retrodude

Nice work, I'm impressed, wish I had the welding ability myself.

victorm

victorm

Well frame is away getting blasted and powder coated so not much to do. I figured I have a little time here and there I can get some of the parts up to snuff.

unworthy1

this thread kills me cause there's a Rascal I walk past in my 'hood that was U-locked around the top tube, still has the one-piece stem and bars, but bike thief trashed the TT trying to pry off the U-lock!
It's like he was gonna break the frame in order to win his battle with the lock, and he did not do either but got the wheels and seatpost/saddle...such a shameful state he left that Klein in.

victorm

I’d love to get that one stem bar combo. Bike theft is now a great fear of mine when I go out. A lot of me goes into these bikes I restor. No matter what they are worth or not worth there is a ton of work and pride which has no price.

victorm

victorm

Got these off a Rocky Mountain Fusion that I flipped thirty years old but after a little scrub and rebuild of the hubs they are like new and beautiful

victorm

The rubber on the rims are Bontrager Connection Trail 26 x 2 set up tubeless. If anyone can chime in on these I don’t know if they are any good but do look decent

victorm

I do have a question regarding the reinstall of the bottom bracket bearings. Can someone tell me if the shaft gets loctite 638 to the bearing? Hope that make sense. I think I will put one bearing on the shaft the slide that into the bottom bracket to where it needs to go then slide the other bearing on from the other side. My apologies for the crude rendering.

randallr

Yep, it does, but I think it was normal to use a press to assemble it. And chain line is an issue in the final axle position, of course.

mechanicmatt

Those brake levers and thumbies are some of the best of all time.

victorm

Yes I hear chain line can be a bugger. Non drive side bearing was flush and drive side bearing was inset 3mm. Shaft shows old bearing position so that should go well…….I hope

ShannonM

If your powdercoater hasn't started your frame yet, tell him to wait.

Some aluminum frames have a post-welding heat treatment that the heat of powdercoating can somewhat undo, leading to a significant-but-unknowable loss of strength and durability. I know that Cannondale frames are not supposed to be powdercoated for exactly this reason, and Klein may well have the same restrictions. It certainly wouldn't surprise me.

It's also entirely possible that the differences are mostly theoretical, and Cannondale put that warning out as a CYA. Plus, a '91 Klein MTB frame isn't as scary-thin as the later Trek ones, let alone 'Dale's CAAD frames.

That said, I wouldn't do it. A head tube weld failure while honking at speed would be ugly. I pulled a stem out on a BMX bike once... the crash happened so fast that I missed it. (The event, not the ground. That, I hit.)

--Shannon

repechage

I would inquire as to the baking temp and time of the powdercoat
and in any method, mask the inside of the bottom bracket and clip seat.
( if it has one)

I Hooked my brother up with a Klein Top Gun way back. Before the Whap from the movie studio

retrofit

Yes, Klein frames are "heat treated, to create a uniform, and therefore stronger, grain structure and to eliminate any weaknesses or stresses from the welding process." -- 1990 Klein Catalog

ShannonM

In that case, and especially with a 1991 frame, I wouldn't powdercoat it. In fact, I wouldn't powdercoat any aluminum frame that came from the factory with a wet paint job. And I'm not anti-powder... my '85 Fuji is powdercoated a flat desert sand, and I love it. (Except that it shows grease like dandruff under a blacklight.)

--Shannon

victorm

So I was travelling on the weekend to a larger city and found myself in a thrift shop. First time I’ve seen a thrift shop with bikes in it. None of the bikes were anything interesting but I did score this Avocet Gelfex saddle for $8 canadian. May end up on the Rascal. Your thoughts?

retrofit

Perfect! What a great find. I happen to have an Avocet M20 GelFlex saddle on my 1988 Pinnacle.

victorm

got some M730 formerly on an 89 Gary Fisher. These will need a little attention but will clean up really well.

repechage

Ok but the foam and or gel may deteriorate quickly. Time will tell

ShannonM

You might be surprised at how long SPENCO gel lasts. I had an M20 that I got out of a parts bin for a campus-bike build in about '04. When last I saw the bike, in 2014 at my ex-in-laws vacation house on the Colorado River outside of Yuma, the gel was still pliable, despite having spent several years in an outside storage closet as the get-around-the-resort / bar bike. The lycra covers do get loose and floppy... I reattached mine with some 3M spray adhesive and it stayed put, albeit with light use.

--Shannon

victorm

repechage

in general, there is a thin layer of polyurethane foam between the lycra cover and the gel, and closed cell padding under that. that top layer oxidizes and deteriorates, the top reason for "floppy" or baggy covering.
Adding any spray adhesive is short tem, short use at best. The solvents in the adhesive accelerate the foam deterioration. (just like if you try to fix a foam backed automotive headliner this way)
I have recovered a few saddles, new covering, skived back leather, new foam layer 1/8" auto "headlinner" foam, buy orts from an automotive upholstery shop.

victorm

well it’s frame reveal day. I tried to stay true to the original color scheme. Basically the pink has been replaced by the green.Still needs to cure for a bit before I can wax and polish and start to build up. Fade turned out pretty good for my limited experience and equipment consisting of spray cans. Kawasaki green with semi gloss black and purple. Fork has been powder coated high gloss black.

bOsscO

Oooooh La La