I did enjoy homeschooling my boys,
particularly when it was a subject in which they were interested, and I suppose
the enthusiasm some of my friends have for learning about bicycles gives me a
similar feeling when I share my knowledge with them. “Bicycle University” was
in full swing again last weekend when a new friend drove down from New York
with a couple of bicycles on which to experiment.
Before Jordan showed up, I actually learned
a couple new skills, one that involved a faulty rear derailleur. I had
purchased a Campagnolo Record rear derailleur for a new project (more on that
later) and when it arrived, I found that the limit adjusting bolts had been
overtightened, and the heads were nearly stripped. I asked Nick at Bikesport if
he had any tricks to remove them, and he suggested we throw the part in their
cleaning machine, which would hopefully remove some of the grease and debris to
help loosen the screws.
We had luck with one of the screws, but the
second would require a little more risk than Nick wanted to take on such an
expensive part. He suggested I use a small metal drill bit down through the
head of the screw and then use a small Torx wrench (similar to an Allen wrench, but
with a six-point star-shaped head) in the hole, hoping that would provide more
“bite” to the metal surface.
Using an electric hand drill wasn’t exactly
precise, but I didn’t have to drill too far into the screw, and I took great
care to go slowly and keep the drill perpendicular to the screw head. The
derailleur screws were only four millimeters wide, so I used a 1/16” bit, about
1.6 millimeters in diameter, and a T10 Torx wrench, which is just over two
millimeters, fitting just enough into the hole for the star points to grab. I
made sure to put on my leather work gloves, which provided a grippy surface, as
well as protection from the tool possibly slipping and stabbing into my hand, and
the bolt backed right out!
Little did I know that the same technique
would come in handy when Jordan showed up and presented me with a vintage
Athena derailleur that had a barrel adjuster broken off in its hole. This bolt
was a little bigger, so I just adjusted the drill bit and Torx sizes, but the
technique was just as successful!
Jordan’s instruction involved assembly of a
mid-1980s steel Bottecchia, and he had done a decent amount of work on his own,
taking apart a Bianchi bicycle that was just a bit more modern, in order to use
its Campagnolo Ergo 10-speed system. I found him to be very knowledgeable, both
in bicycle construction and racing history, so we had some great conversation
and time flew by the four hours or so he spent in my shop.
He was mostly lacking all the specialty
tools and a bit of the technique required to set up everything to work
smoothly. We hit a bit of a snag, both literally and figuratively, in our
attempts to vacuum-feed a thread guide through the frame’s internal cable
routing, and Jordan had to be heading home soon. At that point, I hadn’t even
gotten to his stripped barrel adjuster problem, so I offered to finish up his
bike work and meet him halfway to exchange funds and the completed Bottecchia. Disclaimer: I am not a fan of the splash bar tape in any way, shape or form, but that was Jordan's choice. Since I can't abide by that completely, my Facebook page features an alternate, more aesthetically pleasing, version with black tape.
The other new skill I learned involved one
of the most difficult tires I’ve ever had to put on a wheel and a tool I picked
up at Bikesport. I remember snapping off a couple tire tools on tight tire
beads before, but I was really struggling with the Vittoria Corsa G+
Competition tires I was attempting to put on the Mavic MA40 rims for Brendan’s
KAS Vitus 979 conversion. The front tire presented far less problem, but I
suspect the bit of wrestling I did with that
one wore my hands out for the assault on the rear, which I eventually quit
on!
I’ve made a bit of a habit of showing up at Bikesport an hour or so before they close, when things are winding down a
little - plus there are far less customers for them to deal with, and the
chances of them being able to provide me some quick help are better. Nick
pulled on the tire with relative ease using a tool I hadn’t seen, a Crankbrothers
Speedier Lever.
The wedge on the right end works just like traditional levers to remove a tire, but the key left side
feature is a hook that goes over the rim and guides the tire into place as you
rotate the tool around the wheel. The tool can be pushed away or pulled towards yourself, whichever direction
you feel gives the best leverage, but a great detail is the shape of the tool, which acts
like a knuckle guard, preventing the chewed-up skin you could get if the tool
slips and sends your hand into the spokes! There are plenty of YouTube videos
showing the tool in action, if you are interested.
I had a few leftover parts from my last
Vitus 979 project, and a couple things I had held onto in anticipation of
Brendan’s job, so there were just a handful of things to collect.
Unfortunately, those were some of the most difficult parts to find (at a
reasonable price), namely a Mavic 630 crankset, 351 handlebars and 365 stem. Taking a page out of Taylor’s Saronni
project, Brendan found a “donor Vitus” (pictured left) for the remaining parts,
and I quickly moved to buy it at a fantastic price. By substituting in some
less expensive, but still appropriate parts, I should be able to quickly resell
this bike to significantly discount the cost of the parts we are keeping. I’ll
detail the purple 979 in an upcoming blog, but for now here are some photos of
the completed tout-Mavic KAS Vitus
979, Sean Kelly tribute bicycle:
With all of the bicycles and repair work
that has been coming through my shop lately, I’ve been neglecting to mention a
couple of projects that I’ve been tinkering with sporadically the past few
weeks. I picked up a new-old-stock 2006 Wilier-Triestina Escape frameset that is painted in
the French Cofidis pro team colors. I found a feature from Cyclingnews.com on rider Chris Sutton and his team bike, and I intend
to match up the specs as much as possible.
I’ve already collected the majority of the
Campagnolo Record Carbon parts, along with the carbon FSA K-Force MegaExo
crankset. The bike features a mix of sponsor-influenced choices, such as an ITM
Millennium bar/stem combo and a Ritchey WCS seatpost. The most difficult find
will probably be the unique Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels – I’ve seen some
available, but I’m hoping for a reasonably-priced set.
The other project I've been working on is actually already “spoken
for”, as a reader contacted me after seeing the Tommasini Super Prestige
frameset on my In-the-Works section
of the For Sale & other projects in progress page of this blog. Way
back since Sue and I left on our Canadian vacation, I have been discussing the
build with a gentleman named Dirk from Annapolis. We are going with an Athena group
and a set of Campagnolo Omega wheels that had in stock, and while I’m awaiting a
few small parts, we have been sharing ideas on finishing touches like saddles
and bar tape.
More to come
soon...
No comments :
Post a Comment