Schwinn update

I threw on some old 700C wheels with roughly 31cm wide tires (temp sizing wheels), put on Shimano clipless pedals and repacked the bearings on the axles and bottom bracket.



It is looking and riding better...

Seat and seat post finished

I finished the seat and seat post install yesterday.

First I drilled out the relief hole in the seat tube slot.



Widening the seat tube relief hole

Then I cleaned up the inside of the seat tube using a flex hone. I bought the hone from Jegs.com and it was about $8. It worked really well.

I also used a wire wheel to the seat post bindings as they had a bunch of surface rust. After that I sprayed it with some primer.

It is much shinier in there then the photo shows

 

A little primer to keep the rust a bay

 

When I put the new seat post in it was still too tight and it got a little scrapped up. I took a large screw driver and put it in to the slot and widened the gap a bit. That did the trick and it slid in no problem.

I cut a bit off of the new seat post and grinded down the edges and put a liberal coating of grease on it. Not that I am worried about weight on this project but I thought it would be fun to cut the seat post then clean the edges up.

I then put in an actual seat post binder bolt vs. the junk drawer bolt that was in there.

$5 seat post binder bolt

Here is the finished results.

I did 12 miles on it today when I rode to a friends house. I was very comfortable, much better than the old Schwinn/Viscount seat that was on it.

Seat & seat post

The first official upgrade is going to be my seat and seat post.

I would have liked to use the original seat post but it is only 200mm tall. Not tall enough for me. I bought a 300mm seat post in the right 26.4mm diameter. But before I put it in I want to clean out the seat tube. I was not sure why but the original seat post is gouged up pretty bad. I took a file to the edge of the seat tube to clean it up but I did not see anything that would have caused the scratches. I am going to use a flex hone to clean it out before I put the new post in.

Old post

I also noticed that the seat tube slot does not have much of a strain relief hole at the end of it. I am debating whether I drill one in before I do the honing. The hole usually reduces the occurrence of cracks from the base of the binder slot.

The seat I am going to use is a Specialized Toupe that I had on one of my other bikes. It's a great seat and very light. It might be a bit under padded for gravel but the top is thin and it flexes pretty good which makes it more comfortable than it looks.

And lastly I have to add a true binder bolt.

First commute

I did my first commute on the new (old) bike last week. This is what I had waiting for me at 6:45AM on Halloween!

Yup, dark.

Not scary at all. Actually the scariest thing about the ride is the sound of big truck air brakes hissing behind me!

Here comes the sun

 The gravel was in great shape. It was packed pretty good and almost like asphalt with a few washboard sections here and there. The ride was 13 miles each way. It is not a bad commute. I saw a handful of deer and a bat that was on the ground. Not sure what he was doing there but pretty cool.

The bike rode really well. Actually, I am pretty surprised at how well this old bike rides. The issues are minor. The seat was pointing too far down in the front and as a result I kept pushing myself up with the handle bars. That is a quick fix. The only other issue is that the gears are pretty steep! Best fix there is to strengthen my legs...

Of course I have plenty of upgrades to do but it is pretty fun riding as is for now.

1" threadless 350mmm steerer tube fork

I found a great fork for my project the other day. It is pretty much perfect. The steer tube is 1" and threadless but the great part is that it is 350mm long. It should allow plenty of stem height adjustment. It is also made with curved lower legs that will give it a stock look. I particularly like the gussets on the inside of the fork legs.

- Tange Infinity CrMo
- Lugged flat crown
- Cantilever bosses
- 44mm rake
- Axle to crown: 389mm
- Double set of dropout eyelets
- Low rider pannier mounts
- Chrome-plated
- Extra long 350mm steerer
-Available in threadless 1" or 1- 1/8"

Before pics of the project bike

I picked up my gravel grinder project bike the other night. Bought it off of Craigslist and I am very happy with the purchase. On my first test ride in the parking lot the whole thing was creaking and pining. But the frame felt solid unlike other whippy bikes I have ridden.

I spent a little time taking off reflectors, foam bar grips, truing the wheels and lubing the chain. The stem shifters needed a little help because they would drift out of gear, but a quick turn of their bolts fixed it.

Over all the thing rides great. I kind of forgot how finicky friction shifter are. It definitely makes me appreciate my SRAM Rival setup on the Gunnar. The seat is ungodly uncomfortable and the seat post is way too short. Also the cranks arms are only 170mm but oddly it was not too bad spinning away. The handle bars are only 40cm wide and feel way too narrow. But all that will be fixed.

I took two rides on it this weekend. Both were very fun. One was just around the block and the other one was a night ride where I tried out some gravel roads. On the gravel it worked awesome even with the original parts. I am looking forward to getting it all customized for the gravel.

Tires are 1 1/4" (31.75mm) on 27" wheels

Tires are 1 1/4" (31.75mm) on 27" wheels

170mm crank arms

Way narrow 40cm bars

Comuter/Gravel Grinder Build

I am looking to build up a new project bike this winter.

Come November I am moving to an area that has many miles of gravel roads, so I am going to build a bike that can handle the terrain using an old lugged steel frame.

I am also going to use this bike for commuting as well. Right now I do my commutes on my mountain bike mainly because of some short dirt sections in my route. A bigger tired road bike should help speed up the commute.

I am going to purchase an old 66cm frame and braze on some cantilever brake bosses and racks. Maybe even some fenders and generally bring it close to modern standards.

I have found a great candidate frame on Craigslist and am hoping to pick it up this weekend.

Photos and build sheet to follow.

Craigslist tall bike find