Return of the Handsome Devil and accessing the Nishiki rebuild

The Handsome Devil has been out of commission for over two months since I stole its saddle and seat post to see if I could make the Allez fit better.  Since I decommissioned the Allez this week I restored the saddle and seat post to the HD and decided it would get the tap for Sunday market duty.

When I got the market and was putting things in the Pannier I realized I had also cannibalized bolts to mount a rack on the Allez.   I thought I'd need to swing by the hardware store on the way home, but...

I had some bottle cage bolts that weren't doing anything, so I got one screwed into a rack mount so I wouldn't have any slippage, dodged a bullet on the way to the market not to have it slip back.

After a Revision IPA and a Devils teeth nitro pour stout, it was time to run a few errands and head home.

After parking the HD I noticed the saddle looked a bit dull so I got out the Obenauf's to give it some love.  Felt good to be back on the HD again.

1987 Nishiki Cresta GT

I had been doing some thinking about the Cresta GT this week and wondering if I had ordered everything I would need for the rebuild.  After I took stock (above) I realized I needed some stuff.

From Amazon I ordered:

• Deda Elementi Bar tape, perforated- in Red, to match the cable housing.  I was going to use some Cinelli yellow tape but decided to go with red.
• MKS Sneaker pedals, thought I had ordered them but I seem to recall I was going to use rat traps to start.  The sneakers will find a home somewhere even its not on this build so I ordered them.
• A second set of Kool Stop canti brake pads.  I had ordered just one to keep costs down but decided with a slightly better employment picture currently to go all in.
• Crane Suzue brass lever bell.  I find when I am on a bike without a bell I miss having one

I would like to wax the frame and fork so I can get started on building this bike up, but before that I had to go at it with Armor-all wipes to be sure it was nice and clean, even the cable guides and the stainless steel chain stay guard.  I think the frame paint is pretty good and will probably go straight to Carnauba wax, but the fork has some yellowing on the white paint so it will get some paint cleaner first.

My goal is to have it done by the end of August, we'll see how that goes.

Ride.Smile.Repeat.

Clunker Challenge ride: Alki Beach Sub Pop 30th anniversary Concert

I don't normally seek out big crowds and Sub Pop records throwing a giant free outdoor concert on nearby Alki beach to celebrate their 30th anniversary was certainly expected to draw thousands.  My favorite coffee shop, however, had a pop up booth so I thought I'd go support them and it would be a good excuse for a bike ride to avoid the driving and parking hassles. And where their are outdoor concerts, there are beer gardens...

I parked Barney in front of the Elementary school my daughter attended, not realizing that a (long) stones throw away one of my other favorite places was doing its bit..

Bike Works was using the tennis courts as a bike corral, I would have used them and dropped a few bucks but I had already parked. So I sought out C&P, got an Italian soda and chatted with the staff for a bit.

I wandered down to the beach and as expected it was pretty crowded and there was a line about 1/2 block long to get into the beer garden on the sand.

Fortunately, I got a pro tip from one of my barista friends that the beer garden in the kids stage area was nearly empty.  Bouncy houses for kids, beer garden for the parents, whats not to like?  I picked up a street taco on the way and settled in with an IPA, gotta persevere my clunker challenge ride theme right?

I was able to ride side streets and alleys to get around the crowds and got some shots of the threatening sky and the skyline on my way home.  It's been a dry summer and the sky's been pretty hazy with all the smoke from the California wildfires so I didn't mind a few sprinkles.

I made it up Avalon again, grinding it out and keeping my head down.  I had sealed my fate when I lent my daughter my bus pass this morning so multi-modal was off the table.  This hill keeps reminding me I need to lose bushels of pounds.

I am up to 68 Kms on the Ibex so just about 3/4 of the way through the challenge with not quite 2 months to go.

Ride. Smile. Visit beer gardens. Repeat.

Ruminating on the IBEX

I am about to dive in on the Nishiki Cresta and I am looking forward to it as I would like to get some riding in on it while its still summer and I have high hopes for it as the successor to the Passage.  I think I have every thing I need for it and half the main bearings will be brand new so I am hopeful it won't take me 3 months to rebuild the Cresta like it did for the Moto_GT.

I have been doing a lot riding lately on the IBEX, aka Barney, so it has been on my mind.  I have gone over 50 kilometers on Barney so I have some perspective on his fit.  More specifically what I want to change;



Front Wheel:  The one on the bike is fine but the rim and tire are narrow which makes the bike a bit twitchy.  I would like to find something that matches the rear wheel and that would mean it would accommodate wider tires and reduce the twitch factor.  I am going to check the co-op first but Amazon has these wheels for about $40.

Tires: The as is pair are serviceable but mis-matched and old.   I really like the look of the Maxxis DTH 26x2.15 tires although that might be a bit fancy for this bike. but definitely gum walls and at least 2.0 width which should sharpen the look of the bike.

Stem:  I feel like I am leaning forward more than I want so I would like to bring the stem up and back.  I am hoping, like the front wheel, that I can find a stem at the co-op, it would be nice to stay with black but fit is the most important thing.

Grips: I already used my birthday gift card to get some Ergon GP1's, so I am ready to go for grips.

Pedals: The pedals currently on the bike are kind of meh.  I think I will swap the current platforms on the IBEX for the bear trap style pedals that are on the Allez as I like the platform they give and they seem a bit out of place on the Allez.  And I can avoid the cost of getting a pair of MKS sneakers.

Shifters:  I really like the look of mid 80s (metal not plastic) thumb shifters and someday I would like to get a pair to mount on the bike, I might even check out what bikeworks has when I am stem and wheel shopping, but I think I will leave the trigger shifters on the bike for now as they work fine.

Brakes: the pads are serviceable but old and mismatched so some Koolstops all around would be an improvement.

Other items are; replacing the broken water bottle cage. finding a more comfortable saddle, and either putting the mismatched fenders back on or finding a nicer matched pair at the co-op as I think this would make a good rain/winter bike.  It probably needs a bell and kickstand as well to complete the functional vibe.  I may looking into a wider range cassette as well for a bit more low range.

Not sure when this will all happen as the Cresta is next up and I would like to do a quick turn and flip on the LeTour to clear the stable, but Barney has certainly given me plenty of feedback to use for the rebuild.

Ride.Smile.Repeat.







Motobecane Grand Touring rebuild finish and test ride.

When we left off with the Moto_GT I was starting in on the rear wheel incluing this rusty skewer.

A bit of work with the Dremel and a brass wire brush got the rust taken care of.

And after some fresh grease and new ball bearings it was ready for the spoke protector and free wheel.

The rim strip was a causality of the shop when they needed to replace the broken spoke.

I fortunately had a few in stock so a new one was no problem.

And then the wheel was reshod with Panaracer Pasela's and ready to go back on the bike.

Now it's starting to look like a bike again and in the home stretch.

Chain.

Derailleur cable and housing.

Brake cables and we're done!  It took me 3 months to get from start to finish, which seems like too long but that's life I guess and the good news is it's done.

I think it turned out well, for being about 3 years overdo for an overhaul that is.

I think the red derailleur cable and of course the brooks leather saddle add a touch of class.

I took a ride to the farmers market as my first shake down cruise.

On my way to the market I was passed by a young lady on a Miyata and when I caught up at bike parking I complemented her on her nice 710, not crazy about the bullhorn bars but Miyata's ride nice.

First take is it rides nice and certainly shifts smoother that it was before the overhaul and it brakes just fine.  There is a noise coming from the rear I need to figure out. might just be the Pannier or a too long chain.  I will probably need to tweak the saddle height and position.  I am not crazy about the imperfect fit of the brake levers and hoods but do like that there are no more safety lever stubs sticking out of cracked hoods and its certainly clean and shiny.  I am looking forward to some longer rides to dial it in and test the smaller inside 38t ring on some actual hills.

Next up, the Nishiki Cresta GT.

Ride French Steel. Smile. Repeat.

Allez ride and Dry dock

I spent the week hitting my snooze button instead of getting up to ride so I decided on Saturday I needed to get out on the bike, I had an errand to run and decided the Allez should get one more ride.

My local library is a Carnegie library and its about a 5 mile round trip from my house.  It was a pleasant day to be out on the bike.

 It was so nice that I meandered through the side streets on the way back rather than taking the main road.  There is allot to like about this bike and one in a 58 cm frame size will remain on my someday list but I just couldn't get the 56 to fit me right.

To ensure I wasn't tempted to ride it again I moved the seat post and saddle back to the Handsome Devil and took off the brake cables and housing to use on the Schwinn LeTour and the handlebars/Stem/brake lever combo will soon be needed for the Nishiki Cresta GT.

Ride what fits. Smile. Repeat.

Resisting my baser instincts

Behind my apartment building there is an abandoned house, kind of a tragic story which you can see here,  and as I was walking between my coffee shop and my car my vintage bike radar started pinging.  I glance over and through the trees and in the overgrown back yard amongst the 3 old cars was this Fuji Dynamic 10.

According to the classic Fuji site this bike was made for 2 years, 75 & 76, and is decidedly entry level, and its been outside for who knows how long, so of course my first instinct was to wheel it home.

And then I had the good sense to stop myself, so far, and take a step back.  On the one hand the house is abandoned, this bike is a wreck and it all likelihood it will just get thrown in a dumpster when someone finally comes to level the house and build something new, it is Seattle after all in this market no place stays abandoned for long.  On the other hand its in someones yard not out on the curb for free or for trash pick up.

Besides the ethical dilemma, there is the long list of other projects I have in the queue already

• Need to finish the Moto_GT
• Need to start the Nishiki Cresta
• Need to get the Schwinn LeTour functional so I can sell it
• Need to get the Trek 420 rebuilt so I can see if a 22.5 inch frame is a good fit
• Need to rebuild the Specialized Allez Sport so I can sell it on
• And then there is the clunker challenge Bianchi Ibex aka Barney  who could use a spa treatment

So no I do not need a seventh project.

There is also the fact that I have decided to stop working on the entry level stuff for the time being, and yes this Fuji does have SunTour down tube shifters not stem shifters but it has safety levers and comes in at 30 lbs according to the specs.  I am reminded of how good it felt to clear my porch of all the various bike flotsam and jetsam in the spring and I don't want to go back to that.

The bike also appears to be missing the rear hub skewer/axle so wheeling it away would not be easy.  The voice in my head argued for just tearing it down and parting it out as a better fate than the dumpster but I am not sure the work of tearing it down and cleaning up the parts is worth what I might get for the functional but entry level stuff on this bike.  The white shifter hoods may be the most desirable thing on the bike assuming they clean up.

In the end I turned and walked away and I try not to think about the forlorn Fuji as I pass this house almost daily.

Ride.Smile.Know your limits. Repeat.