When are you "done" with your bike?

Back when I was in the Army, it was said you're never done with your fighting position. There's always some improvements and maintenance that you should always be working on.

Every bike I have, I still have plans to do *something* with. I want to have my front and rear racks match on my two Trek tourers. I finally got decent wheels for the 620 and 720, but someday, they'll all get 700C wheels. There's some vintage NOS Scott/Mathauser finned brake shoes that are waiting to go on the 720. The 400 Elance is waiting for a modern chain and possibly either a Superbe Pro or TriColor 600 makeover. I'm entertaining shifting options for the 78 Trek...

It seems no matter how "done" the project is, there's always something else that I want to do to make it that much more... mine.

How about you? What's waiting for your keepers?

I find that the bikes tend to change as my likes/usage change. I have a Rivedell A. Homer Hilsen that has been tinkered with since I got it 3 years ago.

Next up for it, I wll replace the Honjo La Paeon fenders with SKS Longboards (cream colored), as the Honjos are to narrow for the Compass tires I put on it. I am swapping the Acorn Boxy Rando bag a for a large version of the same. The larger bag version will be held in place by a decaleur(sp?) rather than the shock cords and velcro. I will also reconfigure the brakes so that the right hand lever controls the front brake. I am also planning to run the bar end shifter housing under the handlebar tape to "clean up" the look. I just put a Brooks Cambium on it to try out. The Imperial I had installed on it sagged terribly after a 70 mile ride, in 90+ degree heat. I was sweating buckets!

My Raleigh Super Tourist is pretty much done, with the exception of adding a lager saddle bag. I need the bag to hold clothes etc. when the weather changes.

The Woodrup I just posted feels preety complete except I would like to get a 7 speed freewheel, on it rather than the 6 speed currently installed.

What are your initial thoughts on the Cambrium?

I just got one a month or so ago. I'm loving it.

I'd never had a real Brooks saddle before June- that was a relevatory experience- The other saddles, like the Avocet Touring II and the San Marco touring saddles were perfect for me. Then I got a B17 and then I got the Cambrium. Now that's ANOTHER thing- Cambriums on all the bikes!!!

The Colnago is effectivley done. My plans for it from the begining was to "restore" it to all Campagnolo SR parts. Mission accomplished. Should I decide to take if for long rides, I may change out the bar/stem combination to better fit me, otherwise it stays as is. The only change might be tires.

The RockHopper is in constant change. Just put a suspension fork on it and my go back to fixed to accomidate the weather coming up. Also just added a newer computer.

The only thing to change on the Pinarello Montello are the brake pads.

Trek 610, is in paint process. Then the build and I keep changing my mind about that. Goes from Campy NR to Suntour Superbe Pro. This indecision is connected to ....

The Pinarello Tre Cime - needs paint and build. Can't make up my mind on this one either beacuse it might be dependent on what I am going to do with .....

The Bottecchia Giro d'Italia need major clean up. I think I have the parts to make it a Professional but is dependent on my decision about the Trek.

Burley Duet - Just needs paint. Oh yeah, it will be upgraded to 7 speed when paint is completed. Oh and maybe differenent bars for the Stoker.

Masi Gran Corsa - Do I build or sell?

Yeah, I think I'm done.

There is no "done" only next.

I used to keep a wish list for every bike. That drove me nuts. It resulted in buying stuff that wasn't really going to make any difference to how the bike was going to be used or displayed. Now I try to decide what the purpose of a build is before I started - basically what "done" am I happy with. I use fitness for purpose as my guiding light. So now I go a lot slower, but when I'm done, I'm usually done. I've got a 1981 Trek 531, a 1950's Bottecchia, and a 1966 Legnano donna city bike that all could be rideable in a week, but none of them will be finished until I get the right combo of stuff. Anyone got a Cyclo dual cable 3 gear changer with shifter?

I'm too busy with new bikes to worry about the older ones.

It's not pimping.
According to some.
It's just getting the details right.
I'm not a detail kind of guy.

My bikes only ever get to a point where they're done*, with an asterisk. That means everything I originally set out to do has been handled, but I reserve the right to make future changes as I see fit.

I have not changed a thing on these for many years as they are just right the way they are and won't be getting any upgrades or changes beyond what I have already done.









Am in the process of modernizing my Cooper just a little... recently installed an Ultegra triple crank and Ultegra GS rear and will be adding some 7 speed dt shifters (indexed).

Short term, I like it. I really have not gotten enough time on it to say yay/ney but I did not have an immediate, negative reaction to to it. That has happend with other saddles. If I can 80%-90% of the comfort of a regular B17 and no requirements for care & feeding, I will take it. The bike is a commuter and hopefully rando bike, so something that can take some exterrmes is ideal (no pun intended!)

I suspect [MENTION=101819]Sixty Fiver[/MENTION] can say that about a few of his bikes only because he has so many more to tinker with.

I wonder if this inability to stop tinkering is a good thing. Why can't I leave well enough alone? I always find room for improvement. Is it because the rider-bike relationship is unusually intimate?

I've thought lately that my Bianchi Volpe is just about perfect. It's heavier than I'd like it to be, but there isn't much potential to lighten it without reducing its utility. But it runs great and is immensely comfortable. Then recently, I realized that the brakes on it were always substandard, so I changed the cantilevers and replaced them with vintage cantilevers. The front is a huge improvement but the rear isn't. Maybe it's good enough. I'll wait and see. But by waiting and not decided, I am perpetuating this trend of leaving room for improvement.

The only bike I haven't changed in years is my Team Miyata. And I've been saying "I'll tear it down this winter" for like 4 - 5 years now.

I think it depends on the mission as to whether or not I change something up on a bike but in the case of my 1955 Raleigh and 1957 Peugeot, keeping them as close to original as possible was my goal. The '55 Raleigh has a full wrap of leather on the bars instead of single grips and Edith has cloth and shellac instead of her original blue tape because these work better.

The '54 Raleigh was a conversion to 700c and I swapped in some nicer, period correct bars a year ago and the Garlatti got a bunch of shiny new bits and has never been changed, other than that they have been rolling as they are since I called it done because they are just right the way they are.

My '51 CCM path bike is going to get a little framework and some fresh powder this winter... the spray job I did 6 years ago is not holding up very well but other than that it will stay the same as it has been since I built the old girl.

She needs no more pimping... and we'll be going for a ride later this afternoon.

Old bikes allow you try different stuff. That is part of the fun of old bikes. It makes things interesting. I like having 2 or 3 bikes that are a bit different and allow for some variation and experimentation. When I had 13 bikes, it was too many and it just felt like I was always working on a problem, that I had created. With 3, I can focus my energy a bit more and it does not feel as much like work.

I got a C17 early this year and it took a while to get the position dialed in correctly, but once I did, wow, it almost felt like the seat "disappeared" under me.

Personally, no. I get a bike 'just right' then move on to the next project. Occasionally I'll make a slight change and put a prettier part on a 'keeper' so that I can trickle down the lesser bits to bikes that I expect to sell off at some point in the future.

Part of my desire for "tinkering" lies in the fact that I'm still learning how to "wrench" bikes, so I like to see what I can accomplish. I tend to change handlebars a lot, add/subtract fenders, add/subtract racks.

My most recent was to make my 1985 Sekai Bigfoot from a Suntour friction 5 speed , to a Suntour Accushift 6 speed. I learned about how to move things over to a new rear axle and have it all work out in the end. Very satisfying.

Good point, [MENTION=46029]fender1[/MENTION]. In other words, N+1 is not ideal. I'm down to five, plus one out on long term loan, making it six. Still too many, but I'm pleased with the direction I'm going in.

Changing handlebars makes things interesting. My Super Course had been through more changes than my other bikes, having had about five handlebars since I've owned it, each time making it feel like a different bike. I call it my testbed bike, since I've put on (and removed) all kinds of accessories and changed the drivetrain a few times, too.

Since I run my own shop I never run out of bikes to tinker with and have been sparking up the torch... I have quite a few winter projects lined up and those should satisfy my need to build things as besides the frames there will have to be custom wheels and racks.

It keeps me out of trouble.

I just take them apart and put them back together now and again.
They're pretty much done. Too much other stuff to tinker with.

I have a bit of a custom, there done when the Bell goes on.

Isn't so much as pimpin, but more like buildin.

Serotta CSI. Modded by Eric Estlund at Winter.

Box full of parts sitting here. It will be a different build than my usual.

Lots of XT, XTR, DA, TRP Spyres, H Plus Son, Brooks Cambium, Nitto and some Ritchey goodies.

Oh yeah, Compass tires.

[IMG]DSCN1354 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]DSCN1356 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]DSCN1355 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

I stopped swapping bars as much when I started using more sewn leather bar wrap. I wore through one on an intense trip, and took the opportunity to change from Rando bars to deeper drops. Sewed them up and now wish I had the old bars back.

You can tell where I like my hands...
I have tried stuff and changed it as my tastes, goals and desires changed, or if I found a part I liked and wanted it.
The biggest issue is storing the accumulating stuff that you have taken off, but want to keep in case its "right" for another build.