MooneyBloke

Agree. for a great period of my life on a bike, I rode Cinelli 65 bars, and there were a lot of nice positions for the hands with that bend. Trouble is now that I run Campy Ergo 10, the brakes would be way too low on the hooks, and I like them fairly low on my TTT ergo bars as it stands. BTW: that Nitto Craft stem is just gorgeous.

SJX426 

Some time ago, I wanted to try the 65-40 bar. Finally aquired one, and took my time to mount it on my "mule" bike
It has been on there about a year, maybe more without a long enough ride.
Decided to take the "mule" on the vacation to Hilton Head Island. 20 miles later I am thinking of swapping all the 64s for 65s. Better fit for my hands on the upper bend.

RCMoeur 

I was up at sunrise trying to finish this Trek for the Recycle Your Bicycle program. It seems to be ready to go, except it needs four new cantilever brake shoes which I don't have on hand at the moment. I'll take it in and get it finished up so it's ready for donation. Looks like it'll turn out nice.

jdawginsc 

Phase 1 garage rethinking complete. Holds 10 bikes in 84 inches.

Phases 2 and 3 to come.



Paint-phase 1

General structure

6 bikes up.

Had to notch the board a bit to lessen the load on the tire. Tire needs air.

RCMoeur 

Got called in for some urgent catch-up work at Recycle Your Bicycle, so I abandoned my paying clients, picked up a friend, and high-tailed it to the east edge of town to spend a whole day wrenching.

First I finished the Trek, and put a stop to the cantilever problems with brand new shoes.




Then on to other bikes. This one looks tired.



Then turning my tender attention to a sickly Sikk, which received a bit of rattle-can therapy to the ape-hangers.




And the season has barely begun!

RCMoeur 

Postscript: Sikk turned out reasonably sweet.



Worked a couple smaller bikes too.

"Execute General Order 66."

Sierra

The cantilever brakes on my recently refurbished '86 Schwinn Voyageur need some help. The shoes are probably the originals.
What replacements would you recommend?

RCMoeur 

I switched most of my personal post-mount brakes over to direct-pull decades ago. And the replacement cantilever shoes we use at RYB are intended for function and affordability, not performance. But I've had good experiences with Kool-Stop pads.
https://koolstop.com/collections/int...ost-cantilever

Rooney 

I'd go with the Cross Pad cantilever; smooth post, with the ability to switch out just the rubber. The dual compound has plenty of bite. When it's time to change the pads, you won't have to fiddle with re-doing the setup. The pads are also short enough that they shouldn't interfere with the fork blades.

rccardr 

A set of Tektro 539 sidepull dual pivot caliper brakes will bolt right on there, give you superior braking, and will interface perfectly with those levers.
Yes, I know it’s heresy, but it was the best braking improvement I made on my 87 Voy after trying a number of other options.
No more squealing! Great modulation! Room for fenders!

Sierra

I'm not averse to changing things up. I like to "upgrade" my bikes when I can.
Do you have a thread on changing the brakes on your Voyageur?
I remember one where the cantilever posts had to be cut off for clearance of the new brakes. I would prefer not to do that.

rccardr 

Nope, no cutting required, completely reversable. Use Tektro 539's of the nutted variety.
Works with original DiaCompe non-aero brake levers or the aero ones you have currently mounted.
Room for fenders and racks.
Pics to illustrate:

Rooney 

As much as my love of cantilevers compels me to disagree, it's difficult to argue with rccardr's advice. My only, purely aesthetic, gripe (which I use jovially) is with the vacant canti-posts. Otherwise, I agree with everything he's said.

The 539's also make the 27" to 700c conversion much less hassle. Voyageur cantilever post placement limits you to vintage cantilevers with a good amount of vertical adjustment. Even then, you'd have to set them up in a way that compromises optimal mechanical advantage. Although, if you intend to stick to 27" wheels and tires, I'd suggest trying some Kool-Stops first

VintageSteelEU

What's wrong with cantilevers though? Plenty of variety when it comes to the pads, KoolStop in the US or Fibrax in the UK are sure to have compatible stuff. As for the mounts, if I had that issue, I would probably think about re-purposing them for mounting lights

RCMoeur 

Back at Recycle Your Bicycle today for more wrenchin'.

Mostly routine two-wheel rehabilitation, but saw a couple odd things.

Don't usually see a front wheel dished like this...



Then worked on a bicycle with a braking system I hadn't encountered before. What first caught my attention was two brakes, but one lever and only one cable from the lever. The right rear brake shoe is connected to the front brake cable, and when the shoe engages it slides forward and pulls the front brake arms together. Not easy to adjust...


(cable in foreground runs from right rear brake shoe to the front brake assembly)

Braking performance was... adequate, but I wasn't able to get anywhere near locking the front prior to skidding the rear.

We'll see what fun Saturday brings...

Nemosengineer 

Rossin Progress. Cinderella goes to rehab, Super Record lever set overhaul...

Untitled by nemosengineer, on Flickr

Untitled by nemosengineer, on Flickr

by nemosengineer, on Flickr


: Mike

Prowler 

I worked on one of those systems a couple of months ago. Yup, I was quite puzzled over it for a while but figured it out. It was on an expensive kids bike. I decided that it meant only one brake lever (good for small children) but still gave them rear and front brakes with front brake engagement lagging the rear a wee bit. One of the few I’ve seen that have a front brake. Can’t argue with the objectives.

Sierra

Thanks to all who answered.
I'm going to try the Kool-Stop shoes with the cantilevers first and If I'm still not happy with the braking I'll go with the Tektro brakes.

VintageSteelEU

The only brakes I worked on to date I absolutely despise are V-brakes. OK, not big on disc ones either, but they are usually not my problem On all sidepulls, I noticed that the first thing affecting braking efficiency is usually the cable length. If that's OK, pads, unless badly worn out, are usually OK. I still use Superbe pads on one of the bicycles and they work perfectly fine (great, actually). OK, they squeal like all devils, but these pads are 40 years old. I kept them before I find suitable replacement because they were lightly used throughout these 40 years, but somehow they've been on the bicycle for months now as I still didn't have the time to replace them.

Tektro are pretty good. From what I noticed bolts have a tendency to get a bit of a surface rust, but that's easy to address.
If you're doing conversion to 700c, there's always the option of getting the braze-on mounts removed (though that means at least partial re-painting of the frame). And then there's another option worth checking out: modern cantilever brakes. Like Dia Compe model 999. Wouldn't be surpised if they were made to fit 700c rims. Might depend on the rim thickness, perhaps?

Rooney 

I absolutely adore cantilevers. I think the arms can be designed to be the most beautiful components on a bike. When properly set up, I have full faith in their stopping ability. That said, I fully understand people’s frustration with setting them up. They’re not too hard to get right, but they do require a little more consideration. It seems like Sierra is gonna give them a shot with new pads first, which I’m excited to see, but it’s also good they know there’s another option

ascherer 

I took care of a bunch of loose ends today. On the 71 PX10 upright guest bike I’ve been throwing together, I found out the hard way that 27x1-3/8 Swift Sand Canyon tires are tall enough to rub the bottom of fork crown. I snagged a pair of regular Paselas from Soma’s last sale and mounted them. While I was at it I replaced zip ties with proper top tube cable clips from same said sale, mounted an old front rack and cheesy barrel bag up front, and hung a tail light on it. Also had to finesse the rear shifter location. All seems well and it’s ready for a visitor.

Next I tackled an old high-flange Dura-Ace rear hub that’s been eluding proper adjustment and working itself loose. I think I nailed it this time. It’s on my Falcon, and because of that issue I be at ridden it much this season. I’ll try to ride it on Sunday.

Then I gave some attention to a neighbors’ Specialized Sirrus that’s been hanging for a decade. He needs to get back into action and I volunteered to take care of whatever needs doing. Out of the gate was a drive side broken spoke so tomorrow I’ll see if the local shops happen to have one (black, no less). Other than a quick check and wipe down I didn’t spot anything else that’s malfunctioning. Clean and lube, new brake blocks and tires, and he should be good to go.

georges1

AT the end of the month, ordering seatposts for the Trek 6500SLR, Trek 6700SLR, Giant Bronco and Gary Fisher Hookoo Ekoo, ordering two Rock Shox Silver TK Solo Air Forks, 1 easton EA70 stem for the Giant, 1 Easton riser bar for the Giant, grips for the Giant, 3 hope front hubs, 3 Hope 10 speeds hub, 2 other additional pair of shimano xp d t8000 pedals, another pair of shimano XT SL 8000 T Trekking rapid fire plus shifters for the Giant, two Shimano XT FD-T 8000 DH downswing derailleurs, two Shimano XT771 10 speed cassettes, 1 Cane Creek 110EC34 headset for the Giant and 1 Cane Creek 40EC34 headset for the Gary Fisher, two conti crossking tires and set of Michelin Protek tubes for the Giant.The purchases for road projects are postponed

Mr. 66

The Lygie gets some time in the light. Here I put some black Dura Ace 120/100 hubs on black ukai rims. I have not tried these out yet, they just did not have the right look I wanted on the silver frame. They look better here but still not great.

I installed Campy band clamp shifters, but they are shot. The pivot post for the front has lost its grip on the peen, so it tightens and loosens upon shifts. It works still but I have to maintain the 'd' screw. The clunky Regina chain shifts good, or better than I thought they would. I like cranks' the ring guard, and the ramp in the middle is a new thing for me as well.

This was purchased with 27" high flange Campy that have floated to another. The brakes are Dura Ace, a drop hanger bolt has been added to compensate the reach factor. The brake levers are newer Campy. A B-15 Brooks is the saddle. The stem is SR Royal with eagle crested SR Custom bars. I'm not a fan of the bars but they do look right for the Lygie. I'll cable up the brakes and it will be ready for testing.

24lbs 0oz as pictured

georges1

This afternoon, I completely repainted all the scratches and chips on the Giant Bronco with three coats of green nail polish very close to the original color for maximum protection.

georges1

Original tires on the 850 which is rare to find. I like the ATX 760 , it was a very responsive and maoeuvrable mountain bike , the exage mountain is a very durable and bulletproof transmission