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.

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

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.

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:.

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....

"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

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

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.

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:.

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.