Cresta GT Update part I

I was all excited to get the new bagman support on the Cresta for the Carradice Barley bag and decided to take the Cresta on a quick store run.  I had not gotten out of the alley before discovering a drawback to the open frame of the support.  The bag can droop down and rub on the tire.  I tend to have less that a fist full of seat post show for fit reasons and that exacerbates the issue.

There is a art and frame shop in the Junction and it occured to me that a cheap canvas could work as a bag stiffener to keep the bottom of the bag flat.  I was able to get a 9x12 for about 2 bucks and cut it down to size.

It seems to work and provide clearance above the tire, however I haven't tested it out yet as I had access to a garage over the 3 day weekend so.....

..the Cresta went into the work stand so I could once again remove the fork.

While the fork was still mounted I removed the brakes since I want to put the brakes from the original fork on the replacement after painting.

I also took care of the bolts for the stupid hangers that kept Schwinn forks connected to front tires in the mid 80's.  Because of the tight space I used a vice grip.

I also used my crown race puller so it would be easier to paint the fork.

I also pulled the race from the original fork since it goes with the VO headset on the Cresta and it can now go on the Passage fork when its ready for reassembly.

The Cresta GTnow rests, fork-less, in the work stand ready to be reunited.

I headed to True Value for supplies yesterday.  Did some light sanding and tried to deal with any rust on the Passage fork

I taped off the crown race area and the Canti studs and then did some light coats and finally let it sit over night.  I didn't do anything fancy like sanding and then applying additional coats or finishing with a clear coat, but it should look the part from 10 feet away.

Although its tempting to throw it all back together I am going to let the paint cure for a day or two before I remove the masking tape, install the fork crown race and then put it back on the bike.  More to come.

Ride. Smile. Repeat.