yeah that was going to be on my short list of items to search for at Sears. I was of course kidding about the tool from work.. I would never mis-use government property for such an endeavor.

Maybe the Marines are more sensitive now about using government tools for personnal projects. When I was in the Navy some years ago, we kept our bikes hidden in a ventilation compartment on the ship, and we brought them down to our shop to work on them. That was with our division officer's blessing.

oh no I am sure that type of thing goes on all the time.. in my much younger days I had the micro miniature shop fix a radar detector for me.. I am in a position now that would cause an uproar however, if I was to use squadron stuff for personal use.

OBTW, do the bars look good in the picture on page 1? correct angle and such. I got the brakes off,, the old stem out and everything re-assembled, after $45 in new Craftsman tools. Just want to make sure I am getting the new Cinelli bars at the right angles.. I am more used to modern flat topped bars.

I think the bar position looks good in the 1st pick put personally would move the levers up a bit more. I do have long fingers to reach the levers from the drops though... I think if you look around on the forums you will see vintage riders tend to favour moving the levers up high than modern setups... Modern style seems to be flat top into a flat hood area... The vintage set-ups seem to have more of a dip which your hand fits in where the brake hood meets the bars... but again... before you tape it just take if for a few short spins and try to dial it in to suit yourself.

I would raise the stem up higher so the bars are closer to even with the seat and maybe rotate the bars up just a few degrees. Try different positions to see what feels right.

I have raised the stem since that picture was taken.. only an inch or two. I like 2-3 inches of drop from seat to bar. I have also raised the seat a bit. I have ordered some red brake cables online so the finished rebuild will have to wait until next week. I will probably take the down time to use the frame saver I ordered.

Do I need to take everything off the bike to do that??