jimmuller 

Today my bike activities have so far been to open a few boxes and mailers, parts destined for my sweetie's Terry and my Gazelle.

72Paramount

Woomp there it is.

r0ckh0und 

Shipped out a few more packages and pulled the trigger on this.............

72Paramount

My cobaltos arrived. They are gorgeous.

Ed.

If interested:



35+ year-old grease in adjustable cup (Note, bike has not been ridden in over 30 years)



I believe the drive side.



Fixed cup.

Curious the difference in colo(u)r of the grease from one side to the other.

It was very, very gooey, but I believe its lubricity (I love that word) remains, tho the crank certainly didn't 'spin'.

r0ckh0und 

Ummmmmm..........shoveling?

jimmuller 

Yes they are. I have just the bike that would have worn them proudly, except that it already wears effective brakes.

I spent today installing a headset on the Gazelle. Also coming dangerously close to finishing the Terry for my sweetie, except for one snag. I'm giving her brifters, a.k.a. clickers, but that ain't so easy. I'd been told that the Shimano A173 (or whatever it is called) was 7spd-compatible for all newer 7-spd equipment. I'd picked up a 7-spd FW and a new cheap Tourney RD. As an experiment and so she could ride it on a trainer I'd set it up with a VGT-Luxe and a 5-spd. Today I converted the hub (1st-gen Shimano 600) to 126mm and installed the FW, then realized the RD had a mounting claw which COULD NOT BE REMOVED!!! $XK&&*#EM^&DY!!! So I left the VGT-LUXE in place and discovered that that combination indexes rather nicely with only minor problems. Most index points are dead-on; one or two require a second partial click. No big deal, because they all work. The real problem is that the brifter's total range won't cover the whole FW range. I can tighten the cable so that it sifts to the big cog, but then it won't go to the little one. I can loosen the cable to get the little cog but this won't get the big one. The brifter itself simply will not generate enough cable displacement between highest and lowest positions to shift the entire 7-speed range. I left it set to reach the big cog; my sweetie isn't likely to use the high gear anyway. But it bothers my sense of aesthetics to have something non-functional like that. I supposed I should try a different RD. Oh, and I installed a nice SR Rando bar I received from @mrv. Just the ticket for the Terry.

And that was my day's bike activities.

72Paramount

Are u using a 9 speed compatible chain? Another suggestion might want to go with a 6 speed freewheel. I had a 9 speed dura ace rd on my wife's bike with a 10 speed cassette and I set it up the same way you did, I eliminated the high gear. The only person it bugs is me. My wife doesn't know the problem exists. Funny how the smallest thing can drive you nuts!!!

repechage

That one works best when mounted to a vertical surface.

jimmuller 

Thanks for the suggestions. I had set everything up as 5/6/7 with a KMC 8-spd (I think) chain. A 6-spd FW should have more or less the same cog spacing as the 5 I had on it up to today. I'm thinking one issue is using a Suntour RD which probably doesn't have the same movement per cable displacement. But whatever. It works okay now and I can keep trying things. After today's weather (another 18" of snow on top of last weekend's blizzard) we aren't biking anywhere for months.

R3tired

i put an 11 speed Chorus cassette on the Record/Wheelsmith/HED wheel i built... ok, so i don't have big day to day goals... winter is long...

jimmuller 

You really wanna know? Today's heavy-load activities:

mrv 

@jimmuller - glad to hear things are progressing and the rando bars are getting put to use. (i would have like to put the rando bars on my TourHopper, but just too narrow for me)
@acoffin shipped me those with these bars on my 'nother-Asian-Modification build: a former Nishki now a Detroit Bikes knock off (as soon as I get the head badge stuck on there....) - i'll be working on this as soon as i order up my long reach brakes. soon.

Chrome Molly 

Carefully setting up some Mafac racer brakes (a multi step process) which at best look like they will squeal like a stuck pig (but stop on a dime).

Also, packing and returning a tire that had a cut in the sidewall upon receipt (mfg defect).

jimmuller 

FWIW, my UO8's brakes didn't squeal much until a few years ago, then became quite noisy. A cable began braking last year so I replaced it and the squealing disappeared. I have no idea why it would matter, but I don't think I changed anything that should have affected the brakes' or cables' geometry.

Ed.

I put the cleaned & lubed chain back on my Torpado, and fiddled with the derailleurs until everything seems right. There's been some improvement, especially in front derailleurs, since 1960.



I've also continued cleaning and reassembling the bits from my Raleigh Pro. I've 'discovered' that the heavy-duty 'simple green' cleaner, in an ultra-sonic, does a surprisingly good job on odd bits of rust, of which there were a few on the brakes, which have seen multiple bikes, and even some Winter riding. I think probably what it takes off is rust stain, but looking at the parts one would be hard pressed, in most cases, to see the initial rust pit.

72Paramount

My c record wheelset came from Italy. Seller said they were in perfect condition. They looked nice but the tires are roached, and when I put them on the bike I noticed significant wobble. After about 15 minutes of trueing they were fine. I decided to leave the seller a good review because at the end of the day, I was quite satisfied.

Ed.

I finished the pedals for my Torpado and put them on the bike.

I also got a postage estimate for shipping a frame to Florida.

72Paramount

hey ed- if you don't mind, post some pics of the 38 paramount!!!! A monumental year for the brand!!! I am a big fan. Let's see some eye candy!!

Ed.

!

How peculiar. I did post some pix and a story, but a search, multiple ways, didn't turn them up. It's quite evident that there are some issues with the search feature. Maybe someone cleverer than me will turn them up, otherwise I'll post them again. Richard Schwinn says my Father's Paramount may actually be a '37.

rootboy 

Going to make up a few sets of these today, if I can get my back to settle down so I can sit. A couple pairs for Jim. And maybe Pastor Bob.

72Paramount

Ed, I looked through your recent activities and was able to go back far enough to find the paramount photos. My favorite shot was the black and white photo with whom I am assuming is your dad holding the bike in the yard. BADASS!!!

repechage

Only thing I did today C&V related was ride the Colnago to get an iced coffee, C&V stands for Coffee and Vintage, does it not?

It was downright warm today in Southern California.

repechage

What was the cost to ship from Italy? Assuming it shipped this year.

gaucho777 

I commute on my '72 Cilo. Every day is a C&V day!

Downright warm in Berkeley/Oakland, too. Left the house early this morning in shorts and a t-shirt. Throughout much of the bay area we had ZERO inches of rainfall during the entire month of January. I sympathize with those that are snowed in, but a little more seasonality would be welcomed.