Rode hard and put up wet

Time and effort were in in short supply for a long time; too long. I put many miles on the bike without some routine cleaning except for the occasional squirt with the hose.

There are a few places that corrosion has flaked the paint. The two top tube cable guides are probably the worst.

This is my favorite paint remover for all paint-on-metal stripping.  Don't get it on any paint that you like.

Here is one cable guide during stripping and after scraping...

I had this taped off but some stripper got under the tape and faded the logo. The bottom bracket area had similar issues and was stripped and scraped.  Here are the finished cable guides. 

Not really rocket science here.  I used 2 coats of flat white enamel then 2 coats of clear.

Corrosion is usually found under the tape on alloy bars and are ignored.

  Mine was no different.  A scrub was in order.

Business up front-party in the back

Here is a blast from the past. I did this conversion last year...

1X seems to be a viable option these days for most mountain biking.  I like the option of simplifying the setup on the bike and perhaps saving a few grams off the bike so I can gain more beer weight and call it even. Anyhoo - there were two options to go 1X when I decided to do it - replace the front ring with specific BCD or go with a spiderless single ring.  

I have the SRAM s1400 crank...

so I went with the spiderless option MRP Bling Ring (32).  This ring has an offset design to align the chain a bit better...

Installation was straight forward.  Remove crank...

Remove spider with appropriate star wrench...

Slap it all back together.  Reinstall chain minus 2 links and boom - done.  (ignore the temporary homemade chain keeper).

Chain alignment has not been an issue.  Its a little off on the inner most cog but it runs smoothly.  The SRAM X7 derailleur long cage is working OK.

Gearing is 32 up front with 12-36 out back.  Spins out at about 23mph. It is sufficient for all but the steepest climbing where you will suffer like a SS hipster, but for only a short while. Running a Paul's Chain Keeper now.

Next...


Time to clean up the primary road beast.  Its a 2010 Ridley Compact that I really like.  I wouldnt say its the most compliant and comfy ride; its stiff and steady.  I bought it through Competitive Cyclist and they were very helpful with the online process and setup discussions.

Mine looks like this at present...

 

I havent decided if removing the fork is needed just yet.  I have broken it down to address some corrosion, balky cables, and broken items. 

Broken derailleur pulley...

Corrosion under the tape.  A reason to re-wrap annually, yo...

Brake cable ferrules were locked into the guides because of corrosion - ick...

Time to refurb a few things.  I need this bike on the road by March!

Done

A few tweaks remain and those will be worked out in test rides.

The List

Purchased Parts
Shimano 7-speed Brake and Shift Lever
Shimano Cable Stops
Shimano Cable Guides
TransX Quill Stem adapter
SunRace 7-speed Freewheel (13-28)
Tufo DryPlus 32mm Tubular tire set
Continental Rim Cement (2 tubes)
Clarks Brake Cable set
Forte handlebar tape
Frame media-blast and powdercoat
~$400 total

Refurbed, Parts Bin, Donated

From the original bike:
Peugeot Super Vitus chromoly frame (56)
Peugeot Super Vitus chromoloy fork
Atax/Philippe Guidon Handlebar
Atax quill type seatpost
Stronglight B10 headset (on its last leg; may blow up)
Campagnolo C-Record bottom bracket
Campagnolo C-Record crankset (42 with bash guard made from the old damaged 53)
Campagnolo Nouvo Record hubs
Mavic GP4 rims (36 hole)
DT stainless steel spokes
Modolo Speedy brake set

Replaced/Added parts:
WTB Speed V saddle
Forte MTB Stem (stripped and polished)
Shimano XTR 9-speed Rear derailleur (stripped and polished)
Shimano 9-speed HG chain
Crankbrothers Candy 1 pedals
Specialized bare alloy bottle cage
Reflector mount used as inside chain keeper

---

Everything assembled with Phil Wood grease

 

philwood.com

Everything lubricated with Upslope IPA

upslopebrewing.com

Contact Points

I have seen opinions on wrapping handlebars and I tend to be with the wrap to the outside on the drops and towards the inside on the tops school of thought.  I wrap outwards and then wrap in the opposite direction after the levers on the tops.  This way the typical grip of the hand in these areas essentially tightens the tape.  However... I found black rubber/cork handlebar tape that was new-bike-take-off.  This is a penny pinching build; it was $4.99.  The tape had already been cut and wasn't long enough to make the requisite figure-8 under the brake lever for the reverse technique.

Conventionally wrapped...

 

Start at the drops and wrap inwards... simple.

Cycling requires suffering to appreciate its true appeal.  However, one aspect of this build, beside cheap, is the nod to comfort. Specious misguided philosophies aside, I have decided to try a WTB Speed V saddle on this set up.  It looks bulky compared to the thin wisp profile of a road racing saddle but this thing feels like a leather club chair.  

Red Candy eggbeater style pedals (donated by TAF - thanks mang). Applied a bare metal Specialized bottle cage I had.

Tip: Shoe cleat screws can sometimes work well as bottle cage screws. 

Brift and Shiftiness

My eBay purchase finally arrived from Taiwan; a new 7-speed brifter and a pair of downtube cable stops. This brifter matches up with the new 7-speed freewheel.

New cablestops replace the downtube shift levers.  I installed both but will only use the right side while 1X.

A look at the quill adapter and stem...

Its set high  in this pic.  I will adjust it down for final fitting.

Holding brake cables with temporary zip ties...

Ran the shifter cable and testing shifting...

 FFFFuuuu! A fast shift to the small cog readily derails the chain off the front (9-sp Shimano chain).  The old 53 ring had some wear and 2 chipped teeth. It was not in the best condition so it was sacrificed to make a rather rotund bash guard sort of thing to keep the chain from misbehaving...

I also re-purposed a reflector hanger to stand guard as an inside chain keeper...

This may work after all...

Just enough room for the 7...

 

Clearance Items

Fork install with re-furbished headset assembly.  An old toe strap comes in handy to hold the fork in place while the top bearings are setup...

 Tire clearance on the front was never a problem. Plenty and room to play nice with the brake - like 3 mm.

The rear was a different story.  The width is close at the chainstays but still workable with the axle at the very back of the dropouts.  The outside diameter of the tire was too much for the brake caliper arch.  

I added a spacer and a convincing tweak to create a little more space.  The caliper arch is now at or above the frame mounting.

 I'll take 2mm, thank you very much.

Baked

Frame is back from Accent Powder Coating and the coverage looks good.

Installation of the old fixed cup and bottom bracket.

The outside grip surfaces were damaged upon initial installation - yes, initial... like 20 years ago.  Not by me, but by someone at a bike shop, thus reenforcing my penchant for doing my own wrenching.

So on with the eventless bottom bracket installation...

Installed the crankset next...

 

I test fit the rear wheel and the alignment of the chainring is right at the smallest cog.  I wasn't comfortable with that and moved the chainring to inside position.  Not as clean looking as I'd like; function will have to take a front seat here.

Easy Off Again...

I could not tell if my donor stem was powdercoated or anodized.  I tested a spot with aircraft paint stripper and nothing happened.  Sprayed it with Easy Off and black sludge formed in minutes.

After the first soak

Another soak and some sanding to remove the painted logo (Performance "Forte").

Buffed out...

The original fork/headset is threaded and the original Atax stem is a drop stem. The intent of this gravel build is to allow a for a more upright riding position in sketchy surfaces.  A threadless stem offers a bit more adjustment so, I am using a quill adapter and shim with this stem.