I got some white housing for it, but after installing it i realized yellow would have been better. still need a proper stem (I have bars..just not on the bike, no 26 stems on hand) and hubs...and I could probably use one of my more period-correct seats, but I kinda like the one that's on it. The Garmin goes from bike to bike & it's not vintage at all.

From this:



To this:







The frame is Vicious Cycles Metal Guru, their XC race frame. This one is made from Ritchey Nitanium. As you can see, the paint is trashed in the before picture. I carefully masked off everything, and did the best match I could with stock Krylon colors. It looks pretty ok from 5 feet back A powder coat may be due in the future if I end up liking it.

-Shimano Deore front disc brake
-Kona P2 fork
-Specialized front disc hub with Mavic rim
-Chris King headset
-Shimano STX crankset
-Race Face big ring
-Magura Hydraulic rear rim brake (pretty powerful!)
-Weinmann rear rim with CODA hub
-Deore thumb shifters
-STX rear derailleur
-XT front derailleur

My 1991 GT Tequesta that I acquired for $15 off CL last month. It was covered with dried mud and grease and appeared to have been left outdoors for some time. Tires were dry-rotted, seat cracked, dork disc yellowed from UV. The BB had play, so did one pedal, and the headset was only finger tight.

BEFORE:



Tear-down revealed the front Suntour hub had pitted cones. The rear Suntour freehub was OK, but both rims had sidewall wear. So, taking T-Mar's advice, I substituted a set of Shimano 7-speed wheels I had with low mileage. It took some fine tuning, but I managed to get the Accushift gear to work with the Shimano HG 13-30t cassette. Other changes include a new KMC Z50 chain, a new saddle, swapping in a Suntour X1 FD for the stock XCE in order to match the X1 RD, replacing the stock Cr-Mo GT painted stem (150mm) for a shorter 95mm Kalloy model from my parts bin. Too bad, I like the paint matched stock stem. (Should anyone have a shorter one, PM me.)
I did change the front brakes for a modern upgrade...the Dia Compe XCE cantis came off and a new Nashbar DeLuxe V-brake went on. This required swapping the XCE levers for a pair of Dia Compe V-brake levers. The rest is stock equipment that I overhauled and re-lubed.

AFTER:

Picked up from the garage sale for $10.00.

IMG_2827..jpg

I figured since it was $10.00, and I've been looking for something to commute with, I'd go for it. Figured it needed tires, cables, grip tape, and a chain. As I was removing stuff, i was finding much worse rust than expected, and I figured that touchup and resto was out of the picture, I said to hell with it, and stripped it. In the process, I decided I might use this for more than just commuting, so I might as well fix some of the scratches in the metal etc. Paint and clear went on, then I started running cables, and slapping on parts. Hit up the LBS a few times, and the ghetto LBS by my work.. best place for used parts ever. Hooked me up with a new rear brake cable stay, RDR, and rear cassette. 50 bucks later, I was up and running. Put bar tape on it tonight. It's been pouring since i brought it home, so i have no idea if the damn thing works, but it looks pretty!

IMG_2941..jpg
IMG_2944..jpg

Here are a couple of my recent "before" and "after" projects:

1976 Centurion Super LeMans (Before)

centurion_before.jpg

1976 Centurion Super LeMans (After)

centurion_nearly .jpg

Late 60's/early 70's Bottecchia Special (Before)

bottecchia_before..jpg

Late 60's/early 70's Bottecchia Special (After)

bottecchia_repain.jpg

The Bottecchia cost me $20. The paint was the most fugitive color fade I've ever seen! I opted to paint and decal it in a retro/contemporary blend which - while not purist - I find very attractive. The Centurion cost me about ten bucks more, as I recall, but I got an almost perfect condition mid-70's Raleigh Sprite in the deal. Huge chunks of paint had flaked off and bare metal was exposed. I came up with a fairly close match to the original pearlescent orange paint. The metallic lettering was hand cut, something I learned to do as a graphic designer years ago.

My 1977 Raleigh Super Grand Prix, as found.

Edit-Yes the fork is bent and no I didn't notice at the time because this was my first ever rebuild and I didn't know what to watch for.



As it sits now, I had some fun rebadging this one.



Another Raleigh, unsure of the model.



And completed,



1974 Schwinn Sprint,



Completed,



Batavus Monte Carlo,



Completed,



1978 Camelback Varsity,



Completed,



I did a few more over the summer but those were the biggest turn arounds.

You disassembled the frame and had it painted, but didn't notice that the fork is bent?

That cambelback is cool looking.

[QUOTE=FORDSVTPARTS;11735847]My 1977 Raleigh Super Grand Prix, as found.



As it sits now, I had some fun rebadging this one.



i'll say it - both versions appear to me to have a bent fork.

I had thought it was mostly a whacky paint scheme...

you beat me too it.

LOL, I was actually going to say in the pics of the bike that Yes the fork is bent but I forgot to include it.

I'm not embarrased to admit I didn't notice it, I should also mention that the 1977 Raleigh was the first bike I had ever rebuilt so I was learning a lot in the process.

I actually painted it at home and even the guys at the local bike shop were impressed with the finish, it rides really well even with the bent fork, it rides straight and true and I've put on several hundred miles on it this summer.

I am keeping an eye out for a new/used fork for it, it's kind of tall though which makes that tougher to find and since it rides so well I haven't been in a huge hurry.

I'm really fond of those Camelback frames myself, too bad they only built them to suit shorter riders because they really are sleek looking.

Well I traded my buddy for his bike and after a few changes, it's now my cyclocross bike:

Love it.

That's interesting. It wasn't a US-market bike, was it? Never seen one or heard of one.

Tom

Thanks!! A lot of work went into that one.

The Camelback?

They were U.S. models that were designed for shorter riders which is where the curved frame and Camelback name came from, They aren't super common but they're out there.

The one above is a bit odd I guess in that it had 27" wheels and I guess (not positive) that they were much more common in 26".

Actually I think that was the point of the camelback- to allow use of the larger wheels for a shorter rider.

Right, but I still see more with 26" wheels show up at least on my local CL.

Might just be a fluke though.

Here are a few pics...

1985 Trek 600 46cm for my son. I got it last year, & we got into a bit of a thrash getting it rebuilt for a metric century last weekend that we missed because he ended up getting the flu. The frame had a TON of scratches, touched up with Testors French blue enamel; for fun I redid the pantographing on the cranks & brakes the same color. It's a mix of Shimano 600 with Suzue hubs, Araya gold rims, a Deore XT RD with 105 shifters. Not sure where I got the tall 60mm stem, but it fits him much better than the 100mm that came with the bike, and we're running on a budget. The turbo saddle is an old one I've had since high school.
Anyone have any idea how to deal with the headbadge?

My 1979 Soma Competition.

I wish I had better before pics, but honestly, this thing was an unrideable eyesore. She was painstakingly disassembled, cleaned (for the first time in decades), re-packed, and reassembled. The freehub was slipping off its last pawl when I stumbled upon the 700C wheelset on CL. The rear derailer & cassette were then also updated. She rides and shifts much more smoothly now as she approaches "dream bike" status. This was my first road bike project.

From this:

To this:

Dirty:

Klean:

Save me:

Shift me:

Too many nice refurbs in this thread to be specific, but DAMN! There are some absolutely gorgeous bikes here.

that is very cool agobel

Thanks so much! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

I might upgrade the brakes sometime down the road as they don't offer quite as much stopping power as I'd like, despite fresh shoes & adjustment. They at least stop the bike now, but only by sitting reeeeeeeally close to the rim.


I've read a couple threads that say upgrading to "aero" levers can greatly improve vintage brakes; I've also heard it doesn't make much of a difference. I will miss the look of these, to be sure. I'll also regret the decrease in Shimano 600-ness of my groupset. I love it.


I even purchased these NOS shifters on eBay; previous owner had "upgraded" to crappy stem shifters. Again, I liked the look, but also IMHO downtube shifters > stem.

Hey, just thought I'd share. This is my '72 World Traveler made by Panasonic for Schwinn. I had never seen this cool color before (Opaque Green) and it was cheap!

The hubs were pretty gummed up, so I opened them up, cleaned & repacked, got some new rubber on the wheels, cleaned up the drivetrain, new cables/housing. Then I thought I'd tweak it out for a bit more of an casual ride with some old Varsity upright bars & brake levers, fenders, rack and then a new saddle. I love the ride. Gonna be awhile before the roads clear again though here in Wisconsin.

before:


after:

Everyone's before and after work seems amazing. I am a newbie and starting a restore on my first vintage bike. I was wondering how you guys get your bikes cleaned up so well. My project peugeot has no rust on it really, but the components are not nice and shiny like everyone else. Instead the components have a dull shade and little speckles here and there. How do you guys suggest cleaning them up? Is it all just wd-40, soap, hot water, and elbow grease? Thanks in advance for any tips.