Cresta GT Headset Strike One, and Sunday musings

The Nishiki Cresta GT rebuild is currently stalled due to two stubborn threaded headset spacers.  Today I tried my first solution.

I came across a Youtube video of someone using these funky long reach pliers from Mintcraft to remove a BB lock ring which made me think they might work for the threaded spacers,  At $8 I figured it was worth a shot.

It looked good to start but trying to turn with any sort of pressure made the pliers slip out of the grooves.  Strike one on removing the spacers, I have two more options I am going to try, both of them involving buying tools I don't currently have.  If I get to three strikes it will be time to go to a bike shop as I don't want to mess things up.

Sunday Musings

I forgot yesterday to detail how I dealt with the broken rear derailleur cable guide on the Campus bike.

I took a belt and suspenders approach by using both electrical tape and a zip tie and this was after I had gently tapped the cable housing and ferrule into the c-shaped opening.  It doesn't look great but its not going anywhere.

On Saturday we were getting Noah level rain all day, so when Sunday started dry I figured I had better get a ride in to the market.  The Handsome Devil got the nod and on the ride in I felt like was riding through molasses so a trip to the work stand might be in order to check brake pad clearance etc, or maybe I am that out of shape.  Did someone say beer?

I started with a Link In Bio, double IPA from Cloudburst brewing in Seattle.

And finished with a Elixir Breakfast Stout (Coffee style) from Old Schoolhouse brewery in Winthrop WA.  Does that mean my ride counts as Coffeeneuring?   On my way back to the HD I saw not one but two cool bikes.

The first one was a Rivendell Hubbuhubbuh tandem, it has quite a presence being so long.

The second was a Faraday Porteur Ebike, which IMHO is one of the nicest looking Ebikes on the market, but it doesn't come cheap at $3500 retail.  The owner came back as I was taking my picture and I asked her how she liked it, she said she loved it so much she'd bought a second one after her first was stolen, she had goofed and left it unlocked (unintentionally) while downtown for 3 hours.  She also told me she had purchased it  in lieu of buying an electric car so that put the price in perspective.

We'll see how the Cresta GT headset saga plays out.  Ride. Drink IPA's.Smile.Repeat.

Campus bike part IV: Finished! (1978 Schwinn Traveler III)

The correct shim arrived and I didn't even have to give up my kingdom for it, a few tries and..

we have snugly fit handlebars, and we are (hopefully) past the last road block on this build.

It looks good with the bars finally on it, and maybe I'll do just a bit more.

I ended Wednesday night with shifters, brake levers and grips mounted to the bars.

Friday night I ran the shift cables and housing, and did a bit of test to see they worked.

This morning I started with removing the rear wheel to mount the kickstand I had picked up at bike works.  I also ran the brake cables and housing and then made a startling discovery....

at some point I had bought a pin connector model chain!  I hate this style and swore off them years ago.  When I opened the box I was looking for the quick connect link only to realize, with mounting horror, that it was old school.

Note to self; do NOT buy the Z50 model KMC chain again, not matter how good of a deal it is!

I do have the right tool and knowledge for this type of chain and I did get it mounted, I just didn't like it.  While I was not successful building this bike for zero $ out pocket, it did get major donations from the parts bin.  The rear wheel, freewheel, crank-set, brakes and rear derailleur came from the 83 Raleigh Record (Junk bike).  The saddle and seat post came from the 74 Nishiki Professional, the handle bars, grips, rear rack and bottle cage came off the Raleigh Rapide mixte and items like the levers, shifters, pedals and front wheel came from who knows where.  I did end up spending about $20 for; 2 MTB brake cables, 21 mm Schwinn specific stem, handle bar shims and kick stand.

From 10 feet away the bike doesn't look too bad, from 10 inches away the rough condition is pretty clear.

The Traveler won't win any beauty contests but should provide functional transportation.  Finishing the campus bike means all the projects I intended to build for sale are done!  Well, mostly done, the Traveler is on CL, but as I was adjusting the shifting and then wheeling the bike out for pictures I wasn't thrilled with how noisy the FW is.  Bikes don't actually fly off the shelf at this time of year, the Mixte finally sold after about a month on CL,  so I should have time to do a FW swap to see it makes things better.

Packages have started to arrive for the Cresta GT and I received a tool that may solve my threaded headset spacer issue, I'll let you know.

Ride. Recycle old bikes. Smile. Repeat.

Brakes (levers), Bikes and Beer; another Lazy Sunday

Today I thought I would remove the DiaCompe brake levers from the handlebars the Cresta GT came with, so I could clean them.

What a PIA, and a mess to boot.  The bars were double wrapped and very sticky between layers which meant the old bar tape came off in tiny bits not one big strip.  It took far longer than anticipated just to free one bleeping brake lever.

The hood, though filthy, was in pretty good shape and supple,

I started out with warm water and hand soap, just using my fingers to work the soap into the hood,  I followed up with more hand spap and a tooth brush for the stubborn stuff and finished off with a spritz of WD-40 and one more go with the tooth brush.

Pretty big difference huh?  As I was cleaning the hood I was thinking two things.  First man these hoods are small as in how comfortable will they be when my hands are on the hoods?  And second that white hoods like white bar tape look great... for about 5 seconds, with any riding they become dirty and dingy and show it more readily than other colors.  It's possible there is an Amazon cart filled with; bars, stem and brake levers as a result of the brake lever exercise this morning. The cart hasn't approached checkout yet but its ready if needed and because of some judicious choices is just under a $100 before tax rather than close to $150. (EDIT: itchy trigger finger- Ordered)

1985 Schwinn LeTour

In checking my craigslist ads for the Mirage and Rapide, I was looking at the bike listings (market research you know -yeah right) and came across an 84 Schwinn Le Tour (catalog shot above).  I was drawn in by the top mounted Suntour down tube shifters.  I have wanted to work on a bike with these since 2013, when I wrote the post: the secret life of friction shifters, my second most popular post ever according to Blogger.  The bike was also my size, fairly stock judging by the one picture  and reasonably priced since the seller is moving, and it already had one price drop.  My mind raced with how it would be cool to play with those shifters and how the 4130 chromoly frame would be a great commuter platform, and how it would fit the NIB 7 speed wide range FW I have in the parts bin and.....  Then I sobered up and got real, I have two bikes still unsold on CL, with a 3rd about to be finished and put up for sale.  And I have two other bikes in need of rehab and my daily rider.  That makes six bikes still in the apartment and two full overhauls to come, I DON"T NEED MORE!!  And for what I would pay for the Le Tour I can check out the cart on Amazon for the Cresta GT (which in fact I just did).  Down boy.  I also know that many bikes, from many makers,  were made in the mid 80s with these shifters and I can find one when I am ready, maybe even on a Schwinn with Tenax tubing.  And if I need a commuter platform I have lots of choices in house.  I know this will be news to you all, but I might have a bike acquisition addiction.

Craigslist crisis averted it was off to the beer Junction.  I choose the Moto_GT in part because I don't mind if its cheap, place holder, saddle gets rained on.  It's not that the Brooks can't take rain, they make them in England after all, but I try not to go out of my way to get it wet.  I also like that Moto_GT reminds me it needs the full restoration treatment with every ride, I noticed the front brake is mushy so it may need to go to dry dock.

I also like the Grand Touring because it has a chainguard and therefore saves me the 5, agonizing, seconds of rolling up my pant leg and then 5 more, excruciating, seconds of rolling it back down again.   Let's taste some beer.

I started off with the Holy Trinity IPA from Skookum Brewery in Arlington WA.  Jaysus, Mary and Joseph -that's good boyo.

Followed by the Notorious Imperial IPA from Boneyard in Bend, OR.

And I finished up with an Irish Death Stout from Iron Horse in Ellensburg, WA.

After tasting beer and watching baseball, they have MLB network going on Sunday's, I couldn't leave the Beer Junction without some beer and Peanuts.  Ride.Smile. Don't hoard bikes.Repeat.

Nishiki Cresta GT Part I: the tear down

You may recall I ordered a handlebar shim for the Campus bike, well I forgot the golden rule of measure twice, order once.   I ordered a shim to make a 25.4 diameter handlebar fit a 26.0 diameter stem, one problem, my handlebar is 22.2.  I sighed, said a few choice words and ordered the correct shim, sunlite, from Amazon.  It will be here Tuesday, which left me with a bit of time Friday night.

So the Schwinn came out of the stand and the Nishiki went in.  I have been resisting the urge to fill a basket from Amazon or Velo Orange or Rivendell with all sorts of goodies for this bike.  I want to get it overhauled and then ride it to see how I like the fit and ride before I go too nuts on upgrades.

I do have the very nice Swift tire Sand Canyon's in 27 X 1 3/8 waiting for the rebuild, I did splurge a bit on them but I think they may be supple and smooth enough to justify that premium over a pair of much less expensive but stiffer Kenda K40s.  I hope to ride them enough to give a review.

I also have a pair of new in box tubes ready to go for the rebuild.

I had three cantilever brake pads in the parts bin, why 3?  I have no earthly idea!  I ordered a pair from Amazon and I'm sure once they arrive I will find a single canti brake pad kicking around somewhere but new pads will be ready for the rebuild.

I know from experience with the Schwinn Passage that the stock pedals on the Nishiki aren't my cup of tea, so I did spend some $$ and ordered my favorite pedals the MKS RMX "sneakers".  They will arrive next week.  I went from two bikes with these pedals to zero so I will be happy to have them back in the quiver.

I have a nice Jagwire shift cable set in the parts bin, not sure if the red will work, or make the bike too 4th of July but I have other housing bits I could use too so we'll see,

I have not one, but two boxes of Cinelli cork bar tape in the parts bin so one will go on the Nishiki.  I think it will look good with the bike, and with the initial rebuild I want to mostly use what I have on hand and not spend too freely out of the gate.

The Cresta came with the worlds shortest reach stem and stock 40mm handlebars which I find too narrow, so I am going to the parts bin for wider bars and longer reach stem and I'll move the stock brake levers over.  I envision that if I like this bike as much I think I will that it will eventually get a cockpit upgrade but between a set of Nitto Rando handlebars, Technomic stem and some Origin 8 drilled areo brake levers (I like how they feel in my hand) that is $140 I don't need to spend right now.   I also have my eye on a Brooks saddle, of course,  but will go with the stock Vetta for the rebuild.

I took a bunch of photos of the bike before starting the tear down, how the brakes are set up, the shift levers, the rear derailleur, brake adjusters in the brake bridge etc. so I can refer to them later if I need to.

After about 40 minutes work, mostly with Y wrenches, I was down to a frame with just the BB and headset left to deal with later and...

...a  box of parts, it mostly went smooth, the drive side pedal was stubborn but the cheater bar on the end of the pedal wrench convinced it to budge, all in all a good Friday nights work.

The Suntour Accushift downtube shifters have even more innards than most DT shifters, so I used the zip tie trick to keep it all together until I can carefully and deliberately take them apart, one at a time, to clean and lube them.

Today, Saturday, the bottom bracket came out, the fixed cup barely caused a fuss and I was pleased to see grease and not the Sahara inside the cups.

The headset on the other hand is a bit of a stinker.  I encountered threaded spacers like these before on a 74 Nishiki, but they had deep enough indentations that I could use a pin spanner to get them loose, that doesn't work in this instance.  I have a few ideas but I am deliberately taking it slow, first do no harm, is a motto I've heard somewhere.  I always have the bail out of the bike shop and I have a few in my area that work on vintage bikes.

That leaves me with a frame, fork and headset.  I am hoping for another ride to the Beer junction tomorrow, until next time. Ride,Smile, do no harm, Repeat.

Lazy Sunday

Yesterday I said I would ride to the Market and have some beers, I like to keep my word.

Moto_GT got the nod today, every time I take this bike out for a short ride I think this beauty needs the full overhaul/spa treatment.  That day is getting closer, the Campus bike is very close to being done, the Cresta GT is in the on deck circle and then it will be time for the Moto_GT.

It wasn't the most inviting day for the farmers market, 47 degrees and overcast, but it didn't rain on me.  My main goal for this ride was to visit the beer Junction.

I started out with a Built to Sell IPA from Cloudburst brewing, Seattle WA.

Then graduated to a double IPA, the Queen of the Skies, from Airways brewing in Kent WA, very nice.

And I finished off a Stout, Final Departure also from Airways.  The nice thing about a 4 oz pour is that I can sample 3 beers and still ride my bike home in a straight line, for not a lot more than the cost of a regular pint.

I also moved some bike furniture today.  When I first moved in my two bike stand was in the bathroom because it had this odd alcove that was perfect for the stand.  It occurred to me a few years in that a steel bike in a room that gets regular moisture is not a great idea, I'm slow but I can be taught, so its been a clothes rack for the last 3 years.  Today I made some room in the guest room/daughters room (she stays about 4 nights a month) and the rack is currently showing off my collection of 1970s Motobecanes; the soon to be gone (hopefully) Mirage on top and the Moto_GT on the bottom.

Pro Tip:  are you looking at a late 70s Schwinn and wondering where it was made?  Well if it has the words Schwinn approved its made in Japan, and the badge on the head tube and the sticker on the seat tube will also say Made in Japan.  Schwinn name and heritage, Japanese craftsmanship and attention to detail, a great mix IMHO.

I hope that my next post will involve a finished Campus bike.  Ride.Drink Beer.Smile.Repeat.