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
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.
ReplyDeleteThanks 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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