Fabreeze wipe will cure that. I've sprayed a buncha amps and it works every time !

The hubs arrived today. When was the last time you saw a brand-new set of Dura Ace 7100 large-flange, "Black Edition" hubs?

I'll leave it as it, the smell is nostalgic. My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all smoked. It was part of the life of those days. I never picked up the habit myself, and later on I began to detest tobacco. The guitar doesn't smell as bad as it did a few years ago, and when I play it, it reminds me a little of earlier days. I have a pretty good collection of guitars, but this old Les Paul has some magic in it.

Nitto Technomic stem arrived,




While hunting for parts I came across an entire Dura Ace 7100, Black Edition groupset. It includes the black Crane rear derailleur. The problem is that this groupset is still brand new. Taking them out of their boxes and actually using them seems almost like sacrilege.

I feel leaving them in boxes and not using is kinda like sacrilege.

More parts arrived today. More of the old Dura Ace 7100 black edition stuff. They have some box wear, but have never been used. I'm awaiting the rims, which are the period-correct Araya 700 WO type, after they arrive I can order the spokes and put together the wheels. The Pegasus bikes were usually assembled with European components, but here in Japan the Japanese stuff is easier to find, and less expensive. You'd choke if you knew how little I paid for these parts.

Way back in the late '80s I found a complete Dura Ace black group NIB for $200 in one of the shops I called on

Grownups all smelled like that.

I got the wheels assembled today. It's been a very long time since I last built a bicycle wheel. I suffered a few common missteps, but, miraculously, had my math right, and managed to order the correct spoke lengths. The online calculators don't list vintage hubs and rims. Next is rim tape, tires, and tubes. Out of curiosity, I fitted a whee/tire combo from a gravel bike, and found that 40mm tires fit, and still have some clearance. I'm not sure if I'll go that wide, but it's nice to know that it's an option. I don't like the gear range on the Suntour Perfect freewheel, I would prefer a 26t or bigger, if I can find one. I still need a seat post, yet another B17 saddle, cables, and a chain. I should have the bike on the road in a couple/few weeks.

Well done for building wheels after losing practice.

So glad no one talked you out of the frame

Rear derailleur arrived, not new, but not hideous.




The Dura Ace headset in black is pretty scarce, but I found a new Suntour XC Pro in black which will fit. Once I have the headset, I'll start putting together the bike. I'm selecting lighter weight components for this bike than I did for my last project (Nishiki Pro Tour), it won't make too much of a difference, but hunting for the parts is half the fun.

That Crane should handle a 14-28 just fine, and I'd bet that most of the 5 speeds in your co-ops bin 'o freewheels are 14-17-20-24-28. Even with the triple, as long as your big ring isn't ridiculous and you're willing to accept a slack chain in the 14/granny. My Fuji (which I'll have back next week!) runs a 45/42/30 x 14-26 no prob, and that's with the notoriously stingy 1st gen Suntour Superbe out back. (23t max, 23 wrap).

And what crankset is that, anyway? I've never seen a hidden-arm 50.4 before. Super neato.

--Shannon

That's just assembled wrong. OK not wrong exactly but suboptimal, since that sixth chainring bolt is harder to work on that way.
TA Pro 5-vis cranks, and clones like the one in this thread, have 5 ways you can attach the big ring to the crank, but only one of those is excruciatingly correct, the one that looks symmetrical and allows equal access to all 6 bolts where the inner ring(s) attach.

Visual aid:



.

The bike is up-and-running, but not without a few issues. I built up the 700c wheels, installed them, and even with 40mm Gravel King tires, still had good clearance. But then I found the wheels wouldn't align with the brake calipers, the brake bosses are set up for 650b wheels. I like the way the 700c wheels fit, there is still lots of clearance, and no toe overlap, so I don't want to exchange them for 650b. I tried using pad extenders on the cantilever brakes, and though I can align the pads with the wheels properly, braking leverage is reduced, meaning less braking power. I'll experiment with some mini v brakes and see if that nets me any improvement.

I will eventually install the Dura Ace 7100 parts, which will match the hubs. I found a medium cage to put on the Crane derailleur, and a 26t cassette. I also have a Suntour Superbe black and silver crank set, but am waiting on the correct bottom bracket.

The seatpost is a Suntour Superb NJS model, the headset is a Tange "Rinko." If the v brakes work out, I'll swap that out the Tange for the Dura Ace 7100. The bike is running an Ergon saddle until I get another B17.

I took the bike out yesterday, and between the steel frame and cushy tires, it rides beautifully.

Interesting, I didn't have the crankset apart, so I didn't have to put it back together. It's only on the bike temporarily anyway.

>> you're asking a bunch of addicts if you should have more

...if you should have just ONE more.
There, I fixed it.

And for a guy who buys a frame to build it up from his parts bin, there seemed to be a lot of "arriving" going on...

cheers -mathias

Yeah. Most of the parts on the bike now are things I already had, the only thing missing was the wheels. But when hunting for the wheels, I kept coming across other stuff which was too cheap to pass up. If anyone is looking for anything for 70's or early 80's Japanese bikes, let me know.

Today I got into the brakes, and machined the pad slots an extra 4 millimeters or so, this was enough to get the pads to line up on the rims, and now the brakes work well. An odd problem I ran into was the tires, which I think might be counterfeits. They have high and low spots, as much as 10mm out-of-round. I didn't notice it much yesterday as I was running the pressure a little low, and thought that I might have goofed installing them. But after a careful look, checking the tubes, removing, and remounting the tires, the rear has a noticeable bump, and the front looks like the tread isn't adhered staight. I got these online in Japan, I guess $40 for a brand-new pair of Panaracer Gravel King Slicks was too good to be true. Of course the seller has vanished, so there is nothing to do but buy new tires.

In my experience with Panaracer Gravelking tires when mounting you need to inflate to max pressure or even a bit higher to get the beads to fully seat on the rim. Before you discard them give them a spin and look at the bead seat line, you will probably see it dip below the rim in couple places. Once the tire pops into place lower to desired pressure. I have a Park tool for this that makes it easier, you grab the tire at the low spot and pull.

That was my first thought, as this isn't my first dance installing tires, I was gluing tubulars when Greg Lemond was still an amateur. The rims are not narrow, the tires went on easily by hand, I aired them up, let out the air, pulled on them, aired them way up, etc etc. The bead seat line is has the same space all away around the rim. The front is fairly smooth, but I can see the tread is not applied straight, it is wider in some points, and narrower in others. I've run Gravel Kings on other bikes, and have always been happy with them.

The trick that works reliably for me, had to do it just 2 weeks ago in fact, is dish soap as a lubricant between the rim and tire.
You have to let almost all the air out. Squirt some liquid dish soap on the tire just above the rim, then with a finger spread that down into the interface between the tire bead and the inner wall of the rim. Doesn't need much, but enough to get an even film all the way around. Flip the wheel and do the other side.

Unless the tire has a kink in the bead, from manufacturing defect or it got damaged somehow, this allows the tire to move to the place it wants to be, which is the same height relative to the rim everywhere. Still I wear ear protection in case it blows off the rim, but I have never done that despite working in bike shops for 30 years. I've been there when the next mechanic over did it, without warning anyone, and my hearing is probably worse thanks to those yayhoos, and I'm extra careful about hearing nowadays. Inflate until you hear the wonderful pop sounds the tire makes as it snaps into place.

After the tire is inflated you can wash the dish soap off the tire and rim. Of course some remains down in the tight interface, but that doesn't harm anything.

EDIT:
My bad, I missed the part where you said "The bead seat line is has the same space all away around the rim.". The dish soap technique probably won't help in that case, that's just a bad tire. Sorry to be a time-waster.

I appreciate your advice.

I don't like the Suntour Le Tech and Sugino triple crank, they are a bit overkill for this bike, and I wanted to use the Crane/Dura Ace components. I got this Superbe crankset, the black goes better with the the other components, and I found a new Micro Lite bottom bracket to go with it.



I installed a longer cage on the Crane derailleur, this should have enough capacity to run a 28t cassette, which should give me the gear range I need with a 2x drive line.

Then you have missed one of the truly great experiences of shop work. We usually had time to get a "whoa-whoa-whoa" out before the inevitable sonic treat. I was once interrupted by the boss with a question and turned to answer him while holding the wheel in my left hand and could feel the tire creeping off the rim under my palm. Could not drop it fast enough to prevent my fingers being forced to release grip. Ah, the good old days.