Bridgestone rebuild update
I took the bike down to Stan’s today to get the bottom bracket and headset — the only to parts I don’t have the specialized tools to remove — off the frame. $10 later and I’m down to a bare frame and about twenty baggies full of component sets. So now I have to actually start restoring the bike. Somehow I think this will be more difficult than dissembling it was.
There were a few surprises, both good and bad, in terms of the condition of the bike. The frame and fork are much more rust free than I was expecting. There’s the standard rubbing on one side of the bike where it was most likely leaned up against a wall and spots on each of the chain stays next to the bottom bracket shell, but other than that they’re in really good condition. I have more hope that I’ll be able to make it look good without repainting it — which will save the decals, braggably — but I’m not quite to confidence on that front yet. We’ll see. (If I do have to repaint it, what color should I make it? Stephanie suggested racing green, which I think would work well. Maybe have the fork chromed?)
The freewheel and cogs look like they’re going to be more trouble to restore than to just replace. I’m also leaning that way for the wheels, in part just so I can move to 700c’s and have more readily available parts. If I can find the time, I’d definitely like to build the wheels myself, if only so I can get 36/40 spoke wheels instead of the 32/32 that seem to be most readily available. (I wonder how dumb it would be to try to go to 650B and get real touring wheels?)
The bottom bracket, headset and both derailers (Sheldon Brown 4evah) look to be in really good shape. Maybe I’ll replace the bearings in the headset and BB, but they can almost certainly all stay around. (In the case of the rear derailler, if I can find a six-speed cassette.) The crank arms and chain rings are without question good to go. They just need to be cleaned up a bit.
The brakes are probably a pair of pads and some new grease away from being perfectly good, but there’s a pair of Tektro side-pulls that I really have my eye on. (Although if the existing ones are wide enough to take a 700×30-32 tire, maybe I’ll stick with them.) The handlebars are much, much too small for me. Perfect excuse to get a fancy Nitto Noodle bar.
I’m going to start in on cleaning off some of the components and getting the rust off the frame within the next week. (Thanksgiving day while the turkey smokes will be perfect for this.) I’ll try to take pictures as I get the individual components cleaned up.