A tale of 4 bikes...and Clunker Challenge shake down cruise

Allez Sport

On the 4th, I rode to my second baseball game in a week.  I had noticed on the Allez that I would get some upper back tightness on rides longer than about 20 minutes, so I swapped out the cockpit and I'm giving the new Nitto/Tektro combo intended for the Cresta GT a dry run.

I was also tired of the super crooked rack so I removed it.

And replaced it with a recently acquired Banjo Brothers Barrel bag.  I had one and used it for many years but it got sold with the Passage, and I found I missed it so I ordered one up.

Ah much better and the barrel bag still fits a mini u- lock as well as all the emergency kit.

You really can see Mt. Rainier from the top of the bridge.

1978 Schwinn Traveler III (aka the Campus bike)

Even at a bargain price this bike has been languishing on CL, but I had a recent inquiry  I felt good about so I put it in the stand to give a once over.  Air in tires, I tightened up the brakes a bit and in doing so noticed that the chain was slack in the small/small combo.  I used my last ^%$# pin connector style chain on this project but I had recently purchased a package of quick links so removing a few links and reconnecting the chain with a quick link was no big deal.  My prospective buyer showed up and bought the Schwinn so it has finally left the apartment.

1978 Motobecane Grand Touring

I finally got around to pulling off the rubber so I could tackle the hubs and clean up the rims and the FW.

I got the very dirty FW off to give it a clean.

After lots of elbow grease and Simple Green you can see its gold again.  I also dribbled penetrating oil into the seam in back and let it soak in, then spun it to spread it out inside.  The FW spins nice and quiet now.

While cleaning the rim I discovered the rear wheel had a broken spoke so before I work on the hub I am going to take it to the LBS for a new spoke. Not in my wheelhouse....yet.

I moved on to the front hub and while it still had grease it was a tacky syrupy feeling grease.  The axle and cones will need a long soak.

The cups are now clean and I dribbled 3 in 1 oil onto each spoke nipple so when I get around to truing the wheel they will (hopefully) not be frozen.

1990 Bianchi Ibex (aka Barney)

I got the Ibex in the stand so I could give it a thorough going over before I rode it.

I have an 8 mm wrench but sometimes that isn't small enough and the tiny adjustable wrench comes in handy.

No more clips and straps just a nice flat pedal.

I also removed the rear fender since the challenge is going to be done during the summer months.

And I replaced it with a Blackburn rack I got from the co-op for $5.51, so I still have $14.49 of wiggle room if I need a tube or cable or something.

While the bike was in the rack I not only checked for braking and shifting etc. but I did a bit of sleuthing.  The front and rear brakes are mismatched, rear are Dia-Compes branded like the derailleurs (XCE) and the fronts are Shimano Alivio.   The shifters are also mismatched, rear shifter is Suntour XCE the front SRAM X.7.

And the water bottle cage is broken but still usable.  Throw those things in with the mismatched wheels and tires and this bike has had a life, which I kinda like.  It was finally time to throw a leg over and do a shake down ride to the market.

After all that work I treated myself to a Nitro pour of Rasputin Stout.  With the market ride I am now 2.5% done with the mileage portion of the challenge. I did end up raising the saddle and had the following observations; in the ballpark for fit, wouldn't mind a taller stem, the rear brake is a bit mushy,  and with a 1.25" front tire the handling is a bit twitchy at low speeds.  I am not sure about how the saddle will do for longer rides but I have a few other choices in the parts bin I can assign value too if it becomes and issue.

I have plotted out some rides that involve bike paths and breweries that I think will get me to 100km, kind of a beerneuring clunker challenge.

Ride. Smile. Repeat.