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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Today was a good day. The FedEx truck came to my house with a large
box. Inside the box was a bike I purchased on Ebay. It's an old-school Takara road bike. First, the bad news: The bike looks like it has been in somebody's attic for the last twenty years and the results are as follows: 1. Brake and derailleur cables - rusted out (literally orange) 2. Housings - shot 3. Tires - almost shot 4. Brake hoods - almost shot The bike needs, in short, a full-on, take-no-prisoners tune up, starting with a super-duper cleaning and re-lubing of just about everything. Also, it needs new handlebar tape (easy/cheap fix) and I'll almost certainly replace the saddle (got my eye on a Brooks). But the good points definitely outweigh the bad. First of all, the bike fits me well, which I was concerned about. The components are good quality for the most part - SunTour Cyclone brake calipers and levers, and Shimano SIS (friction or indexed) derailleurs and SIS stem shifters. I'll probably keep this setup unless I convert this to a fixed-gear bike (it has horizontal drop-outs). Even though it was getting dark, I couldn't resist taking it for a spin around the block (could you?). I've never ridden a road bike before (strange as that may seem), so the difference from a mountain bike was surprising. Even though this thing isn't 100%, I can ride faster than I could on my mountain bike (which was stolen recently). I definitely feel more compact and aerodynamic on the bike, and the steel frame rides wonderfully. The bike corners well and the 52/42 gears up front let me go pretty fast. Anyhow, it's a very good day indeed! -Bill H. |
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#2
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Fri, 07 Oct 2005 20:17:45 -0700, ,
Bill Henry wrote: Even though this thing isn't 100%, I can ride faster than I could on my mountain bike (which was stolen recently). I definitely feel more compact and aerodynamic on the bike, and the steel frame rides wonderfully I always get a kick out of riding one of my road bikes after humping the forty pounder around town. See whether you can score some bar-end shifters for it. They're easier to use than the stem mounted variety. You didn't mention if it was 700C or 27" wheel size. Good 27 inch rims and tires are getting harder to find. If you do all the work yourself it will remain a good deal. Have fun! -- zk |
#3
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Zoot Katz wrote:
I always get a kick out of riding one of my road bikes after humping the forty pounder around town. See whether you can score some bar-end shifters for it. They're easier to use than the stem mounted variety. You didn't mention if it was 700C or 27" wheel size. Good 27 inch rims and tires are getting harder to find. If you do all the work yourself it will remain a good deal. Have fun! 27" wheels. I'll look into the bar-end shifters. Assuming I don't "fixie" it, that is. |
#4
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Bill Henry wrote:
Zoot Katz wrote: I always get a kick out of riding one of my road bikes after humping the forty pounder around town. See whether you can score some bar-end shifters for it. They're easier to use than the stem mounted variety. You didn't mention if it was 700C or 27" wheel size. Good 27 inch rims and tires are getting harder to find. If you do all the work yourself it will remain a good deal. Have fun! 27" wheels. I'll look into the bar-end shifters. Assuming I don't "fixie" it, that is. If you do, one suggestion: When you strip the bike of all that junk take some extra time to reassemble/adjust all it. Assuming you're not ditching geared bikes forever, there's no better way to practice installing/adjusting a derailleur, etc than to do so on one that you know doesn't /have/ to work. Then again, you might already know all about that...it's just something I found to be useful learning experience. If it ain't fixed, it's broke. \\paul -- Paul M. Hobson Georgia Institute of Technology ..:change the words to numbers if you want to reply to me:. |
#5
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Paul Hobson wrote:
: Bill Henry wrote: : Zoot Katz wrote: : : I always get a kick out of riding one of my road bikes after : humping the forty pounder around town. : : See whether you can score some bar-end shifters for it. They're : easier to use than the stem mounted variety. You didn't mention if : it was 700C or 27" wheel size. Good 27 inch rims and tires are : getting harder to find. : If you do all the work yourself it will remain a good deal. Have : fun! : : : 27" wheels. I'll look into the bar-end shifters. Assuming I don't : "fixie" it, that is. : : : If you do, one suggestion: : : When you strip the bike of all that junk take some extra time to : reassemble/adjust all it. Assuming you're not ditching geared bikes : forever, there's no better way to practice installing/adjusting a : derailleur, etc than to do so on one that you know doesn't /have/ to : work. Then again, you might already know all about that...it's just : something I found to be useful learning experience. : : If it ain't fixed, it's broke. Don't go that far, now.... |
#6
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
"Bill Henry" wrote:
Today was a good day. The FedEx truck came to my house with a large box. Inside the box was a bike I purchased on Ebay. It's an old-school Takara road bike. Congrats on the new road bike! First, the bad news: The bike looks like it has been in somebody's attic for the last twenty years and the results are as follows: 1. Brake and derailleur cables - rusted out (literally orange) 2. Housings - shot Modern teflon lined cables/housings will make a big improvement. 3. Tires - almost shot IRC Road Winner tires are available in 27 x 1-1/8" and 27 x 1-1/4". They are a great value. http://tinyurl.com/9s6qp 4. Brake hoods - almost shot That could be a problem. You might want to upgrade to aero style levers (where the cable is routed under the handlebar tape). They are always available on eBay. They generally allow better braking with hands on the hoods than the old style levers. And they have black hoods that don't dry out like the gum rubber ones. The components are good quality for the most part - SunTour Cyclone brake calipers and levers, and Shimano SIS (friction or indexed) derailleurs and SIS stem shifters. You might want to replace the stem shifters with either down tube levers or bar ends. Oh, and definitely replace the brake pads with Kool Stop (salmon) Continentals. http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake...ml#continental Good luck with the bike! Art Harris |
#7
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Bill Henry wrote:
1. Brake and derailleur cables - rusted out (literally orange) I recently replaced a shifting cable on my early 90's MTB (becuase it broke). It made a HUGE difference in ease of shifting, and only costs $1.38. If I had known it was so cheap, I'd have done it sooner. Rich |
#8
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Rich wrote:
Bill Henry wrote: 1. Brake and derailleur cables - rusted out (literally orange) I recently replaced a shifting cable on my early 90's MTB (becuase it broke). It made a HUGE difference in ease of shifting, and only costs $1.38. If I had known it was so cheap, I'd have done it sooner. Rich I assume that you mean the improvement was huge when compared to the "non-broken" state of the previous cable. |
#9
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Roger Zoul wrote:
Paul Hobson wrote: : Bill Henry wrote: : Zoot Katz wrote: : : I always get a kick out of riding one of my road bikes after : humping the forty pounder around town. : : See whether you can score some bar-end shifters for it. They're : easier to use than the stem mounted variety. You didn't mention if : it was 700C or 27" wheel size. Good 27 inch rims and tires are : getting harder to find. : If you do all the work yourself it will remain a good deal. Have : fun! : : : 27" wheels. I'll look into the bar-end shifters. Assuming I don't : "fixie" it, that is. : : : If you do, one suggestion: : : When you strip the bike of all that junk take some extra time to : reassemble/adjust all it. Assuming you're not ditching geared bikes : forever, there's no better way to practice installing/adjusting a : derailleur, etc than to do so on one that you know doesn't /have/ to : work. Then again, you might already know all about that...it's just : something I found to be useful learning experience. : : If it ain't fixed, it's broke. Don't go that far, now.... haha...I know -- I still ride the geared bike for treks outside the city. I just think it's a funny little slogan. -- Paul M. Hobson Georgia Institute of Technology ..:change the words to numbers if you want to reply to me:. |
#10
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New (to me) Road Bike First Impressions
Paul Hobson wrote:
If you do, one suggestion: When you strip the bike of all that junk take some extra time to reassemble/adjust all it. Assuming you're not ditching geared bikes forever, there's no better way to practice installing/adjusting a derailleur, etc than to do so on one that you know doesn't /have/ to work. Then again, you might already know all about that...it's just something I found to be useful learning experience. I kind of earned my wings with derailleur adjustments on my last bike, but this one is a tad different, so I'll definitely be on my toes. I've already found at least one piece of junk (a useless clamp on the top tube) that looked like it might have been for a light or reflector at one point. It was pointless so it was the first thing to come off. Also, the old toe clips were worn and ugly so I took them off and just have the quill-style pedals. The bike is turning out to be a fun project, just as I'd hoped. Also, I'm doing a lot of these things for the first time (handlebar tape) so it's especially interesting. What a difference new tape makes! The old stuff was awful - slick, milky-colored plastic tape. The new stuff is much better. |
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