robatsu

I've pretty much came to the same conclusion that acceptance and cherishing is a better solution than a quest for a new headbadge that will be either fruitless or expensive.

rekmeyata

Actually that does make sense...at least to me as well. I think it was a classy idea.

robatsu

My little homemade bracket doesn't look too bad in final fender installation. Even better, it works great. I could have sanded/polished file marks a little, but whatever:

noglider 

Those handlebars are huge.

robatsu

Must be something in the photography or perspective, just a typical set of Nitto B-115, 42cm.

robatsu

Fenders are finished:

robatsu

I'm going w/stitch on leather handlebar wrap, but first I want to ride it some, make sure I agree w/all the geometry, stem extension and lever placement particularly. Only get one shot w/the stitch on stuff. So some quick and dirty tan cork wrap:

robatsu

Some better pics of bike w/provisional cork handlebar wrap:

91MF

i really like the look of those fenders

robatsu

Went on my first real ride on my new Trek 620 today, post Irene. About 30 miles, mostly the loop of Rock Creek Parkway & Capital Crescent Trail plus a little bit. Lots of small branches and leaves in the road/path, but only had to do 3 portages around downed trees. I had done two shorter rides while my wife/son were here from Japan, but that was with trailer, so this was my first chance to see how the system really works. Ended up with 35mm Pasela Panaracer Tourguards, pumped to 60psi, a nice cushy ride:



That's a new Zimbale front rack bag I just bought. I'm pretty happy with it, nice quality, big enough for typical fair weather day tripping ride and completely out of the way unlike handlebar bags.

I originally fitted the fenders up for 28mm tires - the 35mm fit, but I'm going to rework them for a little more clearance.

rekmeyata

That's a great looking bike, I know I said that before! I took the 85 Schwinn LeTour Luxe out and rode it 110 miles yesterday and got back at around 10:30 at night (using lights of course). Those touring design frames are great, you ride it for 100 miles or so and feel like you've only gone 30 or 40 miles, it's like going from a Lotus (my Miyata Team and 912) to a Cadillac ride. I still need to get some fenders for it that look better then the cheap black crap ones I have now. That Schwinn is now my all weather late riding bike, all my lights are on that one so if I know I'm going to out after dark I just take that bike so I don't have to transfer lights around.

By the way, it seems your tire pressure of 75 "might" be a bit high on the front and too low on the rear. Go to the link I posted and use the second calculator, not the first or third one, enter in your weight plus bike weight plus whatever gear your using weights, and change the percentage from 40/60% to 45/55% and change the tire size to 37 (their max tire size) and see where the pressure is according to the calculator. Try it and see what you think. https://www.dorkypantsr.us/bike-tire-...alculator.html

robatsu

Actually, I had them both inflated to 60psi, I think I might roll the front down to 45-50, keep the 60psi in rear. Both your calculator and the bicycle classics tire drop seem to recommend something around this for my weight.

I'm looking forward to my first longish ride (more than 60 miles or so..). All the components are super high end stuff, brand new, so the operation is smooth as silk. The Berthoud saddle is very, very stiff, the only other leather one I recall being this stiff was a Fujita Professional and I think the Berthoud may be beating it by a nose. Fortunately, the shape seems to agree with me, at least on the short rides I've taken. The 30 miles today was continuous w/out stops except for a couple of portages around/over downed trees and the saddle was still quite comfortable, so that is a good sign for longer range comfort.

I did have 28mm tires on it for a couple of short/quick rides, but the steering felt a little squirrelly - the fork is fairly large offset and then going to 700cc wheels and narrower tires than what was originally specc'ed on the bike seemed to have lowered to the trail a bit too much. The steering feels a lot more stable with the 35mm which, on a 700c wheel gives essentially the same diameter as a 1-1/4" tire on a 27" rim as the bike was designed for and consequently the same steering geometry, more or less.

Roger M 

Excellent work, Robatsu. Looks real good, and the fenders jive nicely with the color of the decals. I like the painted(versus polished/stainless) fenders. Since you posted the link to Alfred E Bike, I've been going back and forth on pulling the trigger on some primer red fenders.

Since you've put some miles on it, are there any clearance issues between the fenders and the 35mm tires?

robatsu

The fenders are 50mm, which is plenty wide for 35mm tires. I've got one or two little issues where some of the attachment hardware coming through the fenders is a little closer to the tire than I like, but I'm going to tweak those fittings a little.

But in general, yes, these are definitely wide enough for 35mm tires.

Soma Roark

I want to touch it! Great job!

robatsu

Soma Roark

^^^ O baby...

ColonelJLloyd 

Cool! I thought 28mm were a bit narrow for a bike of this style. I like how the 35mm tires fill out more of the space. Looks good.

Can you offer any advice for routing the RD cable through the chainstay? How difficult is it? Does the exit requite a particular type of housing end?

robatsu

The 700x28 (as opposed to the original 27x1-1/4) reduced the trail a smidge to the point that I thought the steering was a little twitchy for a bike of this type. The 700x35 ends up with a total wheel size that is theoretically w/in a mm of the original 27x1-1/4 and I could definitely feel the difference. The ride is obviously a lot more cushy. So the 28's will be saved for another project.

The cable slide right through the stay perfectly, just like slipping it through a housing, no muss, no fuss. I don't know how it is constructed inside the stay but it sure was easy.

The end of the stay has an inset for a ferrule. It is too small for a 5mm ferrulle. I used a step down ferrule that came with the derailleur - it is a bit small for the inset, can move around a little. I think it is a 5-3mm step down. It works fine for friction shifting but may introduce some inaccuracy for indexed shifting, which I haven't tried yet (the shifters I put on it have both index/friction mode). At some point, I'll probably round up a 5-4mm stepdown ferrule and put it on there.

ColonelJLloyd 

5 to 4 step down ferrule. Thanks!

robatsu

In principle, you shouldn't even need a ferrule on the chainstay end. However, on my previous 620, I found that the inset on the end of the chainstay wasn't so deep and that an unferruled cable end would get chewed up.

One of these might work:

https://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi...id=24004169888

This is definitely one of those experiment around situations.

The other alternative is to forget the internal cable routing and use a clamp on chainstay stop.

Again, all this really only makes a functional difference in the index shifting case. Otherwise, it is just for appearance and clean finish.

Ex Pres 

On my frame with internal chainstay routing - but not a Trek so I don't know if designed differently - I stripped about 1" of the outer housing only down to the spiralling metal strands. Then I used a plastic ferrule and opened the end to the same diameter. The modified housing went throught the ferrule and then I inserted this package into the chainstay hole. It's working OK for index shifting, but I have had to tweak it some.

To route mine, as it didn't want to go easily the front way, so: I stuck a cable through the back way - slides easily down to the BB shell - taped the shift cable (with a small amount of tape) to this chaperone cable and pulled/pushed it back through. Was actually a pretty easy workaround. Let gravity be your friend when extracting - this will keep you from pulling the cables apart out from the tape.

Ciufalon

Robatsu, what do you perceive the differences to be in terms of frame construction quality and ride characteristics between your 620 and say the 1983 Fuji IV and 1984 Fuji V?

robatsu

I've never had a Fuji IV, but I have had a Fuji V. Between that and the Trek 620, I would say it is a wash. Both are really well made frames that don't give any hint of cheapness. Both are intended to be full-on tourers, but the Fuji V gave me a little more impression of a really sturdy heavily loaded work horse, the dropouts and eyelets on that are amazing, where the Trek 620 seems a little more "roadie", if that makes any sense.

Supposedly, Trek was continuing to silver braze their 531 frames through 1985 at least, not really sure if that makes any substantive difference. The Fuji has chromed fork crown and dropouts, I'm a sucker for that, Trek really never chromed much of anything back then anyhow.

I never put fenders on my Fuji V, but the clearances looked astounding IIRC - I've got 700x35 w/fenders on the Trek, that looks to be the max, which isn't bad, but it would be fun to try 37.

The Trek has an integrated headtube & lugs (with fake cutouts...), some may perceive this as cheaping out a bit, but I'm not sure what the motivation for that was and even if it was for economy if it has a good or bad effect.

southpawboston

I thought the same thing, but the original cable housing (coiled, non-SIS) that came on my Trek 560 (with cable routing through the chainstay via investment cast dropout) was installed without a ferrule, and this bike was spec'd with SIS/105 drivetrain. The SIS has always worked perfectly on this bike, despite the short loop of non-SIS housing and lack of ferrule. I've since replaced the cable housing but haven't found the right ferrule. I don't like how shallow the housing stop is and how the housing can pivot off-axis, kinking the wire. Thanks for the tip on the 5-4 step ferrule, I may try that.

When replacing the cable, I always solder the cable end to the new cable, then pull the new cable through the stay as I pull out the old. If I were to have to snake new wire in without having it tethered to the old cable, I would probably first snake through some stiffer wire, like solid-core picture wire, and use that to pull the cable through.