mechanicmatt

Awesomely done. Robbie

grayEZrider 

Here is a late pic of the tire clearance and brakes. I had forgotten what a PITA those '70s quick release mechs were. I swapped out the seat, bars and (adjustable) stem for comfort. Which the 10 mile test run today displayed after dropping the tire pressure to 75 psi. Handles very well on pavement. Looking for a break in the weather to get the finish mileage in. Being stuck with the 13/28 Suntour freewheel I used a 39/45/52 Shimano 600 triple with the Suntour FD. Not ideal for these hills, but hey I'm supposed to be in training right? And the YMCA gym is closed of course.

delbiker1 

I started to rebuild my challenge bike this afternoon, 2006 Schwinn Super Sport DBX. I already had it completely torn it down before the challenge was proposed. I had been thinking of stripping it to bare metal and doing a DIY spray job on it, or selling it. I put those options on hold. As stated in my earlier post for clarification on the Challenge rules, I do have to change the cables and the headset bearings, but I already had those on hand. The headset still has issues with new bearings, I know one of the seals was shot and I do not have a replacement. Also the cups are not in all that good of condition. I have it re-installed on the bike, but the steering is just ok, a bit stiff. If I reduce the pre-load any I get play between the steerer and the headtube. I think it will be ok to get in the 50 mile, multi-surface ride.

Teardown process

Totally down to bare frame and fork

The components

Rebuild process as of this afternoon. Should be ready to go tomorrow. Total washout day called for with heavy rain and wind.

Classtime 

I found some old brake cables (definitely not stainless), lubed them up with grease and tri-flow before sliding them into some questionable housing that was just long enough. I took a file to the barrels on some salvaged shifter cables and voila--Huret compatible. The other pieces seemed to go together well enough, and with some worn out, ready for the trash GP4000s, I went for a test ride. 6 blocks away, the handlebars slipped and I circled back for the 7mm hex. The light turned green, and as I started across, there was a pop and a ping and the handlebar clamp bolt head had popped off and the bars were useless and I walked the remaining few blocks to the garage. Off for test #2 and 3 blocks away, the Grand Prix saddle loosened up on the SR 2 bolt Campy clone. (The saddle rails are not nearly parallel where I had it set.) back to the garage for my Brooks and went for a 3 mile test without additional mishaps.



Not quite ready for 50 mi. of mixed surface riding.

jackbombay

7?!?!? SEVEN?!?!?!

I have one, but I've never used it on a bicycle, the top end of some struts on the front of some cars is the only thing I know of that I've used it on.

As for me and 50 miles of mixed surface, NO WAY!!! too much snow here currently, but I will have a second bike assembled soon, all from parts I had before the quarantine.

Ottomotion

Will sand and add a second coat tomorrow.....then start assembly

Classtime 

7! I contacted the seller about a stuck stem and post and he told me the post was free but he needs a tool to check the stem. Three months later, I just drove up with my own tools. Wtf? I had nothing that fit. I took a chance, brought it home, and used my 7mm socket. That socket is dangerous and I should get a 7mm alien key.

mechanicmatt

What size tires do you think can fit on there? I may have a little bit thicker set I could send you, you in Tennessee somewhere?

grayEZrider 

I could actually get 35c on there. But I'm about ten miles east of Sparta Tn and the two gravel road sections I will use are so steep I'm forced to ride at a walking pace, so it should be OK. Hey if it was easy anyone could do it right?
You know I will be carrying a full tool kit and spares!

Classtime 

I think it is ready. My commuting has been postponed to at least May 1 so I took the 25mm Gatorskins off my commuter for the Quarantine Challenge. SPDs are within the rules. I'm looking forward to experiencing the depression era handlebar tape: It is one inner tube split in two. I have no idea how long this stemless tube has been hanging in the corner of the garage--Made in Germany. It is very nice rubber.


Quarantine Grand Jubile

Continental brand Handlebar Tape

Lascauxcaveman 

Hmmmmm... should I?



(1993? Nishiki Cornice - by Ritchie Cunningham)

I'd forgotten I owned this frame, until the day before yesterday, when we upgraded our internet connection so our older daughter - a school teacher - could do remote class sessions from our home. Courtesy of you-know-what. Out with the old DSL modem; in with the new ADSL modem, move the Nishiki down to the bike shop, leave the rest of the piles of junk in situ...

Should I?

r0ckh0und 

This is my project, should I choose to accept it. I bought this at the Madison swap about 2 years ago. I seem to remember it having a dent in the main triangle but can't locate it at this time. Pictured today as purchased. I should be able to overhaul with stuff I have on hand currently.

Update; Stripped off all the extras, rack, mirror, bar tape, bottle cages, etc. I'm guessing this is a mid 90s RB-T from the cartridge BB and 7 speed drive train. Crankset is 175mm, I have something I can use but would be happy to trade my 175 for a 170 RX100 road triple.

delbiker1 

Other than a last check on everything, my challenge bike is ready to go. I put the original Ritchie Biomax handlebar and Ritchie Pro adjustable headset, back on the bike. It now has a left side 4400 shifter and right side 4500. The FSA crankset, brakes, front derailleur, bb and wheelset, are all original. Rings are FSA 110 BCD, 48T amd 36T, and the rear derailleur is a Deore, which replaced the original Tiagra 4400 after a fall. I replaced the bearings in the headset, but it needs total replacement. It is on the bike and it is a bit stiff, but I think it will be OK for the 50 miles.

Near finished with rebuild.

Justs needs a final pre-ride check, then ready to go.

CO_Hoya 

I'll give this a shot.

Saw this pic in an ad last winter and couldn't say no:


And here's how it looked when I got it home:


Condition is worse than the above picture would indicate: rust, dings, bleaching of the black anodization. It's been hanging on a peg for over a year now, so maybe now is the time.

I'll update if / when progress is made.

mechanicmatt

..but my bike is done-ish. Beautiful weather past couple days. Needs bar tape, which I'm wondering if I should do or not, the handlebars are kind of skinny for my liking long term. Rides pretty fun though. Now I just need to create a ride for this. Almost every part is Suntour, kinda cool.

jackbombay

That bike looks GREAT!!!!!

What size tires?

mechanicmatt

700c x 42's. They were too wide for another build. Bought like 5 months ago. BF members suggested. Fit great on this bike! I was going to take more pics at some point. Rides really nice.

MrK.

Here is my victim. Late 80's Haro Extreme. It is going to be a real eclectic bin build. Should have it on the road in a few days. Excuse my mess.

merziac

Well here's the bike, had 99% of the parts on hand before the challenge and the one main part I got after the challenge started was the HS spacer that gugie was generous enough to supply gratis, tx for that.




We'll see about the miles, very mixed is likely a no go but with 32's it could be doable.

Rollfast

Unfortunately the challenge has become getting the neighbors to keep from parking in front of the dumpster and hindering pickup.

CO_Hoya 

Re-anodization via Sharpie:


Not much progress yet:


It's not going to go well if I don't have the correct spokes to build some wheels. I guess that's my next task.

sykerocker 

How about the "Getting the Goddam Flying Pigeon to Ride More Than Five Miles Without Puncturing the Rear Tube" challenge?

Right now, that's the main job in the new shop while I bead blast burned tools and slowly start to amass a parts department.

nlerner

Okay, got out for about a 24-mile jaunt on the Jeunet. Lovely weather in the Boston area today, sunny, low 60s though a bit windy.

This path runs along the muddy river, just about a mile from my house:



I headed to Arnold Arboretum, which had lots of people tooling around. It has two hills to climb. Here’s the first:



And the second with a view of downtown Boston:



Eventually I made my way to the path that runs along the Charles River; this is a falls in Watertown:



Early in the ride my Sturmey Archer gears got out of whack, and I realized that the cable guide on the seat tube was slipping. The clamp is slightly too large for the metric seat tube, so I shimmed with what I could find on the ground: a chunk of what looks like cigarette filter:



Probably not a long-term solution as it’ll act like a little sponge and create excellent conditions for rust to form. Here’s the tale of the tape. A bit more than 1k feet of total climbing, and by the last mile, my bars had loosened in the stem clamp and my wrists hurt from the bar angle. Hmm.

Wildwood

NO!!!
You should finish that customized Bianchi Limited and show it off.

....or did I miss a thread?

MrK.

If Mad Max had a bike....

I should get extra points for ugly.
The XT crankset is pretty worn out. It appeared in my bin. I'm pretty sure my son dropped it off as a take off from the bike shop he works at. The front derailleur is a crappy Shimano off I don't remember what. I had to grind the band a little because it wants to land exactly on a bottle boss. Even then the chain drags the cage a little when on the small ring-small cog. It does not have enough swing to get to the big ring but might if I put all the shims on one side not sure I'm going to worry about it. Brake levers came on an old Fuji. Wheels, tubes and Dura Ace barcons I bought for my drop bar conversion which I took apart built back the way it came and gave away. Sora rear derailleur, chain and 8 speed cassette came on a Bikes Direct cross bike I bought back in about 2010 when I got back into bikes. Tires came on the Worksman newsboy bike you can see hanging on the wall in my original post on this thread (#43). Bars came off a 3 speed Panasonic city bike that I bought for my wife. I originally robbed them for my Klunker project (my Klunker still has the stem). The post and saddle was on a Cannondale MTB my son had. It is literally an ass hatchet and the post requires a beer can shim to make it work. Thought about swapping a better combo off one of my other bikes but decided to keep it in the spirit of the challenge. Pedals came on a KHS bike I bought on eBay. I think they are both supposed to be orange but one is brown. The Haro Team Extreme frame with rear XT u-brake is (was) my sons. Derailleur hanger was, of course bent. He abandoned it in my workshop a few years ago. The front fork came with another Haro Impulse frame I bought a few years ago but just didn't like.. The front cantilever brakes are mismatched but work surprisingly well . Right side is XT left is Exage 400LX. Stem came off a Fuji Tahoe MTB I bought to fix up for my wife. Seatpost clamp came off a Next hybrid I had to take as part of the transaction for the Tahoe I just mentioned. Two of the four cables as well as both brake straddles are used. BMX grips I cut the end off then split to get over shift cables then taped up with electrical tape. If I had a set of 700c wheels I could have built a beautiful Columbus tubed Canopus I bought from a member here. It rides pretty good. Did about 8 miles on it today mostly on country black top but also including a quarter mile on a lane through the woods. Sorry for all the lay down pics, for the first time ever I could not find a tossed beer can to stand it up with.