zjrog

Initially, I want to get my old KHS Fiero road bike from the shed to the indoor trainer.I bought the bike in 1989 as a frame with a no name chrome fork, built it up with what others discarded. I put a lot of miles on that old bike and I think its time to revive it. It wound up with a Nishiki fork that I was lucky enough to fit 27" wheels to it, though I am considering 700c wheels at this time. Really, the first thing after a basic cleaning and lubing will be, new brake hoods. The current one are gooey.


They say Dia Compe, but no model number. Best place to find replacements?

Next question.. I am considering 700c wheels to replace my 27" wheels...

I would likely need a new caliper since this one is almost at it's longest reach now.

I have no idea the quality of the frame, or even what year it is. But it's value is much more wrapped around sentimental value. It will never be lighter than the 1998 Cannondale R200 I have. So I need it to be able to do things different than that bike does...

Chrome Molly

Maybe something like this for the hoods (or supplier of your choice with same item):

https://www.amazon.com/Dia-Compe-BL07.../dp/B006FYMX9Q

Careful now, you just might get N+1 syndrome of the C&V variety. It should be a good project. Many of the KHS bikes are of higher quality than you'd initially expect.

repechage

Indeed. For the wheels, 700c will be essentially 4 mm smaller in radius, so that is the telling dimension.
I would clean the hoods with mineral spirits and note the condition after.

I would look around though for the brake hoods, I have that era o Dia-Compe levers and the body is taller, I am not sure they will fit.

icepick_trotsky 

Are the brakes nutted or recessed Allen? Tektro makes some very long reach calipers in both flavors specifically for these 27 to 700c conversions.

zjrog

First off, the hoods are torn and in bad shape.

Too many years of sitting in the shed and bad moving conditions.


So I cut the worst hood off. Hoping to find a brand or model number hidden. No joy. But maybe this will be a better view to help...

I am going to hit a couple older bike shops and the local collective this weekend to see what I can find. I suppose, I could just source some Tektro levers too.

The Nishiki fork and Dia Compe front brake fit a 700 quite readily.

And the fork uses recessed hardware. I do not know what year or model Nishiki I got the fork, brake caliper, brake levers, handlebar and stem from. It was 1990 or so and the bike had a broken frame.

The rear brake is nutted. At present, I'm unsure what I want to do. Giving a ton of thought to 1x10 or 1x11 drivetrain. I don't want to duplicate my other roadbike. Rear spacing is just under 130mm, so I believe some cold setting would be needed. I have no idea of history of KHS road bikes, and nobody I talk to believes KHS made roadbikes back when I got this frame...

I already have N+1 issues...


1998 Trek 950, I have the proper Mountain LX cantis, but need the Mountain LX shifter/brake levers. Then it will go back to as close to original as I can get it. It's on cheap heavy rubber right now. but rides good... It is a little small for me, but just getting back in bicycles, this is great for relearning bike handling skills I thought I'd lost...

I think it looks neat against the front of my Neon, yes, with a pushbar and rally lights...


1998 Cannondale R200. RSX components, except, 105 triple crank and FD. Bought in 98 for my wife, I crashed hard on this bike three and a half years ago. Nice to be back on it finally. Replaced the front wheel, handlebars and stem.

This one is sentimental.

I don't know what year the frame is. We fostered a kid 20 years ago, and I got him into bicycles. He still rides. Last summer he bought a new bicycle, and sent me this one. Just in time for my the third anniversary of my crash. I just had to ride it. Performance Access aluminum 29er, Salsa Woodchippers, Sora brifters... A mix of parts. It felt funny at first, but fits nice now. Yes, the nose of the saddle needs to come down...

eschlwc

unless trying to fit a 23mm tire, 700c isn't always the way to go.

zjrog

No, no 23s for me, thinking more like 32s.

Lascauxcaveman 

I'm guessing that's what he meant and just got a little dyslectic there for a minute.

I don't convert to 700c unless I have a specific reason like I just tacoed my 27", or I need bigger tires AND fenders. OTOH, I've got a good number of extra 27" wheels lying around, so there's a financial incentive to make them work out.

Of course everyone knows you just can't find tires for 27" rims anymore

zjrog

Well, the front wheel I built for this bike 20+ years ago, has rusty eyelets around the spoke nipples. Bummer. And when I took the rear wheel to be trued, several nipples stripped. Took a trip to the nearby bicycle collective and couldn't find remotely matching 27" wheels. However. There was a matching set of Alexrim CT700 wheels with 700x32 tires and tubes, and, a Shimano 8 speed cassette... Turns out, 32s barely fit the rear between the chainstays. And rubs the crown of the fork. So, 700x28s have been thrown on. I already had them on hand. The 700x32 Specialized Nimbus Flak Jackets tires sure are heavy. But I will pass them to my daughter for her Hybrid. Now to see if the friction shifter has enough pull and the Exage 400EX has the reach for 8 speeds...

bane

That Trek 950 is the business.

Ed.

From one to another, nice work.

zjrog

I like it a good deal. Its fun to ride and will be more fun with some lighter weight rubber. Thank you...

zjrog

It was a tough time for him. And we were glad to hear back from him. My own son and his wife are fostering much younger kids themselves now.

Ed.

Growing up is tough enough, growing up in foster care is tough beyond measure. We're still in touch with a few, and none of them have had an easy time of it. Our last, who we had as an infant, is now cruising in on 13 (in just a wee bit over a week). He, and the family who adopted him, have had a particularly difficult time.

zjrog

We were involved in a program and we did respite for other families in the group, mostly. This kid came to us a few times, but then we got him fulltime. He turned 14 with us, and we got him involved with sports. He is the only one we are in touch with, and we have been lucky enough to meet his wife and his kids... We nearly adopted him, but his grandma was against it. I was in the Navy at the time, and I transferred and never knew how he turned out. He reached out to us a couple years back on Facebook of all places... My wife's health became such, we couldn't continue with foster care.

due ruote 

Hoods for those Aero Gran Compe levers can be tough to find, especially at a decent price. Too bad as I find them really comfortable.

If you don't love them, it would be simpler to go with some new Tektros, or an old pair of 105 levers.

zjrog

Hoods for the Aero Gran Compes are pricey and tough to find. AGC 250 looks to be the model of the brakes. Since I added an 8 speed cassette, might look at 8 speed brifters. Or Tektro levers and 8 speed downtube shifters.

zjrog

Need the rear triangle to be cold set to fit these new wheels right. Fit some Clark brankd brake pads to the old Dia Compe brakes, enough reach front and rear to fit the 700s. The issue I will have is that the olod RD I have, an Exage 400EX, won't cover the bigger cog on the cassette. And pretty sure the the old Schwinn sourced downtube shifters aren't going to cover 8 speeds. My question this evening is which 8 speed RD is still available, or might be the better choice if I stay friction shift?

zjrog

As I was searching for a better looking down tube shifter set than my rusty old clamp on set, I had been looking at a pair of Microshift 8 speed brifters off Amazon. Instead, I struck a deal in the classifieds for Shimano 105 5600 10 speed double brifters and both derailleurs for $90. About $40 less than the Microshift brifters alone. Now I have some questions. Must I use specific Shimano shift cables or can I use generic? Will I have issues shifting the 10 speed chain with my old SR Sakae crankset? And I don't know the brand of rear hub that came with my wheelset, am I going to have spacing issues going to a 10 speed cassette? Dishing or ?

ncrnelson

You're in deep now. I would assume your old rear wheel probably has a freewheel and not a cassette, 10 speed wouldn't fit anyways. I'd say go to velomine.com and pick up a set of open pro wheels with 105 hubs for about $200. As for the crankset, it might, you'll have to try it. I wouldn't be surprised if the teeth of your current chainrings didn't fit well in a 10 speed chain.

zjrog

The wheels I picked up a few weeks back are fine, with an 8 speed cassette.



The wheels came with 700x32 tires, but they were just a bit too wide for the chainstays on this old bike, and too tall for the fork crown, so I settled on 28s, which I already had on hand.
My old wheels were very much an old 6 speed freewheel.


I will try my old crankset, but sure the spacing might be too wide. Also, still curious about Shimano specific cables or are generics fine for shifting?

When I was working on my Trek 950, the freehub had a 7 speed cassette on it. Tried an 8 speed, but couldn't get the lockring on. Which is why I am hoping the 10 speed and 8 speed cassettes are interchangeable on this newer wheelset.

zjrog

I love my area Bicycle Collective. Bought the new wheelset there, with an 8 speed cassette ($60). But snagged a 105 10 speed brifters and derraileurs out of the classifieds, when I was looking for 8 speed shifters ($90). For less than the 8 speed shifters I wanted. Back to the Collective, and scored an Ultegra 6600 10 speed cassette, 12 to 27 tooth ($15).


So I got the cassette cleaned up and swapped, and with my original crankset, even has a reasonable chainline, just eyeballing it.

The bike goes back to the backburner for a bit while I collect more parts and save up a bit in case I need to swap the crankset...

zjrog

I received some goodies to maybe get this closer to finished.

Shim for the FD. Cable stop for the down tube, and adjusters for the brifters. I am not certain these adjusters are needed, but my 29er with Sora 9 speed brifters has adjusters.

zjrog

Still working on this project. Turns out my crankset is either bent or the rings are. And just holding a 10 speed chain all but drops between the rings anyway... So. I started thinking about new cranksets. I decided I wanted to go compact as I am not the monster I was 20 years ago. After doing some reading, thought I might want to try some 165mm crank arms, to reduce leverage issues on my old knee (already had one replaced 5 years ago.)

While looking, I got a great deal on a compact 165mm FSA Vero set. Except, the bottom bracket. Thought it was ISIS drove. But no, it is FSA's proprietary Powerdrive...

Powerdrive has 2 less splines than PowerSpline shown to the left of ISIS... Powerspline will be returned to Amazon. The ISIS was found at the local collective for $5... The proper Powerdrive BB should be here later this week.

Man, a lot has changed in 20 years... Haha...

I have a lead on a 105 compact 170mm crankset, new in box. If I don't like the 165, it was at least a cheap experience...


Needed cable stops to use the 105 Brifters. Origin8 has a neat couple products to choose from. This fits well against the stop for the original clamp on shifters.


Meantime, Picked up a cheap women's frame bike for my wife. Basically just for the drivetrain. After finding this trainer, I knew I needed a step through frame for my wife. She is disabled and her adult trike won't fit on a trainer. This setup is very solid and she can get her leg up and through. No way could she have done that on a regular bike and trainer. Adding a Schoche branded Bluetooth sensors, so she can track her speed and RPM, just like many of us...

zjrog

Got the right BB in...

Fit just fine. YEA!


So, the old BB cups came right out. Without too much work. Wiped it with a shop cloth, and it was clean, no rust. Considering that I last sealed the old BB up 20+ years ago, in Hawaii.


And then the replacement crankset dropped right in place. My first experience with a sealed cartridge bottom bracket. Man, simple, and smooth...

OK, time to get the chain and on, get the bars installed and string some cable...