wolfpack 

Remember me talking about this bike and asking some questions about the shifters & problems getting them actually on the bike? Well, I got those to work plus a whole lot more......

Finally. After having this bike since last November, courtesy of glenng, I have pretty much got it in a ride-able condition. Granted, I'm still having a bit of trouble with the brakes, probably going to get new ones, but I'm not the patient type and wanted to go ahead and post about the bike.

A few minor things left to do...get the brakes a-working & trim cables is about it.

glenng donated this bike to me last year when I said I wish I had a beater to ride. He said that it was too big for his wife and too small for him. Fits me well.

When I received the bike, it was a beater bike for sure! Dirty, greasy, nasty, paint chips/peeling...my personality just doesn't sit well with that...I knew I was going to have to fix this bike up. Here's what she looked like to begin with:



So, I searched around and found someone in Cary that did powdercoating and took the frame there for a nice red paint job.


Then, I needed a new groupo. I looked around on ebay and saw this Shimano Arabesque stuff. Me, not knowing anything about the groupo, did know this - I liked the look of that stuff and proceeded to purchase a group. Damn, that stuff is nice looking.


Once I got everything, it had to be cleaned because it was really dirty/greasy. Cleaned everything up and started the install, which, obviously, has taken quite a bit of time. Well, not really. If I would have just got busy and worked on it, I could have had the bike together and ride-able months ago....

She's slowly coming together:




A couple of months pass by...my SU keeps asking me what I'm gonna do with the bike? Ummm, I'm gonna keep it, why? He thought it was pointless, that I'd never finish it. Well, you know what...he was wrong as hell.



*edit* yes, i know the cable housings are too long...and the cable themselves....i'm not quite done with the brakes, so they will stay long-ish until i'm done with the brakes.

wolfpack 

A few more pics from tonight. I hope to get some of her outside tomorrow evening and will post those soon...

I think I'm going to see about getting a local airbrush guy (does motorcycle gas tanks) to put either "wolfpack" on her or "wulfpakk kitteh". I also want to see about some kind of headbadge...the one that came on it, cleaned up well, on the backside, but the frontside would not come clean.

Anyways....








*edit* yes, i know the cable housings are too long...and the cable themselves....i'm not quite done with the brakes, so they will stay long-ish until i'm done with the brakes.

YoKev

Very nice! Great color and great components! I can tell you put a lot of work into it.

-Kevin

Stacey

That's just too purdy to ride, you should give it to me for safe keeping.

Congrats on a fantastic build!

bbattle

Very nice!


Now, go clean that apartment.

cuda2k

These brakes should work well for you: https://www.ebikestop.com/tektro_r730...7mm-BR7308.php

double check reach, but should be enough. Swap out the junk pads for some KoolStops and you'll be golden.

wolfpack 

awww, man! it is clean!! well, except for the bike stuff all over the place.

thanks guys!

thanks cuda. i'm going to take them off this weekend and see if i can get them to work. right now, with the cables released, i can mash hte brakes closed but they will not open back up. if i can't get them to work, i'll get something like you suggested or see if i can find some older vintage ones on ebay.

huerro

That's a sharp looking bike!

Are you OC enough to scrub down the tires and get them back to gleaming white after each ride?

Old Fat Guy

Where did you find the Regal with silver rivets, or are they copper?

wolfpack 

yes, i am.

rivets are copper. i guess in the black & white photo they do look silver.

retrofit

Very nice! I've never been partial to white saddles, but that Regal is beautiful.


.

Siu Blue Wind

Wow, that is one classy ride!! It is very beautiful you did a wonderful job. Very nice indeed.

blamire

those lugs look to have lost their definition. does powdercoating do this?

wolfpack 

i don't think so (powdercoating question); but now that i went back up and looked at the first pic or two, maybe so... the guy who re-faced the bb shell (if that's the correct terminology) pointed out that it wasn't truely lugged, just sorta looks like it. and, if i'm speaking nonsense, it's cause i have no idea what i'm talking about!

velomateo

Beautiful bike Wolfpack, you do nice work.

lotek 

If the brakes close but either don't open back up, or are slow to open
try this:
1) loosen the brake nut, if it's too tight it can cause binding.
2) you can remove the brake spring from the back of the brake and spread it
a little bit to increase tension and, well, springiness. If that doesn't work you can
buy replacement springs at loose screws or other small parts sellers.
c) a small drop of lube on the brake bolts sometimes helps when dealing
with old calipers.

Nice build. I usually don't care much for powdercoating but I like this one.

Marty

John E

You can't go wrong with red with white cable housings. That bike does look sharp, but please let us know whether you can keep that white handlebar tape clean. (I chickened out and went with black on Capo #1.) White water bottles and cages and perhaps a white frame fit pump would look great on your bike.

unworthy1

Huh? Well it looks lugged to me...granted the low-res pics on a friend's monitor might be deceiving me. Was the BB shell facer/chaser referring to just the lugs (or "lugs") on the front (head tube) or everywhere?
Very nice job, and I agree with Marty: your calipers are too tight and you should try some fresh Koolstop pads and a drop of lube before you jump to new brakes.

wolfpack 

i have no idea what he was refering to....what i mean, is that when he looked at the frame on the inside, he said it wasn't truely lugged. i have no idea. so, we'll just say it's lugged.

rbn14

Looks great. Depending how much you want it to stand out, you could pick up a pin-striping brush and some white paint and do up the tubes where they meet the lugs. It would really make them stand out (even if they are not "real" lugs).

cudak888 

Your powdercoating fellow doesn't know a thing about frame construction then. Lugged it is, and obvious it is too.

That said, very nice early Shimano build - very classy.

-Kurt

karmat

+1 . The brakes not opening back up is almost guaranteed to be a simple fix. Normally there are two nuts on the front of the brake at the pivot point (or on the back depending on make). They lock against each other, not against the caliper arm. These are easily misadjusted and will caust it to stick. I'd try #1 above... in my experience that fixes it most of the time. #c is a good idea anyway, even if it's working ok, and #2 is probably not the issue, but Marty is right that this can sometimes be the problem. I wouldn't be scared by it, though.

Karl

Pompiere

Very nice bike, especially the scroll work on the Shimano Arabesque group. I would be more partial to the original paint scheme (not because it's original, I just like blue better). The red and white look good together.

USAZorro

Very nicely done Wolfpack!

High Fist Shin

Wolfie,

Very nice bike. I did notice one thing that I thought I should bring to your attention.

The rear derailleur cable housing is sitting directly on the adjusting barrel threads. The barrel adjuster is backwards. No biggie. Just remove the cable, turn the barrel adjuster around and thread the derailleur cable through the other end.

Dan.