Narhay

I have been keeping a running tally of this one in the Ironman thread but I like having my own threads for posterity as I will look it up. Plus I like the attention.

The ad said race bike. I paid about market value for the frame and other than splurging on the tires I have been fairly restrained in putting this one back on the road. If I like the ride enough I may have other longterm plans for it...namely an R7000 group.

Other than a couple forays into the early and mid 80s, this is my first bike for myself from the late 80s. Indexed shifting, 7 speed freewheels, full suite of brazeons are new to me. I have wanted a bike like this for some time and it doesn't help that enablers like @RobbieTunes spout their accolades on the reg.







After I got it home.





More photos here:

https://imgur.com/gallery/OJgKaqu

Narhay

While tearing it down I found what could have been some cracks.



It turns out they were just touch up paint on rough brazing.



Polished and waxed the frame.



And sorted the wheels.











Cleaned some Suntour GPX parts too.

Narhay

Finished up last night and took some pictures today. Still some mechanical gremlins to sort out but this bike has fought me the whole time.

canklecat

Nice. I really like my '89 Expert. Got it last summer. First road bike I've had in more than 30 years. Gets comments on almost every group ride.

I have the original 13-24 Suntour freewheel and a SunRace 13-25, but I'm considering the SunRace 13-28 like you have. There are a few climbs around here where I could use just a little lower gear, even with the 39T smaller chainring I swapped for the original 42T.

That long stem on yours combined with the Scott Drop-In bars might be interesting for time trials or any long ride into stiff headwind. I had to switch to a shorter stem on mine to accommodate a nagging C2 neck injury. Not sure I could handle a longer stem even if it were more efficient.

The Golden Boy 

That GPX stuff looks pretty!

Narhay should take great pride in that bike!

Narhay

Took it for a shakedown.

First, the bad.

0% chance of overnight rain meant that as soon as I opened the door the streets were soaked and my beautiful clean bike became filthy almost immediately.
The friction downtube shifters....not my first time using them. I got better near the end but I never began to enjoy them.
The brakes or maybe the middling brake pads I put on there inspire no confidence
The drop in bars provide a decent width but otherwise I had no interest in placing my hands on the inner portion of the bars other than to test it out a few times.
The kmc quick link exploded near home. Maybe I didn't put it on properly but it didn't bother me again after resetting it.
Maybe it was the shifters but the whole experience was not awe or speed inspiring.
The one sided SPD pedals.

The good.

The saddle is alright and has titanium rails.
The shifting worked fine and smoothly for the most part. I will need to play with the front derailleur limit a bit.
The bike fits.
Nothing else broke after the quick link.

The verdict:
I'll need another couple rides before making a decision on my path forward.

dunrobin

Beautiful frame...sounds like some minor tuning to be done....better brake pads and/or shoes would help. Btw, white tape and seat make the frame colours pop.

seedsbelize 

I await your verdict. Mr.Tunes has been in my ear too. I am also interested in your take on the tires. I have tires on the brain these past few months.

Narhay

I have these tires in 28s on my 1972 Raleigh Professional. I think the 25s are a sweet spot for me. They have low rolling resistance and look great until you take them out in the rain and your brake pad residue and grit make the sides of the tires filthy. I would buy them again without question.

rseeker

Sweet ride. I like. My first real bike was a Centurion (not the Iron Man, but still a great bike) and you're making me nostalgic.

Classtime 

ollo_ollo

On the brakes: Paraphrasing Mr. Bugatti, he made his machines to go, not stop! Don

noglider 

As always, you've done good work. Definitely change the brake pads. You may not need to do much else.

Narhay

Thank you all for the nice comments.

The brake pads I could live with are about $20, the better kool stops about double that. For $40 I can get a new set of black Campagnolo Veloce dual pivots that include good brake pads...

ryansu

lovely resto!, (to self; Ryan you have too many projects you do not need an Ironman, stop looking at these threads!)

Giacomo 1 

I agree, nice frame.

Hope you get used to her. Friction shifting can be just a bit harder. My only problem is It keeps my right hand off the bars just abit longer while adjusting the gear, which fatigues my left arm that stays on the bar.

And yes, white saddle and bar tape and she is a real beauty!

canklecat

The original GPX brakes are fine. Just a bit position sensitive due to cable housing length. I just zip tied the cable housings to the bar and frame to hold them without the pads rubbing. Eventually I'll get around to cutting new cables/housings to the optimal length.

As good as Kool Stops are, I've found Jagwire black pads are just as good and cost a lot less. I've used both Kool Stop salmon and Jagwire black pads on one hybrid's V-brakes the the cantilevers on another. Can't tell a bit of difference between 'em in stopping power or wear.

Narhay

I got the indexing working on the suntour UL spaced freewheel. It works pretty well with only one triple shift out of sync for a second or two on this mornings ride. Brakes are also sorted to an acceptable level but they just aren't spectacular. Trimmed rear housing.

Overall pretty happy with the mechanical state of the bike.

I biked 33.7km at 26.8km/h with a couple stops for photo ops this morning bringing my total on the ironman close to 60km. I will replace the seatpost at some point as the counterweight on it is not coming off and has to add at least a few pounds. It is a hefty beast.

dunrobin

Here's mine, built up with a mix of campy 10, a zonda rear and 6800 front wheel. I've neglected riding this bike this year because of some newer, lighter builds. I took it out last week and it just felt right. Sprightly, springy, incredibly comfortable...I could easily have this as my only ride.
I'm busy painting this weekend but I can give you some fsa alloy brake holders with cartridges...I can meet sometime next weekend at Sunnyside pool...I'm in the west end.

zze86

Wow, you did and awesome job with that clean and wax job. It looks fantastic!

What's up with the counterweight thingy anyways? As in what was the idea behind that?

RobbieTunes

Other projects come and go. An Ironman shows up and you are into the light.

RobbieTunes

You are starting to get it....

canklecat

I'm betting it's an extension to enable a too-tall cyclist to ride a too-small frame. Between that seat post extension and the unusually long stem, I'd bet a previous owner was about 6'6" tall.

The seat post extension may be solid brass, bolted into the seat post, which may have a brass plug and anchor similar to that used in a quill stem to hold it tight.

Seems like a lot of trouble, but for someone who's unusually tall and can't find an affordable frame tall enough to suit him, it would make sense, especially if he had access to a simple machine shop or a friend who could fabricate the seat post extension.

Narhay

Some updates from the latest ride.

Latest ride was nice and dry.
Indexed shifters are great but the freewheel has limited range (13-23). Still enough for 95% of the terrain around here.
The brakes are still only ok. I ordered some new Clarks 3 compound pads.
The drop in bars were used a couple times this last ride.
No chain issues.
Added double sided SPD pedals at a weight disadvantage but functional improvement.
The saddle is still alright and has titanium rails.
The bike still fits.
Nothing else broke after the quick link.
Seatpost still feels like an anchor.

The verdict:
I'm going to change out a couple minor components (seatpost, tubes, skewers) for some weight savings and continue to ride it as is. Much better experience the second time around.

Narhay

Thanks that is very nice to offer. I ordered some new pads and seatpost so they'll be here in the next week or so. If you ever want to go for a ride let me know. Small kids make timing interesting but I make it work.