Fleet Update fall 2020

 

I decided to list the Trek again before I could talk myself out of it.  I put it on CL at $375 and got the full price within a few days.   The buyer plans to commute on it and really liked the bike and as much as I debated letting it go I am glad its going to a good home where it will get ridden and not spend most of its life in a spare bedroom -lol.   I kept the leather saddle and MKS sneaker pedals that I had on it as they will both get used again.  Interestingly the buyer had looked at a Nishiki Cresta in his search but noted it was not in good shape and was barely safe to ride so I think the Trek was a breath of fresh air.

With the clunker challenge over I got the Univega ready to hand off to my barista friend.  I put the original saddle back on, not sure the one I used for the clunker challenge was much better and this saddle is fine for rides under about 6 miles.

I put a decent range cassette and new chain on the bike and some new grips since I am keeping the nice Ergons for that someday Mountain bike.  All up including purchase price I am still a shade under $100 for this bike so if my friend doesn't like it I can list it on CL but I hope it fits and he likes it.

And then there is the problem child Giant..... I should be very clear these problems are entirely self inflicted, I brought this on myself.

I did know going in the hoods had tape and were suspect but they were even worse than I thought.  I was able to find the right replacements in the UK and fortunately I had a refund at PayPal so the hoods were only about $10 out of pocket but the real cost was not cheap.  

Speaking of hoods the rear shifter is going to need some attention, down shifts are ok but up shifts are a chore at best and not all them work.  I am hopeful that a WD 40 flush and some gentle brushing to remove the gunk and then a lube, will solve that issue.

I had an inkling the tires would need replacing and I was right the ones on the bike were old and a bit brittle.  I was lucky the left over Continental tire I had that wouldn't fit on the Allez fits fine on the Giant and this bike is red too, so I only had to order one new tire.

As I think I mentioned in the last post there is a fair bit of sticker residue so I will have to spend some time with Goof Off and a plastic scrapper to remove it and get the bike a bit cleaner and more presentable.

Here is a learn from my dumb mistakes lesson.  When I unloaded the bike at home and was walking it to the apartment I noticed a hesitation in the rolling and that was because the front wheel was out of true and would scrape on the brake at one point in the rotation.  Why was that you ask?  Um broken spoke that I found when I set about trying to true the wheel.  I really should have caught that and got myself a discount.... oh well no stuck stem or seat post.  Although I could try and order a single spoke to replace the broken one I think I will bite the bullet and just go to the LBS as I did for the Univega and have them replace it.  

With any luck I can get most of the issues sorted over the long weekend and spend the rest of the month blissfully riding the now 4 bike fleet, or find a new bike mess to get myself into....

Ride. Caveat Emptor. Smile. Repeat.  

State of the Fleet during a crazy bike market

 I currently have six bikes, which for one guy seems like too many and since we are at the vortex of a crazy bike market and about 5 weeks left of summer if I was going to sell something now would be the time.  Does any arrow in my quiver really need to get sold???

1989 Specialized Allez.

For many reasons the Allez isn't going anywhere.   I just got the shifting sorted so I can ride it.  I have been wanting one for years and the guy who gave me such a great deal on the bike in the first place hasn't had a chance to ride it yet due to the Pandemic.  I am guessing I could get some nice $$ for it but have no desire to sell it.

1978 Motobecane Grand Touring.

On the one hand this bike really only gets ridden to the French bakery, as it was above.  On the other hand I looked for years for a Grand Touring in my size and spent allot of time and effort refurbishing the bike and it is my most stock vintage bike.   Cold logic says I should sell it but I am sure I would regret it immediately so it is staying for now.  

1987 Nishiki Cresta GT

I spent so much $$ and time on this bike I see no way I could get my $$ back even in this crazy market and I like it and want to ride it more.  In addition with the replacement fork I could never advertise it as stock.  I just need to ride this one as its not going anywhere.   And I have a set of fenders to put on it.

2009 Handsome Devil

This is the workhorse, you can't sell the workhorse can you?  I mean there is allot of overlap with the HD and other bikes but I am just not sure I could get enough for it to feel good about selling it.  And I have some ideas that with a set of new tires, bar tape, a wolfs tooth for the derailleur hanger and a 11-40t 9 speed cassette this bike would have a new lease on life.

1987 Trek 520 Cirrus

Ok, this bike I did actually try to sell at the I don't really want to sell it price of $400.  No one came up with that but I did have interest in the $300 to $350 range.  Also with its current 28t cog FW its not a great climber.  I do have a scheme where I could put on a Shimano LX RD I have in the stash and I think that would work with the mega range 34t FW it came with.  That would make it a great climber again and it is so smooth and fits so well.  When will I ever find another 520 for $75 in my size?  On the other hand it duplicates the Nishiki so I am on the fence about the 520.

1993 Univega Via Montega

I have been enjoying riding this bike on the clunker challenge as I did this morning for 20 km.  I do find it gives me hand numbness on the long rides and while it would be fun to make a gravel grinder out of it I do not really need a hybrid.  Also I have a barista friend who expressed interest in having a bike and I think at my current costs of about $100, minus the Ergon grips which I will keep, it would be in his budget.  So plan A is to pass this one along at cost.

I do still look at ads with the idea of finding something inexpensive and in need of a bit of TLC to turn around in the market for a bit of cash but I have been thinking of getting down to maybe 4 bikes.  If, god forbid, I have to move in the next 6 months what am I going to do with 4 bikes let alone 6! lol.

Oh well first world problems.  For now I shall....

Ride. Smile. Repeat.

Some Tweaks for the 520

After test riding the 520 I found that although it was fine in the workstand the rear derailleur rubbed on the two lowest gears of the Mega range FW when I was on the road.  I could have fiddled with it to try and get it to behave but opted to spend about $25 on a new Shimano 14-28 6 speed freewheel and KMC Z51 chain.  You should always replace them in pairs so an old FW doesn't prematurely wear out your new chain or vice versa.  The new parts solved my shifting issues and I addressed a few other minor issues like chain rub for the FD in the biggest gear and rear brake squeak.

It took me a while to figure this out but when you have a saddle and pedals you like you don't leave them on the bike you want to sell, you replace them with items you have in the parts bin and keep the stuff you like.  So the VO leather saddle and MKS sneaker pedals stay with me for the next bike I adopt.

I took some snaps and listed the bike on CL and FB marketplace to test how hot this bike market really is.  If someone wants to pay me $400 for this Trek 520 then fine, and if not it won't break my heart to keep it.


Ride. Smile. Repeat.

Riding the Fleet

In the past month or so as I thought about how much walking I was doing I would lament " I should be riding more"  and it occurred to me recently I just shut up about it and in the words of Nike; Just Do It.

So this week I decided that instead of starting the day with a walk I would instead ride my bike, and then I edited that thought to ride all my bikes.

Monday.  I had to take this bike out the work stand to ride it but I couldn't resist getting in a ride before tearing it down.  Impressions:  Fun!  this is my most racy bike and it felt like it, it was a blast to ride and a great way to start the week.

Tuesday.  I could see rain in the forecast so I went with my work horse.  Impressions: I couldn't have chosen better for my wettest ride of the week.  The 700 x 47c tires handle wet roads with ease.

Wednesday.  It had been so long since the last ride I  had to get air in the tires the night before.  The MotoGT is my oldest and most stock bike in the fleet.  I am always a bit surprised I don't ride it more.  Impressions:  As I have been riding more 80s and early 90s bikes this one feels a bit dated sometimes, but that is part of its charm and riding this French bike compels me to visit my local French bakery...

.....hmm pastries,

Thursday.  I wanted to ride the recently completed 520 before possibly putting it on Craigslist to test the market.  Impressions: I was not as done with this bike as I thought, namely the shifting to the low gears that works fine in the work stand, grinds under load on road and some other minor complaints.  I guess the lesson is I need to do longer test rides before proclaiming I am done.  I was also struck by just how smooth this 531 frame rides.

Friday.  I actually rode this bike last Saturday to escape West Seattle, but I was happy to ride it again on my short, slightly hilly, 4 mile morning ride.  Impressions:  Why do I ride this bike so little after I did so much work on it!  Its hitting its stride but I am still not sure about the cambium Brooks saddle, guess I will need to ride it more.

Saturday.  And finally the last bike in the fleet, the Miyata 112 which I bought to be my trainer ride but since I am without a deck (where I do trainer rides) right now its off the trainer.  This bike has only a front brake so for the first time I deviated my daily ride and just rode the local streets with no long downhills.  Impressions: while in some ways it is obviously an entry level bike (heft, components) it still has many great touches, lugs, maker engraved fork crown and I love the ice blue paint color.  A great example of 1980s Japanese craftsmanship.

I am not going to ride the fleet every week but it is good to be reminded of each bikes strengths and to give them all a turn on the road.  Wow, I just realized half of the fleet is from 1987! and 4 of 6 are from the late 1980s

Ride a lot of bikes. Smile. Repeat

1987 Trek 520: Finishing stretch

Since I was waiting on the rear derailleur cable I ran the brake cables and got the braking dialed in front and back.

When the derailleur cable finally arrived I had an issue in the lowest gears where the derailleur body was rubbing on the 34 tooth cog when indexing through the gears. I went back to the Park Tools video on the rear derailleur and doing indexing and got it sorted out.

while dealing with the RD I noticed the rear wheel was not as true as I thought so I first marked the tire with some masking tape where it was rubbing and then trued it up.

That got the bike finished enough for a test ride which included some peaceful protesting in the local junction.   It was raining but not enough to keep protesters from gathering or me getting the bike too dirty by riding it.

I got this blue bar tape to play off the blue of the Trek logo and I must be out of practice because I had to wrap one side 3 times to get it right.  The tape appeared to be a darker blue when I ordered it but I still like it.

Its far from perfect but the rust is gone and the frame is touched up and  I am pleased with the rebuild.  I am mostly inclined to keep this bike and do some comparisons with the Nishiki just to see which 1987 steel touring bike I like best.  There is a part of me, however,  which wants to see just how hot the bike market really is right now.... we will see.

Its not May but the 6-pack Allez has made its way into the bike stand...

Ride. Smile. Repeat.

1987 Trek 520: Progress and road blocks

 In order to push through and finish the 520 in May I set up the bike stand in the living room.   Usually its in the dining room (lol) but that is my office currently so living room it is.

I removed the wheels to make it easier to get around and work on.

Earlier in the week I got the crank cleaned and mounted and put the pedals on too.

Today I got the chain cleaned and back on, since both the chain and freewheel show little wear I reused rather than replacing them, and the chain had a quick-link so that made it easy.

In going through my box of parts I round the crank bolt caps so they went back on too.

Today I also planned to run the derailleur cables, however, I only had one that was used so I strung the FD and ordered more cables to finish the job.   I have cables for the next project but don't want to rob Peter to pay Paul so to speak,


In the meantime I have the brake cables to string and I need to lube the chain, which needs to happen outside and right now its pouring.   And sometime later I will have the shift cables to finish the job,  As bugs would say, you're getting warmer Doc.

On a different note I exercised some self restraint this week, my daughter knows I am a bike nerd and she sent me a picture of this free bike a mere two blocks from my Apartment.   I  took a walk to check it out, it appears to be an 80s era (glued joint) aluminum frame road bike.   I could not find a makers mark so I have no idea what the brand is.  I did see the RD is Shimano 105 and I was tempted... BUT

• I have limited space and no access to a deck
• I have plenty of projects and 6 bikes are currently in my apartment
• This bike is in rough shape, rust on the frames apparently chrome exterior, mis-matched wheels etc.

I decided that with one bike (520) close to being done and two more in the queue I don't need more and I might be helping my nephew with yet another bike project as well.   Last year I would have probably jumped on this project.

Ride. Smile. Stock up on parts. Repeat.