Saturday, June 1, 2019

Tweaking the Ibex


As I mentioned the Ibex dropped its chain while a perspective buyer was out for a test ride and since I had previous issues with the FW that I thought I had fixed I decided to pull CL ad and replace the FW and chain.  On Friday night the Ibex went into the work stand and off came the rear wheel.


Since I had the FW off  anyway, I decided to do a quick clean of the hub and bearings (it was 3 bearings short btw) and replace the grease.  This part always seems to stall me on full rebuilds, but it only takes about 5 minutes to get the FW and axle off the hub so I am not sure why I let it road block me.


New FW side by side with the old one.  Different manufacturers - SunTour vs SunRace but the same number of gears and the same spread.  A new 8 speed SRAM chain and the 7 speed FW cost about $25 total on Amazon.


Because the new FW has the same gearing I didn't have to fiddle much with the shifting, however I thought the drive train was awfully noisy and "clattery".  Then I looked closer and realized I had colored outside the lines and routed the chain outside the upper jockey wheel cage -Doh!


Thank goodness for quick link chains!  I had it apart in a jiff and got it routed correctly, surprisingly the drive train was much quieter after the change.  A good reminder that if it sounds wrong there probably is something wrong.


The bike is back on CL and I even already have an appointment to show it tomorrow, so fingers crossed I will free up some room in the stable and the Ibex will go to a good home.  Next up the Schwinn LeTour.

Ride. Route your chain correctly. Smile. Repeat

2 comments:

  1. That build is so pretty, love what you've done! I have such a soft spot for these old beauties. May the next owner ride it everywhere.

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    1. Thanks for the nice comments Annie, I am happy with how the IBEX turned out and someday I will recreate the Miyata Trail Runner experience and find a vintage MTB that fits and is a keeper.

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