bonnie & jason

Bike rebuild progress

I’ve made some good progress on the bike rebuild.

1. Dennis helped me score some free wheels from a guy on sffixed.com. They’re old 27 inchers which is the correct size for this bike. They even had tires, tubes, and a cog (even though the cog is a “suicide” cog in that it’s just loc-tited on there.) I just cleaned them up, rebuilt the hubs, and pumped up the tires. The rear wheel axle is a little bent but I’m hoping I can position so that it doesn’t make the wheel cockeyed in the frame. At least not by too much anyway.
2. I got a set of handlebars for free from a guy on craigslist. He also threw in some bar tape and some pedal clips. I wasn’t a fan of the red at first, but they were free and it’s actually growing on me a bit. The handlebars I flipped and chopped into bullhorn bars.

3. Dennis had an old stem that he gave me (CONTROLTECH!). The bars were a little big for the stem, but I wedged them in there and I think they’ll work fine.
4. I got an old Sakae crankset on ebay for $20. The bigger chain ring is a bit worn, but the inner one, which is the one I’ll use, is in pretty good shape.

5. I ordered a brake from bikeisland.com but they don’t reach the brake surface. I’m going to need to find a longer reach brake. I also need to figure out how to attach them to the fork since they are a newer recessed nut style vs. the original double nutted style.
6. I got a cheap chain from bikeisland.com as well. Should be fine.
7. I bought some tools (cone wrench, bottom bracket tool, waterproof grease, degreaser) from The Bike Nook which is the local bike store on Taraval. Len has been pretty helpful and their prices aren’t bad. It’s a really small store though, so they don’t have a ton of stuff in stock, but they’re helpful with advice and can order whatever you want. I like to support the local stores when I can as well so go visit them if you’re in the neighborhood.

So what’s left to do?
1. Well, I’m not sure if the chain line is going to work so once I get the bottom bracket rebuilt and the rear hub tightened up, I’ll figure out if I’m good or if I need to be creative or if I still need a new rear wheel.
2. I still need a 25.8mm (I think) seatpost. It’s an odd size for modern bikes so I’ll probably have to order one. (EDIT: I used a tennis ball canister to make some shims for the seatpost. It seems like it’s going to work fine.)
3. I may need a new saddle. I have a cheapy plastic one (another freebie from Craigslist) but that may not be very tushy friendly.
4. If the chainline works and I want to remove the bigger chain ring, I’ll need some short chain ring bolts or chain ring spacers.
5. Still need to figure out the brake thing I mentioned above.

I think that’s about it. So far, I’ve just been working on it for 30 minutes here or there after Alissa goes to bed. Typically, I’d be much more impatient about it but wanting to do it on a budget means waiting for cheap (or free) parts. But I have enjoyed getting my hands dirty again. Without the motorcycle/sports car/go kart around for me to turn wrenches on, the bike has been a welcome outlet.