17 June 2017

It's Done--I Think!

My "winter" project is more or less complete.

Back in December, I found a 1981.5 Trek 412 at an estate sale.  It was looking for a good home.  I thought I'd finish it during my January recess from school and ride it during the winter.




Well, as with almost any project, not everything went exactly as planned.  Some parts I'd intended to use didn't fit or work with other parts, and, well, I changed my mind about a couple of things along the way.

I finally got it into rideable (for my purposes, anyway) condition by Spring recess, in April.  And, as I mentioned a few days ago, gearing wasn't quite to my liking--and the crankset (which had been sitting in my parts box for I-don't-know-how-long) stripped when I tried to remove it.  So I had to "destroy it in order to save it", to paraphrase one of the more unfortunate commands of all time.

But now I think the only thing I might change is the bars--to drops. (Actually, I might make this bike "bi" and switch between drops and Porteurs as need, and whim, dictate!)




In putting the bike together, I didn't try to do an "original" or even a "period" restoration.  Instead, I tried to rebuild the bike in the spirit of the original (Yes, I know, that's an extremely elastic term!) while suiting my needs and tastes as a rider.  So, I decided not to refinish the frame (also, in part, because I didn't want to spend the time or expense) and when I didn't use parts that came with the bike, I installed components and accessories from within a few years of when the bike was made--or that at least don't look out of place on a bike of its time.




What that means is that the bike now consists of the following:

Frame and fork-- Trek 412, of Ishiwata 022 tubing.

Headset--  Stronglight A9 roller bearing (came with frame)

Wheels--   Rear:  Specialized sealed bearing hub (made by                                       Sansin) sealed bearing 
                          Sun CR 18 Rim, 700C
                          36 DT spokes, 2.0 straight gauge, 3 cross
                
                  Front:  Suzue sealed bearing hub
                           Sun CR 18 rim, 700 C
                           36 Wheelsmith spokes, 2.0 straight gauge,                                3 cross

                  Continental Gatorskin Hardshell tires, 700 X 32

Crankset--   Shimano A 124 triple (1986 model), triple
                            46/42/28 rings

Derailleurs-- Rear:  SunTour VxS with sealed pulleys
                    Front:  SunTour Spirt (top-normal)
                    Shifters:  SunTour PD-M (racheted)

Freewheel--  SunTour Winner Pro five-speed, 13-26

Chain--         SRAM PC-830

Pedals--        MKS GR-10 Platform (like Lyotard Berthet)
                    MKS "Basket" toe clips
                    Generic leather toe straps

Brakes--        Weinmann Carrera (first version)
                       with Mathauser "Kool Stop" pads
                  
                    Tektro 4.1 inverse levers 

Handlebar--    Velo Orange Porteur 

Stem--           Specialized 9mm, made in Japan (Nitto?)

Seat post--     SR Laprade alloy (came with frame)

Saddle--         Brooks B17

Fenders--       Velo Orange Hammered, 45mm, with flap                              from RuthWorks SF

Rear Rack--     Blackburn Expedition stainless steel

Front Rack--    Nitto M18.

Bottle Cages--  Twofish

Pump--            Zefal Competition, converted

I plan to put a decaleur made by Mark Guglielmana on the stem.  I've been using it on Vera (my Mercian mixte) and like it a lot.  The reason I want to shift it to the Trek is that there isn't enough room under the headset nut for a decaleur (or anything besides a headset spacer).  The Stronglight A9 that came with this bike isn't the original:  Apparently, the original (probably Japanese) had a smaller stack height.  Moving the decaleur will allow me to use my RuthWorks Randonneur bag on this bike.

Rebuilding this bike has been an interesting--and so far worthwhile--experience!


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