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.

Shifty shift...

I am going with an old 9sp XTR rear derailleur. Durable and light with enough capacity to accommodate a double up front if I ever choose to go that way.  But, what color are these things?  Aluminum and bluegreyblackgunmetal? Why not just make it aluminum and black?  Better yet, just polished aluminum.

Its has an anodized surface so paint stripper is not an option.  Sanding is an option but would be difficult and would leave all the impossible to reach spots untouched.  Time to call in a chemical strike.

I have read several sources that say that a lye based approach will eat away an anodized aluminum surface.  Specifically, many have used Easy-Off or Greased Lightning.  I went with Easy-Off because it was available.

I thought I would just test one spot...

But got impatient and hosed down the whole thing,,,

The result after 25 minutes and rinse...

After second 20 minute soak to get some of the remaining spots from the derailleur body...

The results of the Easy-Off treatment look pretty good.  I'll now apply some buff and polish to see what happens.

 

Oooo... shiny.





  

Headset no more

The original Stronglight headset is toast.  Corrosion has pitted the races and and the grease is now an orange goo.  

I'll have to find a suitable 1 inch threaded replacement.


The old Campy bottom bracket has survived much better.  It cleaned up nicely.

-You won a make-over!

-Really?  Awesome!  Wait. What are you saying?  Why do I need to be made-over? 

-Shut up and remove your derailleurs.

Broken down and awaiting its fate. Tires are stretched on and getting relaxed.

 Some cleaning, polishing, and buffing...

Old freewheel came off without much fuss - good to have the right tools.  I have installed a new 7sp Sunrace freewheel. I decided to go 7sp so that I can stay with the 126mm hub spacing of the old wheelset.  I have ordered a 7 speed STI Right shifter to work the sprockets.

Time to take the frame to the powder coating shop.  Thanks to Chumba Cycles for pointing me to Accent Powder Coating in Austin TX.   *Super excellent special thanks to my daughter for picking out the color.

Modolo Speedy - remember those?

Well, the 32mm tire just gets past these so I am happy about that.  I took the brakes apart and cleaned them up.

Not very complicated and Simichrome is amazing stuff  http://www.simichrome-polish.com/.

A little rust here and there but nothing too crazy.  The brakes originally came with sintered Modolo pads that were too harsh for the anodized GP4 rim.  The pads were replaced with a more rubber-like pad.

The rear brake adjustment barrel had a issue.  Corrosion had fused the cable ferrule in the cable stop.  I had to resort to the drill press to assert my will.

The offending ferrule was reduced to brass foil and eventually popped out.  Here is an intact ferrule next to the remains of the offending subject.

Don't mess with the drill press.

Going 1X

The old C-Record crankset is a double 53/42.   I really like the 1X concept and I am applying it to this build.  Time will tell if its successful.

The crank is modified as a single 42.  I simply removed  the big ring and moved the small ring to its place.  The big ring has a pressed in retainer for the hidden crank bolt.

I had an old FSA crank bolt retainer and modified it with a slot and used a washer.  It feels tight but I may remove it and add some blue Locktite. Blue 242

Greazy...

After cleaning...

I will match this up to a 13-28 freewheel.  Not planning on using a chain guide on the big ring just yet.

I reviewed ratios with the best gear calculator in the known universe here:
The Gear Calculator

Tires? 
Yes, I will need tires.  Bigger than 23mm I suspect for unimproved and gravel roads.  Running the Mavic GP4s will require the tubular effect.

Tubular?  Sounds 80s to me.  Clinchers require a separate tube while tubulars do not. 

Here is some info on the subject:
http://www.ffwdwheels.com/tech/faq/rims/

Clincher on top; tubular on bottom

I decided to run the Tufo Dry Plus 32.  I had to wait awhile before ordering because the bike was serving duty as my beater bike in Florida.  Once in its presence during my last visit to retrieve the bike, I measured the frame and fork with calipers to gauge how wide I could go and thought that 32mm cross tires will probably work. 

 

I went with the file tread as opposed to the full mini knobbies of the Primus.  I figure I would go with adequate grip with smooth performance.

 

I have run Tufos in the past and have found them to be very resilient.  However, they do not hold up well to broken bottles on the side of the road. 

I will slip the the new tires on the dry rims for a few days to stretch.  This makes mounting much easier.  Once glued up they will sit for a day and then be good to go.

Glue?  Yes, glue.

This: Park Tool: Tubular Tire Gluing