Latest Bicycle Project

[SaxMan]

Got my 1985 Trek 560 racing bike out several months ago and have gotten back into putting serious millage on it ( or really lots of hill climbs). After pulling everything apart for a good cleaning and greasing I replaced the front cranks with shorter crank arms and slightly lower gears (original 52/42 now I have a "compact" 50/34) Made a difference climbing all the hills around here, but could use a bit more help with the mountains...
Now I am thinking about getting a full new component set (probably Shimano 105) new wheels and of course a nice new paint job.. Riding in crowded conditions in the city, I really would like to move shifting to the handlebar like on the newer systems. It would easily be as good or better than the SCOTT aluminum I took for a test ride last week.

The bar shifters are much better than the down tube shifters. I have a friend who has a similar road bike to yours. He still uses it as his primary road bike. He prefers the down tube shifters, which generate quite a bit of attention from passing riders.

My road bike is a 2004 Fuji. I bought it in 2008 and the original owner upgraded it to Shimano DuraAce components. The rear derailleur finally bought the farm last year and I replaced it with a Shimano 105. I honestly can't tell any difference. The biggest issue is that the gearing on the bike was perfect when I was 20 pounds lighter. Now, trying to lug those extra 20 pounds up a hill with the gears I have is a challenge. I could go to a larger cassette on the rear or change the small front chainring to a smaller one, but I figure it's probably easier to lose the weight. I was actually considering retiring this bike and getting a more gravel-oriented bike with disc brakes, but the pandemic put a stop to those plans, since my music hobby pays for the cycling one.

 

[Gliderman8]

Glad I can help...it's what I do for a living...the shop just finished its 47th year serving the Harrisburg, PA area.

Which shop? (Holmes?)

 

[3798j]

Which shop? (Holmes?)

Pedal Pusher.

 

[70herald]

The biggest issue is that the gearing on the bike was perfect when I was 20 pounds lighter. Now, trying to lug those extra 20 pounds up a hill with the gears I have is a challenge. I could go to a larger cassette on the rear or change the small front chainring to a smaller one, but I figure it's probably easier to lose the weight.

Ha... you're not the only one carrying around a bit of excess , and it is not just the weight, I clearly was stronger and had more endurance 20+ years ago.
I have been seriously lusting after a new carbon framed bike, even looked at a few but realistically even though they amazingly light I am going to get far more results by sticking to my training plan. The last few months I have been using several increasingly longer routes around the city but the goal isn't distance rather hill climbing (living on top of a mountain I ALWAYS have a hill climb...) My last few quick rides have been around 15 km with at least 450m of climbing, not bad for a 1 hour trip. My new goal is repeating climbs of a local hill, a recovery ride back down and right back up again. 6 months ago getting up this hill once was painful. Now I am aiming for 4 climbs in 1 hour -this is probably going to hurt.

 

[SaxMan]

Ha... you're not the only one carrying around a bit of excess , and it is not just the weight, I clearly was stronger and had more endurance 20+ years ago.
I have been seriously lusting after a new carbon framed bike, even looked at a few but realistically even though they amazingly light I am going to get far more results by sticking to my training plan. The last few months I have been using several increasingly longer routes around the city but the goal isn't distance rather hill climbing (living on top of a mountain I ALWAYS have a hill climb...) My last few quick rides have been around 15 km with at least 450m of climbing, not bad for a 1 hour trip. My new goal is repeating climbs of a local hill, a recovery ride back down and right back up again. 6 months ago getting up this hill once was painful. Now I am aiming for 4 climbs in 1 hour -this is probably going to hurt.

Where I live, the terrain is very undulating, with a similar climbing ratio to your rides. I seldom have long flat sections, always either climbing or descending, I'm doing a 75 mile (roughly 120 km) ride at the end of July for a fundraiser. It's out on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which is fairly flat. I've never ridden more than 45 miles (72 Km) previously, but I've also almost never had the opportunity to ride flat terrain.

 

[PC]

.... (living on top of a mountain I ALWAYS have a hill climb...) ....

I've known a few folks who would load their bikes into the car and drive to the bottom of the hill they lived on to start a ride.

Even had one friend who would stash a pair of sneakers at the bottom of his driveway so he could walk his bike up to his front door.

.... I'm doing a 75 mile (roughly 120 km) ride at the end of July for a fundraiser. It's out on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, which is fairly flat. I've never ridden more than 45 miles (72 Km) previously, but I've also almost never had the opportunity to ride flat terrain.

I generally try to work up to mileage in training that's at least pretty close to the target distance, but it's not always practical. My rule of thumb was that if I could hammer X miles I could soft pedal 2X miles. Not an exact science, but seemed to work.



Fond memory. once upon a time I was up north doing an organized ride and had stopped at the bottom of the last steep climb. I can't remember exactly why, might have been fiddling with a map or my bike or somethingerother. A very nice local walked out from his driveway and offered to get his pickup and haul me to the top. Really nice people in that neighborhood.

I sincerely thanked him for offer. But I was really looking forward to that climb, short and steep with a bunch of switchbacks, around 15km to go to the end of a 100km ride. When you've cleared it you felt you accomplished something and you knew it was rollers to the end and a great dinner.

 

[PC]

Last weekend a buddy brought over an 80's vintage Cannondale he had gotten from a neighbor. 6-speed drivetrain, downtube shifters, freewheel cluster, open bearing bottom bracket and hubs.

The chain was a rusty mess but had low mileage. Cogs and rings were in good shape. Just needs a new chain and a clean-up. We re-packed the bottom bracket.

Some of the spoke nipples were seized But we were able to get the rims decently true, all things considered. Put on new tires and tubes.

Now he needs to pick up a new chain, new cables (and preferably new housings, too) and brake pads and we can make it roadworthy.

 

[YakkoWarner]

I have a 25 year old Puch frame that I had built into a reasonably nice road bike 25 years ago - its still in very good condition and I get to ride now and then. I built it all pretty much from discrete components - I used that elipitical Biopace chainwheel set that changes resistance depending on where in the crack cycle you are - it only has a 5 speed freewheel because 25 years ago that was the norm. Alloy 27x1 rims with 80PSI tires makes it pretty low resistance but limits to actual paved road/smooth surface riding. The frame is probably abut an inch too tall for me technically but it was a great frame at a closeout price 25 years ago, so I have the seat set pretty much as low as it can go. It still uses the old-school downtube shifters and rim-friction brake which work well but squeal like crazy. The saddle is pretty dead and needs replacement (cracking vinyl and foam flaking out), but other than that its get on and ride ready. The narrow rims require the Presta fill valves which can be flaky at times, but I have a pump designed to work with them. My experience with bike lights was very unpleasant in years past, thanks to LED technology battery powered lights are actually useful and last more than 15-20 mins now so its set up with front and back lights. Here in the summer, riding after dark is the only way to avoid heat stroke.

 

[PC]

I have a 25 year old Puch frame that I had built into a reasonably nice road bike 25 years ago -..... - it only has a 5 speed freewheel because 25 years ago that was the norm. ......

Hate to be the harbinger creeping elderlyness (for myself more than anything), but check your calendar, 25 years ago was 1996 already! Holy guacamole!

In '96 7 or 8 speed was the norm 9 speed had been introduced.

 

[YakkoWarner]

Regrettably you are correct - 1980's would have been the proper timeline - I'll just go swig my Geritol and cheap whiskey now......

 

[PC]

The machine may be a bit behind the times, but as long as you're riding it you're way ahead of the game. Five speeds in the back of old steel on the road is infinitely more effective than 12 speeds in the back of new carbon fiber hanging in the garage.

Plenty of good deals to had on new saddles. There are always discounts around.

The creaky brakes could just be from old hardened rubber pad compound. Break pads are cheap and easy to replace.

Yeah, LED lights with lithium batteries have been absolute game changers, actually usable light for hours. And with minimal weight penalty. I always ride with a backup at night, just in case. But I've never had to use it.

 

[SaxMan]

I still have my original set of lights from 15 years ago -- Water bottle battery for two lights on the handlebar. I have no idea if the battery will still hold a charge, but it made the perfect accessory for my police bike restoration.

The light I use now is a $30 Te-Rich light that I picked up from Amazon. It's surprisingly good. It would be nice if the beam pattern was a bit wider, but for the price, it's great. The battery outlasts every other light I've owned. I can do multiple rides before I need to recharge.

I'm a big fan of DRLs for bicycles. I run the Bontrager Ion / Flare 200 on my road bike. They make a big difference. Here's a couple of articles I wrote about them for IPMBA:

IPMBA

International Police Mountain Bike Association

ipmba.org

IPMBA

International Police Mountain Bike Association

ipmba.org

 

[waltesefalcon]

I've been riding a Schiwnn for a few decades now, bought it for $3 at a yard sale in the early nineties.

 

[Sherlock]

How about 1950 for you... No speeds, coaster brakes... Canadian built CCM bike... Yes, I do lock through the frame now...

 

[PC]

I've been riding a Schiwnn for a few decades now, bought it for $3 at a yard sale in the early nineties.

Me too, sort of. But not exactly.

I have a Schwinn I've been riding since the early 2000's. Not from a yard sale, but I'm sure it came from a factory "yard sale."

We had a bike shop in the area that would buy out factory overstock inventory. They'd have killer deals on stuff that was gone from manufacturers' current catalogs and nla from other sources or even that had never been available normally. They'd advertise stuff as "limited to stock on hand" and when it sold out it was gone forever.

I had wanted that Schwinn but hadn't pulled the trigger while it was current. One day they show up at the store in a random combination of colors and sizes in full bikes and bare frames. Looked like the factory had just swept out whatever was leftover the day production ceased. I ended up with a bare frame in an oddball color that was never previously sold on a bare frame.

Funny thing is, almost two decades later, I decided it was time for new bike. That shop was long gone. But there's a new shop that does the same thing. The bike I ended up with, again a factory close-out, was made in the same factory that Schwinn had outsourced my old bike from.

 

[Grantura_MKI]

I’ve got a couple of vintage 20” bikes. Firstly a 1969 Lemon Peeler non restored on original rubber and pedals.
Second is my BMX bike from the late 70s. It is a FMF swing tail alloy frame with all the good bit fitted at the time.
Sold my road bike long ago after too many close ones with vehicles.

 

[SaxMan]

Most old Schwinns that I've worked on are close to indestructible. But that ruggedness came at the expense of weight. Even their "Super Sport" bikes were tipping in around 33 pounds, and the ubiquitous Varsity 10 speed tipped the scales at 38 - 39 pounds. My current road bike, a 2004 Fuji, tips in around 17. You definitely can feel the difference in weight once the terrain starts sloping upwards. Of course, when you point one of those Schwinns downhill, they drop like a stone...like a P-47 Thunderbolt pushing its nose over. When I was younger a buddy of mine was able to hit 41 miles per hour on a relatively shallow hill with his Varsity. There's no way I could get my Fuji past the mid-30s on the same hill.

 

[waltesefalcon]

Mine is a Varsity and it is a heavy but sturdy bike. It's now a 12 speed. A few years back I was doing my regular spring maintenance on it and noticed that the wheels were developing pinholes from rust around the spokes. So I went to the local bike shop for a new set of 27" wheels. Found out they don't make 27" wheels anymore and wound up with a used set of Shinamo [sic?] wheels in some metric size (I'd have to go look at it to tell you the size but they are fairly close to the 27s that were on it) and a set of new tubes and tires. The rear wheel had a six geared sprocket set and my old Schwinn derailer was easy enough to adjust to accommodate the extra gear. It did take a little getting used to shifting after the change as each gear was slightly off from where it had been with the old sprocket set.

 

[PC]

.... So I went to the local bike shop for a new set of 27" wheels. Found out they don't make 27" wheels anymore and wound up with .....

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master...rds=27+inch+bike+wheels&qid=1618588527&sr=8-2

> Amazon.com : Wheel Front 27 x 1-1/4 Silver 36H : Bike Wheels : Sports & Outdoors <

.... a used set of Shinamo [sic?] wheels in some metric size (I'd have to go look at it to tell you the size but they are fairly close to the 27s that were on it......

Standard size for European road wheels (and U.S. for the last couple of decades) is called 700c and has a rim diameter of 622mm vs. the 27" standard which has a diameter of 630mm.

Close enough that you can usually convert a bike from 27 to 700c. But different enough that you sometimes have to change brake calipers. You'll always have to at least adjust the brakes.

 

[YakkoWarner]

Thats good to know - I havn't had to replace my wheels but I'd be going crazy looking for 27x1+1/8's if they don't exist anymore....