Originally Posted by cyclecats

Without giving much background about the project, I told someone at a local bike coop about the Huffente the other day…sort of along the lines of “ There’s a thread on Bike Forums started by a guy who took a vintage Huffy frame and built it out with Campagnolo components.” They were aghast! I then explained the “ all in good fun” nature of the project, and the surprisingly good ride of the bike. I’ve really enjoyed following this thread, and loved seeing the grins on faces of people at the ride event, who “got” what the project was all about. The build was beautifully done and I loved the group effort.

Originally Posted by pastorbobnlnh

Echoing cyclecats --- Team LeGrande was all about the majority of us cheering AdventureManCo forward, providing him with insight and suggestions, applauding his successes, working through the failures, and giving him a standing ovation as he completed the ride--- even in a fit of hyperthermia!

---and along the way we all had some good-natured fun ribbing him here and there--- because--- it is A Huffy! Albeit a vintage C&V Huffy!

Originally Posted by SkinGriz

I tried looking through the posts.

What did you get the weight down to again?

Originally Posted by SkinGriz

I tried looking through the posts.

What did you get the weight down to again?

Originally Posted by AdventureManCO

So until then, I get to clean out the FD cable guide, repack the BB, re-grease the seat tube, pick out grit from the jockey wheels, try to replace nipples on the rear wheel (ughhhhhhhhhh) and stick a few small parts back in Evaporust (I'm thinking shifter clamp bolt and other small bits).

Originally Posted by AdventureManCO

That being said, there will be a 2.0 'arc' coming, and it is going to be extreme. The saga is not done yet. This is the intermission, and we need enough of an artistic pause to make the next one enter with a bang big enough to send folks into bicycle-related convulsions.

Originally Posted by cudak888

Originally Posted by AdventureManCO

Here is what it looked like for the 2nd half of the ride up to the aid/rest station that was 30+ miles in.






At this point, everything was soaked. Honestly, I feel dumb, because the jacket I wore ended being more 'windbreaker' energy, and less 'waterproof shell' energy. I had on several layers - base thermal, jersey, and then my jacket...sadly all soaked to the bone. On top of that, turns out I'm freakin' weak! Might have something to do with every spare hour and minute of time being consumed by my jealous, dumb bike, and zero time training, at all. By the time I was soaked, the road also became soaked, and see those deep tire treads in the road? It was like trying to roll through sand. Every single hill ended up becoming Mt Everest, and there were only like 30 of them. I found out an interesting technique where you push on your legs with your arms when your legs stop working! It worked, until your arms got tired, and then the legs turned to jello again.

1st part of the ride: 'No way am I walking the Huffy up any hills AT ALL. Noone is going to be able to say 'Ooooo look there's the guy PUSHING HIS HUFFY!!! Baahahahaha!'

Later on in ride: 'Okay, I'll just stop for some breaks here and there. It's not pushing if you are not moving, right!'

A little later: 'Okay my legs are jello and this 2% grade hill is insane and...well...if nobody sees me, did it really happen?'

And the final form: 'I don't care. I can barely move anyway'

To be honest, walking felt really nice at times...it gave my legs a different movement and that was welcomed.

So I finally made it to the rest area, and as soon as I stopped, my body just started shaking violently. Honestly it was embarassing, but it's not like I could help it! There were other guys shivering, too. But this was 'ugly' shivering, almost convulsing haha.

Thankfully, I found a bath towel stuffed under one of the food tables and draping it on felt like heaven.

So, as I'm sitting there shivering, I'm trying to stay upbeat, and smile at all the other guys, you know, positive attitude and all. And one of the other guys was just sort of done with it all, and was saying something like 'F this, I'm done with this'.

Then outta nowhere, this other guy that sounded Italian comes in and is like (sounding very Italian) 'Oh no no! This is nothing! Not bad at all! I did dis race couple years ago, and weather turned bad, much colder! We had riders go to hospital. One guy died, so not bad at all.


I'm like, what!!? Dude's are dying on your ride? What is this? Lol this is crazy!

So I start grabbing food just trying to eat as much as I can so that my body can make some energy. And then, as I'm sitting down, a guy opens up a car door, and is sort like 'Your turn!' I'm like, really?? I'll take that!

So I hop in the driver's seat to get warm, and it feels just insane...insanely good! And the car is packed with other riders as well. We are all completely soaked and its about 45 degrees outside (I thought it was at least 60).

So after a few minutes a guy comes over and motions to roll down the window.

'Hey, so can you drive?'

Uhh...yeah? I...think so?

'Okay, so you drive my car back to the start and take these guys with you.'


They had decided to close up shop. I don't know if it is because we were the last of the riders to really come through, but they had decided to close things down, and a lot of riders were really cold and really weren't able to ride the 20+ miles to finish out the ride. So, in a way, I guess I sort of had my fate decided for me.

Here's the thing - I think it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I don't think I would have been able to finish the ride, being completely honest with you. My body sort of just gave out, and I couldn't stop shaking for 45 min - even the whole car ride back in heated air. When we got back to the staging area (bout 30 min from the rest area), we got out and found another rider collapsing from the cold/exhaustion, so we helped him get to a car to get warm and rest a moment. And as soon as the air hit my, I couldn't stop the shaking...again! After that escapade, I drove back to the rest stop to pick up the Huffente, and then drove home.

It is humbling to admit that I couldn't hang for the entire thing, but I'm also feeling really grateful, because I found my limit, at least my limit at 45 degrees out in the pouring rain soaked to the bone. I'm good for about 30-35miles

It's also a little scary to think about if I tried to be macho and finish out the last 20 or 30 miles or whatever, in the condition I was in. I don't think I would have been able to make it, so it ended up being the smartest decision I made all day, to agree to drive those guys back. And none of it was the Huffente, it was all the 'motor'.

So, here is a quick synopsis of the day, win/fail style:

Fails:

- I'm weak
- inadequate clothing
- weather (rained all day)
- lack of any training whatsoever
- roads totally sucked
- I couldn't even open a granola bar
- dirty bike
- dumb water bottle holder

Wins:
- I'm in one piece!
- bike is in one piece!
- bike performed magnificently
- I got in a heated car
- got some good comments around the bike


That last fail, the water bottle. Yeah, so we started out riding, and not even 1/4mi into the ride, I almost crashed, I look down, and my water bottle holder (that single clamp-on style), is just falling over on the downtube. So I quickly yank it back up, and it starts falling over again. So I yank the bottle out and drink about 2/3rds of it to lessen the weight. It ended up trying to run into the cranks all day, and had to keep tilting it up over and over again.

Guys, the bike was awesome. It did great! The only super minor mechanical issue is that the Campy shift lever for the RD came loose and lost tension, so I just cinched up that D-ring on the fly and we were back in business. Bike was solid, stable, and fun to ride! I had it up to about 25-30mph on some of the downhills, and I was more worried about the roads than the bike. That Regina Oro though...I will never ever, ever think bad about anyone that pushes one of these old school drivetrained bikes up a hill ever again.

Speaking of the freewheel...it feels crusty. So, I washed the bike when I got home, but man o man...it got so dirty. I basically have to rebuild the bike again. Right now, shifters - disassembled. RD - disassembled. Stem is out. Seat and post is out. Wheels off, chain off and soaking. I shoulda shoulda shoulda put a nice ring of grease around the stem-to-headset area, the seatpost clamp area. I threw some CLP down the steerer tube and seat tube, around the brake mounts, FD & RD pivots, shifter mounts. Those fancy red jockey wheels got some mega wear on them.

So...we have another full day of rain tomorrow. Its raining right now. There is NO way that I'm going to ride this thing again out in the rain. I don't even know how they are staging the concours, but I'm real hesitant to just stick the bike in rain, dirt, mud, etc...not after I just cleaned it! W/ the leather seat and bar wrap...it can wreak havoc.

So right now, I have two options, and I'm not quite sure what to do. I can either bring both the Huffente and another bike, and slog it out in the rain on another ride on a different bike, or no ride and all and just do the concours. If I ride another bike, that bike is going to get a bit messed up, and I really don't want any of my bikes messed up! Any thoughts are appreciated. All my stuff is still soaked, including my riding shoes, and I don't really have any good wet weather riding gear anyway. Just...not sure.

Anyway, that was the day! We'll see what happens tomorrow!

Originally Posted by Het Volk

Hey - just noticed this post (been a while since I have been on the forums), and I was at this ride June 3 with you (I had the tomato red JamesFrames cross bike for this ride, which are in a few of your photos). I cannot stress this enough, but that was, without a doubt, the coldest I have ever been in my life. When I finally pulled up to my truck, and dismounted form the bike, I could not stop shaking uncontrollably. Even driving home was difficult, because I could not stop shaking as I was driving, even with the heat on.

In addition, my frame got effectively sand-blasted on the top tube, as I had a bag hanging from the top tube, and it would move around, and the sand got in between the straps and the tube and basically wet sand blasted the paint. I am not sure the best way forward to fix this (polish? A new paint job? ). So the fact you were able to get the bike back Sunday to showcase in such pristine condition was amazing.

Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel

MEGA clean, that is! Don't know if I've ever seen a grey saddle like that before.

Originally Posted by AdventureManCO

This came up for sale locally. Tempted. But...not the right one. We need something far more 'shock value' for our next project.

Originally Posted by Pompiere

I bought a Techtra from a garage sale for around $5 a few years ago. I had a used pair of Paselas that I put on and it actually rode okay. It was too small, so I couldn't really get comfortable. I scavenged the Araya rims and a couple other parts, then made it rideable and gave it to Goodwill.

late 1980's Huffy Tectra


I thought the grey seat wasn't that bad. That's coming from someone who rides a B17 right out of the box.

Originally Posted by pastorbobnlnh

I wish I had your Huffy parked at the end of the driveway..

Originally Posted by pastorbobnlnh

EGADS AdventureManCO !!! Have you ever read any of my freewheel posts!?! LeGrande deserves better!

Originally Posted by AdventureManCO

Sorry to have not responded yet - now that you mention it, I don't think I have!

Trust me, the ATF/Acetone juice is far better than what was in there, which was something more like WD40/grit

How does one rebuild such things? I like the freewheel...it makes the bike sound far more high-end than it actually is, so I'd prefer to keep it.