What bicycle projects do you have planned or in progress?

I have three projects in the planning stage for making two bikes from three bikes worth of donor parts. Besides the two bikes discussed below, I also have a 1984 Nishiki Olympic 12 in excellent shape except the frame was bent in an accident. The components are in nearly-new condition though.

1. Repaint/recondition a 1984 Schwinn World Sport to make it a rideable road bike. This will be my first bicycle restoration, so it will be as much about learning the craft as it is about producing a good bike. This will be my road bike until project 2 is done.

2. Repaint/recondition a 1983 Raleigh Marathon in to a rideable road bike. This is the one I want to turn out good, as it has a 25" frame which is a pretty good fit for me at 6'-2".

3. Convert the World Sport into a fixie, as inspired by this thread. Since joining BikeForums in September, I've been becoming more interested in at least trying out a fixed-gear bike. Bearing this in mind, when I paint the frame during the restoration I might go with something a little wild.

I don't know that I'll like riding a fixie, but I want to check it out. If it turns out to be not my cup of tea, I figure I can sell it for more as a fixie than as a restored vintage. And before you go all, "everytime you turn a vintage into a fixie, God kills a kitten" on me, this Schwinn is in pretty rough shape; in my mind it's already dead. Making it into a fixie will be giving it a shot at a better life.

Anyway, what projects do you have going on?

I have a bunch planned but only two in progress at the moment.

Planned:

1. Recondition a Panasonic Sport Deluxe (blue).
2. Recondition a Panasonic Sport Deluxe (red).
3. Same thing for a Gitane Mixte.
3. I have a Raleigh that needs the same treatment.

In Progress:

1. Recondition of a Peugeot PH10LE. It has a slightly bent fork that is slowing things at the moment.
2. Complete repaint and rebuild of a newly acquired Univega Viva Touring bike. This one will get it's own thread once I get the frame back from paint.

My plans are to restore my 72 Peugeot PL8. I was going to repaint but I'll skip that - I kind of like the color and the chipping/wear gives the bike some personality. I'll replace the steel wheels and handlebars with alloy ones and then replace the brakes and shifters. The rest is just a matter of going through the bearings and it should be ready to roll.

Have some wheels to build and some minor parts swapping but nothing serious.

*Bianchi Alloro - build up
*'78 Guerciotti GL - build up, need to get Hawley fork
*'82 Guerciotti GL - need to build it up, but I don't really know where I'm headed with it
*Three chrome Schwinn Varsities - build ups, two need Conti II forks, the one that has been partially built so far needs a Weinmann centerpull cable stop for the headset, and all need handlebars (LBS)
*Viscount - build up/recondition, need to get one of those sealed BB rings
*Klein - needs Bondo over the boron sections before cheap paint job

-Kurt

I'm sure this won't be a popular decision with everyone, but I'm cleaning every nut and bolt on this over the winter:

https://www.speedbicycles.ch/272/index.html

Can I help you polish it?

-Kurt

P.S.: Far as I'm concerned, grime, grit and rust is not patina. Go for it.

It took me over a year of owning a fixed gear to really get into it, now I don't leave home without it unless I am riding one of my other bikes but aside from the odd big grocery trip with the long hauler the rest of my trips around down and too work are done on the fixed gear. It's simplicity and utility are indispensable and it is pretty enjoyable to ride.

My projects are on hold till the spring. I have wrapped up a lot of what I have wanted to do in getting the stable in order. I have to install racks on my girlfriend bike and that's about it.

My other project is looking for career oriented employment and more or less waiting and watching for my financial situation to improve or become more certain.

THEN my project will be to install the Sram Red group on my Marin and buy HED ardienne wheels and an EC90sl 1" threadless carbon fork for same bike and so bring it down to a respectable 18.5-19 lbs... and return my 2005/6 centaur century finish group to my Marinoni.

Oh I'm also working on a pretty hodge-podge Gaint ATX 890 from about 2001 which disc brakes....

yeah sorry for the lack of vintage content but my vintage bikes are finished and I'm just looking forward to the summer when I can ride them.

Hehe, thanks. I agree. I'll leave an old, well-worn bike as is if it was stored properly. But I don't think this one was. Its lugs and spokes are pretty corroded. The old grease on its freewheel is rock hard. I just felt it needed some TLC.

Just finished my recent Trek 620 ebay pickup Friday. Sure wish it was my size, but its not even close (24 inch versus I ride a 21 inch).

Next up is the '93 Peugeot PE-300 I have been putting off for a while. Bike is complete, paint is good, but frame has a fair amount of internal rust. So I need to give it the old oxalic bath. If it turns out nice, it could be a keeper. We'll see.

2nd in line is the old 73/74 UJ Peugeot I have been putting off for about 20 years. Needs a vintage RD and shift levers, otherwise, all of the parts should be there.

3rd up is a little cleanup on an 88 Schwinn Tempo.

4th up is the Marin BMX that was given to me. Will be my first wheel build.

At that point, I will be done with all of my projects (until I find another bike to work on....). Well, I guess I could put that old Giant Iguana back together. It has been relegated to donor status. Could be my first rattle can.

Well, my plans got totally changed.

Ended up squeezing in a Trek 412.

Then added a Schwinn World Sport.

Next I will get back to the list (the Peugeot).

In Progress:

Charity case Nishiki. Needed new tubes, cabling, bar tape, rims,,etc. for a friend.

Planned:

1. 1939 Raleigh Gazelle 3-speed, ladies'
2. 1978 Raleigh Team Professional - being built as a fixed gear (in a non-Drew way) - includes building new wheels
3. 1985 Traveler - being de-fixed, re-geared and sold
4. 1972 Fuji - re-building wheels and replacing Bottom Bracket
5. 1974 Superbe - needs hub adjustments and enable dynamo & lighting
6. 2009 Velo Cheapo entrant

Some people could do this in a day or two. I can stretch it out for at least two months.

I successfully bent a fork back into shape by putting it between the rungs of a multi-ladder (the ones that fold into different shapes) while the fork was attached to the bike, and pulling on the back end of the bike to bend the fork tangs back into place. It was a very controlled process; I could bend it to exactly where I wanted.

Looks like two years worth of work to me!

I am restoring my 1990 Specialized Hard Rock, not sure if it counts as vintage...it is almost 19 years old...

I should have taken pictures along the way but alas I did not. It was an ugly greenish gold with purple decals when I got it and rusted on the stays and some on the fork, headset, stem, seat post, and bottom bracket. I have sanded most of the paint off of the frame and fork, only have the braze-ons and the tiny hard to reach places left to strip. I am thinking of getting chemical stripper for those parts.

Then I was originally going to leave it the raw steel with clear coats, because I kind of like that look, but now I think I may actually re-paint it (I have seen some pretty inspiring Rattle Jobs). I have repacked the bottom bracket and headset. I bought used Bontrager Racing wheel to replace the busted original busted alloy wheel. I was going to make it a single speed, but I am thinking of making it geared now, since I have acquired new shifters.

It is a work in progress...

I'm finishing an Initial build on the 80's Falcon, and Painting OFG's Schwinn. After that, I'll get the main riders ready for spring then I'll play it by ear..

I think the theme for '09 for me is English though.

'74 Raleigh Pro - just had the Campy pista headset installed, now it just needs everything else.

'73 Raleigh Grand Prix - just painted the frame and now I need to decide how I'm going to build it. 650b perhaps? Who knows.

'80 something Miyata 210. stripped down the the bare frame and soon to be stripped down to the bare metal, possibly powder coated then probably made into my dedicated tourer - or I might just sell or trade it

80 or 90 something Giant Rincon mountain bike being refurbished as my winter foul weather commuter. SHould be done this one this week.

'52 Raleigh Sports - I only work on this one every few months. It's getting a full rebuild/partial restore. Or I might just sell it

'86 Bianchi Squadra - this was my weekend rider this past summer, but it's getting torn down and rebuilt. Still not sure in what way yet..

I just finished building an '82 Bianchi Sport SS with Triple Sora stuff. It's going to a friend who will commute on it.

I think that's it right now, although I've been thinking of changing up my Gitane as well.

Maybe I gave up on mine too soon. I'll ride it a few more times before I convert it back.

I've got a Raleigh Competition that I'd like to convert to a Shimano Nexus Alfine hub. I made the mistake of buying a 700c fork for it and now it has a huge brake reach mismatch. First I bought a NOS Raleigh Pro fork, but the steer tube is too short. I got disgusted with the whole project and hung the frame in the rafters, but I'll get back to it one of these days. At least I have a couple of nice forks to sell to help finance the project.

Recondition/rebuild:

- 1974 Peugeot mixte (Christmas present for a lady friend). Got this in trade from Robbietunes.
- 1980 Nishiki Superbe - will be ready for Spring.
- 1976 Araya tourer - mystery steel but so light and nice. Dripping with 1st gen. Suntour Superbe and
Cyclone bits, so it must be a high class frame, right?. Spring time debut.
- 1993 Specialized Allez Epic - full Tri-color Shimano 600. Spring time debut.
- 1996 Nishiki Pinnacle MTB (Christmas present for son)

Frame build-up:

- 1985 Raleigh Team Pro
- 1993 Miyata Carbon Team

Just finished full teardown/rebuild of 1989 Klein Quantum w/ full Dura Ace group.

I just added up my total investment in ALL these bikes. About $800!! I love this sport.

Pics as finished.

Just got my early 70's Super Sport ridable. Just repacked bearings, cleaned, new cables and rubber. Next will be fenders and a rack, to make a second commuter.

Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed is unrestored but ridable. Sadly it's too small for me to ride properly, so I'm not really inspired.

My '85 Trek 560, now retired, needs a complete rebuild so my son can ride it. Needs new wheels.

Other projects I've discussed in Alt; won't mention here. Don't worry, no classic bikes will be harmed.

I've got the Schwinn Heavy Duty. Need to straighten or replace the front wheel, possibly replace the front and rear sprockets on it, and it'll be ready to ride again. I'm going to leave it in Chemical Plant Ugly paint scheme. I guess I need to paint the insides of the fenders, come to think of it.

The XtraTandem. A year or so ago, I bought a $75 Huffy tandem with the idea of making it into an Xtra-cycle type cargo bike, and never have gotten to it. That project is still ahead somewhere.

I was offered, just this evening, a 1986 Marinoni TT (funny) bike right after I sold all my C-record and other excess period campy stuff... muphy's law... so that may be my other next project.

1)Refurb my new/old nishiki mixte for my GF.
2)Clean up the mid 80's Jamis Dakota I just bought.

My new project is the all-winter-long project.
It's still a secret, I imagine no one will hear of it until it's done.

But it's coming along nicely, I bought some Jasco yesterday...

Easy projects like 1) making the pink ´85 Mustang into a comfortable everyday bike; thorough clean-up, new bar and break levers, some stylish mudguards. 2) Even more thorough going over on my Crescent, a new set of rims (preferbly vintage) and having the little too heavy but trustworthy Weinmanns on the Mustang. I´m hoping for an early 70´s Crescent 320 where I´m one of the bidders so hopefully I´ll get another object in a couple of days..?

In Progress:

1985 Ross Mt. Hood

On the docket for overhaul:

1970 Ladies Raleigh

On the docket for general maintenance:

1997 Trek 830 (needs chain)
2001 Surly Instigator (disc brake overhaul)
1965 Phillips 3-speed (spoke replacement)

And hopefully more to come