BTinNYC 

Wahoo Fitness will do that, show power and cadence. You load an interval workout too.

spclark 

Thanks! Just navigated to that, downloaded to my MBPro. Now it's find something for the iPhone. Got Strava linked too! This is gonna be fun!

VintageSteelEU

Haven't had much time today for wrenching, but managed to get the Superator frame into the bathtub (since I was going to clean the bathtub anyway) and give it a warm, soapy bath. One problem is that the colour actually starts growing on me. It looks like the underlaying "bleu" (as the painter noted on the steerer tube) has been covered with some sort of pearlescent translucent top coat (crystal pearl kind of thing?) which gives it a nice shimmer. It's not the nicest vintage paintjob I've seen on a bicycle, but seems to be quite resilient. Chrome, however, is shot. I've cleaned up the worst of it for now, but I think eventually the frame will get the chrome stripped and repainted. Love the chrome, but paint is easier to touch up.

Before I spend any money on that, I think it will be best to build it up and check how it rides. I have some French BB cups on their way, so hopefully we'll see this turned into a bicycle over the next few weeks. But I've made a start today by checking frame alignment. As much as I can say using primitive methods such as a piece of string, ruler and a long, straight rod, it seems to be OK. Perhaps the dropouts might need a slight nudge and the fork will need proper alignment. I wonder how it could happen for fork dropouts to end up at different angles (in relation to the centre of the bicycle), but I think this should be a relatively easy thing to sort out.

noglider 

I haven't had the urge to wrench on bikes for a long time, and I'm cool with that. I realize, however, that we have a garden hose in my apartment building that the superintendent uses to wash the sidewalk and that my neighbor uses to water the plants in the tree pit in front. I could also use it to hose down my bike after it gets dirty. And I think I should. My drivetrain was in horrible condition this summer until I replaced the chain, and I should prevent a recurrence.

JustinHS777

Finished off a drop bar 26er. About to start a 2014 hardtail 29er for the wife.

RCMoeur 

One of my winter/spring projects will be to degunk a full box of trigger shifters in the ultrasonic cleaner. These were pulled from bikes this past fall - those bikes got shifters that were degunked last spring/summer. And so on.

RCMoeur 

On my "alumispeedy" 1x9 cruiser, I like having close high gear spacing and a low gear for steep climbs, but needed separate cassettes to optimize each. Today, I took the 11-12-13-15-17-19-21-23-26 cassette, pulled the 23, and put a 34 in the low position to create a 11-12-13-15-17-19-21-26-34 version.

How does it shift, you may ask? Not bad so far, even on the big low-gear jumps. The ramps seem to line up acceptably well.

MrGastrognome

Made the most of a rainy day and went down to a heated shop to cold set the Nishiki Bel Air to 130, install the BB, run cables and give the mechs a "close enough" adjustment.

Seven dollars to make stays holler.

Aligned the drops.

Checked the hanger.

LePree doing LePree things.

Tomorrow we ride?

noglider 

What kind of fluid will you be using?

@MrGastrognome, nice project, nice pictures.

WGB 

FWIW, I have had great results using Costco Kirkland brand laundry detergent in my ultrasonic cleaner. Surprisingly, it cuts grease really well and it's very cheap.

JustinHS777

Took apart some older RockShox for the first time to discover the elastomers need replaced.

spclark 

Yep. My go-to detergent's the same All Free & Clear I use on my clothes. Proportion's different though, detergent:water; the ultrasonic gets ~ 30ml / liter H2O where the washer gets 30ml to whatever the washer decides it needs for the load I put innit.

Longest cycle on my US's 8 minutes. Really dried crud needs four, five repeats to get decently clean. And I learned early on to put dirty items in a plastic baggy then into the basket 'cause the gunk that comes off settles to the bottom of the US tray otherwise & later is a major PITA to get rid of.

RCMoeur 

It's not necessarily the cleaner that makes the biggest difference. I use OilEater citrus cleaner cut 4:1 with water. If they're small enough (such as detachable early-generation Rapidfire), I run them in a small ziploc filled with cleaner in an ultrasonic cleaner basin filled with hot water. Bigger parts such as later all-in-one Rapidfire MTB brifters are cleaned with the ultrasonic cleaner basin filled with solution. After several initial cycles to start loosening things up, I'll pull the shifters out and use an awl to work the pawls, spraying with Clean Streak to help penetrate into the small parts. This repeats until the shifter functions freely. Then I run the shifters for 5+ additional cycles in hot water to get the last of the old gunky grease and cleaner out, otherwise they might work now but stop working once the old grease re-solidifies.

Mad Honk 

Today it is subzero outside and pretty cloudy, so I spent some time cutting the excess off of a left Campy shift lever to exchange it for a usable vintage right shift lever that was put on a key ring for a fob. Then I finished cleaning and refurbishing a set of brake levers for my Ochsner. The levers were pretty cruddy and had been soaking in cleaning solution for a few days. I will add a pair of covers and then put on the bars for final finish with tape. I'm thinking about trying the Silca bar tape for a finish. Any thoughts about the bar tape. Smiles, MH

Levers ready for cover install. Left shifter lever after lots of work to save enough for the keychain fob.

VintageSteelEU

Got a bunch of these (3 calipers, to be precise) mostly for parts, because they share quite a few of them with early Superbe brakes (as other Suntour brakes). And also because I don't have any brakes with cable adjuster and pinch bolt on this side, so they might get used some day. And if not, at least I have a bunch of brass washers, springs and mounting bolts (cable adjusters have already been canibalised). But I don't like storing any components with gunk, so gave them a good clean. They are nothing fancy, though it seems they were pretty decently made and finished for the era. I've seen them on some mid to upper level Motobecane before. Of course now, after several decades, time and use took their toll. The first generation Superbe CB-1000 seem to be a nearly mirror image of these. Later ones are chunkier, and, if I remeber correctly, don't use a knurled washer under the centering nut.

Bikedued

Almost there, saddle won't be here until Tuesday, UPS is closed tomorrow./

Trav1s

Cleaned and repacked bearings and polished two wheel sets. The 700c set is for the curb find Trek 730 and they took some serious elbow grease. The 26er set is for a Trek 820 Sport I’m building up for my daughter.

700c



26 waiting for the next step in the project.

wildOG

I got a number of things that the Colnago Super needed. I did some wrenching, and some planning.

I got nos Campagnolo dropout adjusters with the plastic thumbscrews to replace the ones that were damaged during shipping.

I spent some time trying to condition the seat, a Brooks Professional that's pretty hard. I went at it with Proofide and a toothbrush, wrapped it in aluminum foil and put it in my toaster oven on 150º F for about 10 minutes. Then did it again. Then put some more on and let it sit overnight. It's still hard.

Also I was able to go through the bottom bracket having finally got the tools to get it apart/back together.

I got a set of original Campagnolo Record pedals off eBay that are in much better condition. Actually I only used the left one as the right one that came with the bike cleaned up to be better than that in the 'new' set. I'm happy with how they look. I'm gonna run the Cristophe toe clips that the bike came with. I'm still waiting on a set of Campagnolo straps that I ordered to complete the pedals.

I'm waiting on a Campagnolo seat post bolt.

I was looking at options for a handlebar phone mount which got me thinking I need to figure out a plan for how to finish the handlebars. The bike came with very dirty Cinelli cork tape in yellow. It was kind of growing on me, but it's kind of not me, and I don't think I could keep it clean. I pulled the trigger on Newbaum's cotton tape in black. I was thinking about like a natural or khaki tape, thinking it would compliment the Nuovo Blue, but the seat is black so to have the seat and handlebars both be black I think keeps it simple. I'm not sure if I made the right decision on plug ends, getting a set of Nitto expanding ones in silver, with their being Japanese, and with the weight. Gonna think about it some more.

Also I ordered some Soma Campy brake lever hoods in a gum color — I think it will match the gum wall of the tires which I've sort of come to appreciate.

So Nuovo Blue and it's got orange Michelin tubulars with a gum wall, a black Brooks Pro, Black cotton tape, with gum hoods.... we will see I guess.

jdawginsc 

The Nastro Cuscino gets good reviews and seems shinier than the Piloti which seems very “corky”.

cjefferds 

Overhauled the SA coaster brake on my little red Raleigh Space Rider.

victorm

Damn near a whole restoration in one post lol Been wrenching on this for the last few months and making some solid progress.

noglider 

I have a project coming up. A few years ago, the rim on the rear wheel of my commuter bike broke. This is my 1974 Raleigh International. It was a silly choice of wheel, and I knew it would fail: a racing wheel with 24 spokes. I borrowed the rear wheel from the set I had previously had on my Lemond titanium racing bike. I had converted the Lemond to 650b. The drivetrain on the Lemond is Campagnolo, so the 10 speed derailleurs and shifters don't mate perfectly with the Campy cassette. But the compromise is less than I imagined. Certain shifts require two clicks. And there is never that grinding sound from being between gears that we used to get in the friction days. This is because of Shimano's Centeron system of making the pulley wobbly deliberately.

I have an old Dura Ace hub from eBay and a Sun CR18 rim, both 36-hole. I'll build a new wheel for my Raleigh.

I also plan to convert the Lemond back to 700c. The 650b experiment was interesting, but it had a wonky effect on handling, and tire clearance is too tight. I'll need to outfit the bike with the most supple 25mm tires I can find, and that shouldn't be too hard.

noglider 

@victorm, what rear hub is that?

@cjefferds, who will be riding that Raleigh?

Mad Honk 

Tom,
That is a Bendix single speed coaster brake rear hub. Smiles, MH

curbtender

What's the new hub?