraphrasing…” they even have pills to keep you warm”), and of course the ‘84 Olympics. Highlight of my youth.

VintageSteelEU

Absolutely beautiful. I'd be tempted to put black drillium chainrings on that Stronglight (mostly because I have them and they look great on silver crankset), but she looks perfect the way she is. It doesn't help my fixation on getting a black stem or getting whatever I'm going to use anodised (though the latest idea was to get the sides engraved and fill the grooves with black enamel).

SoCaled 

Mis-matched old tires on the Raleigh Competition GS I just bought.



Had some new 32mm from an auction score


They were judging my tire swapping technique through the whole process!


Tires swapped - no rhyme or reason to labels/stem relation - they were right to judge

Dirt Road Blues 

Well, it ain't "wrenching" exactly, but there are wrenches involved, and a vintage pin cushion. So hopefully this post isn't too outta bounds?

I've been wanting to try my hand at sewing up an under saddle tool roll for quite a long time. Finally giving it a go!

Desert Ryder

This project has been on the back burner for over a year. I'm finally able to get around to the brake issues on my GT STS DH.
Original vintage Formula brakes.The front and rear caliper pistons were stuck and wern't moving. I got the front broken free and now am able to bleed and get a good feel. The rears are still stuck in place.
I've removed the caliper and am going to try using compressed air at work to get the piston to break free.
Would it be better to get a fitting screwed on and use brake fluid and a syringe? Any other suggestions?

Here's what I'm working with....

georges1

Maybe mail directly to Formula who can give you the maintenance with those disc brakes model