Miyata 100 Mixte Restoration

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Believe it or Not! The middle chain-stay on the drive-side is supposed to be bent. When I first noticed it I freaked-out a little. Then I located another one on the net. The owner was wondering the same thing I was.

The head-set cups and bearings were in excellent condition. I had purchased a bike form this owner before, So I was not surprised to see the bike had received regular service. Joe was the original owner of my Fuji Gran Tourer SE. Which now proudly resides in the Old Ten Speed Gallery "Hall of Fame"

The front wheel polished and trued. Also axle and bearings removed and de-greased and re-greased. Now it`s ready for a new Kenda K35 27 X 1&1/4 gum-wall.

A nice view of the rear derailleur (SunTour AR) and the SunTour free-wheel. All cleaned up with "White-Lightning" by Clean-Streak. I did eventually remove a few links from the new chain.

The Miyata is equipped with SunTour AR derailleurs and SunTour stem mounted shifters. I wonder, are the AR`s a step down from the ARX`s that were on the Nishiki Sebring?

Here is the crank/chain-rings broke down and cleaned, ready for re-assembly. Not shown here but the dust caps say "Miyata cotter-less crank."  It must have been the first year they did this model with a cotterless system.

Here are two of my favorite up-grades, a micro-adjust seat post and  and a comfort sport saddle. This was the first time I have used this particular saddle (and probably the last)

I think I`m starting to get the hang of this modern method of taping handlebars.  As you can see this is the bike I was restoring when I did the post about eliminating suicide levers. So far they are working well and staying together quite nicely.  I gotta admit, Steve was right about the gum-hoods.Even finished-off neatly, gum hoods would have looked better.

The Miyata 100 mixte finished. Over-all I`m happy with the project, although I am not completely sold on the new saddle yet. I may be making a change "real soon".

Well that`s about it for the Miyata. Right now I am building a commuter bike with fenders and a rear rack. It "might" even get a vintage fork-mount generator light. I usually take stuff off bikes not add to them. But having seen some cool commuter bikes lately, I decided to try to build one. Wait till you see the rear fender! I tried something different, I think you might like it. (Very Ness like)
I should be posting it (commuter) mid to late week. Till Next Time! RIDE SAFE and remember to always RESCUE-RESTORE&RECYCLE Cheers,Hugh

Nishiki Sebring Pictures

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The Nishiki frame looking a little rough. The fork blades were the worst

I taped-off the crown and re-painted the blades after sanding.

After de-greasing and cleaning the head-set is ready for re-assembly.

Arm shown left was replaced, chain-ring was taken apart and cleaned/polished

Finishing up the front wheel, almost ready for some new rubber

At this point the crank is rebuilt, I have started touching up the frame and decals

The front caliper is ready for cleaning and polishing

The Nishiki is beginning to come together. I love the Charge "Spoon" saddle

I ordered Dia-Compe levers to match the DC Calipers. They need polishing

I found the SunTour ARX derailleur on e-bay to match the rear & the shifters

I like the Well-Go pedals (Shimano 105 knock-offs) they look "period correct"

Well that`s the Nishiki Sebring. Far from perfect, But a huge improvement compared to the abused and neglected bike that I found at the Sally Store.
Who ever had serviced the crank had it really screwed up. They did not thread the drive side in all the way. (I suspect they started on the wrong side) Because of this mistake it had no retainer ring on the left side. As it was threaded in all the way to compensate for the drive side being out about 3/16
Then when the left pedal arm got loose. Instead of removing the dust-cap and tightening the retaining nut, they just kept riding it. This elongated the hole.
That is why I had to scrap the left side arm. I was very lucky to have a matching one on hand. I can`t wait to take it for a real ride. Now that the heat-wave is coming to an end. That should be real soon.
Till next time, Ride Safe and remember to always RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh

Suicide Levers! We don`t need no STINKING Suicide Levers!

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Above: Obviously the first thing you will want to do is remove the suicide lever. This usually requires the biggest Slotted or Phillips-head screwdriver in the toolbox. Save those levers and bushings (and the tiny spring) you never know when you might need them for a future project. Next Step. Cutting the post off flush

Above: I Do NOT RECOMMEND you use a cutting wheel this large. In fact I would recommend you use a non-powered hack saw. Be careful to avoid scratching the lever body any more than necessary. One of those mini hack-saws will be a good choice, they are much easier to control. But if you to scratch it up don`t worry, that's the next step.

Above: After the post has been cut-off, sand the area down with #600 automotive grade sandpaper. This will minimize the scratching and smooth-out the rough edges on the cut. If the scratching is bad try #400 sandpaper first. You will still need to finish with the #600 sandpaper.

Above: Now wipe off the dust and polish with "Mothers". Now it is starting to look like something. But we need to do something about the hole.

Above: Take the lever body with you to the Hardware Store. I went to Peter`s Hardware in the west part of Highland on M59. These are all the choices I found that fit. The top two are Allan head screws. These might be a good choice if you cut is neat. The next four are little push-in caps (white and black). These too look good, but don`t cover enough (for my taste). The final one is an automotive push-pin. This one appears to be the correct size to cover the hole and the cut.

Above: I had to snip the last two fins off with scissors because it was a little to long. But after that it worked just fine. Check the depth before inserting the push-pin, because they only grab really tight the first time.

Above: The push-pin is trimmed to the proper length. Yours may be slightly different so definately measure first.

Above: I`m liking that (:

Till next time, RIDE SAFE and remember to always RESCUE,RESTORE&RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh

Refurbishing Dia-Compe 500 Caliper Brakes

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Above: This is a Dia Compe 500 Caliper Brake off the Nishiki Sebring I have been restoring. Other than being "dingy looking" it appears to be well worth refurbishing. You always want to check for cracked or bent parts before refurbishing brakes.

Above: The first thing I like to do is release the spring. I do this by grabbing the end of the spring and moving it over or past the stopper. This takes the tension of the brake. And will help prevent injury or parts being lost. This is particularly important with center pull caliper brakes as they are tightly sprung. NOTE: This method does not work with (double sprung) center-pull brakes. So use EXTREME CAUTION when taking double sprung calipers apart.

This might be the most important thing for a first timer. Only take one caliper apart for cleaning/polishing. This way you can use the still assembled brake as a reference. There are lots of washers and spacers and plastic bushings and it is very easy to forget what went where. If you only have one caliper "fixed gear bike" you might want to take some detail photographs to use as a reference.

Above: The brake caliper (right) shown re assembled with new Jag Wire x Caliper brake Shoes. For me it`s automatic to replace the shoes. Most of the bikes I rebuild or restore have been in storage 10 to 30 years. And even good brake shoes are inexpensive "in bulk" So it`s better to just replace them if you can. I feel the same way about brake and derailleur cables. Good quality cables are also inexpensive in when purchased in bulk. Shown are some of the products I use most often. Note: The detailing brush has fine brass bristles (not steel). Brass is much easier on the metal,chrome, etc. Also you can see the White Lightning Clean Streak used for parts cleaning. And for chrome I use Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover. And the Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish that I use for Aluminum and Alloy parts polishing. I also use Mother's to clean-out bearing cups. It breaks down the hardened grease rings you often find in bearing cups. I also use Mother's on chain-rings to removed caked-on grease and dirt from the sprockets. As always You want to read the "CAUTIONS" on the products carefully. And use any protective equipment recommended.

Above: I am also restoring the rear wheel off a Miyata and the Rim, Free Wheel, Pie plate and Hub as well. While I feel very strongly about replacing components that should be replaced. I feel just as strongly about refurbishing components that are still very usable. This 6 speed free wheel unit was a mess due to neglect. But after a good cleaning and lube it has many trouble free miles ahead. The free wheel & pie-plate were removed cleaned / polished. The hub and rim were both polished. The spokes were cleaned with a fine brass detail brush and with some light cleaner/de greaser. The axle and bearings were removed de greased and reassembled with fresh grease. And the wheel was trued on the wheel truing stand. As you can see it looks pretty fresh. I`ll never understand why everyone is always so quick to throw stuff away. I guess it is just easier to buy new.
Below: A not so current progress pic of the Nishiki, I will have more soon.

Well that`s it for now (7-31-10) I will be doing some more posts about the Nishiki Sebring real soon. I did repaint the road fork and it came out real good. the bike is pretty much finished. I am waiting for delivery on the "used" correct Sun-Tour ARX front derailleur. And there is some more paint touch up to do as well. And I will be making another attempt at taping the handlebars in the modern correct way. Funny thing, on the instructional video I have been watching about "taping the handle-bars". I just noticed, the finish tape on the already taped side of the bars is unraveling. And I`m talking about the other side of the bars that was just taped before they shot the video. That is by the way a "non issue" when you do it the old way. Not that the new way is not better. I`m just saying...
Till Next Time, Ride safe and remember to always RESCUE,RESTORE&RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh

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Nishiki Sebring Bracket and Crank-Set

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Above: I remove the bracket from the left side. I rinse out the bracket-shell with Clean-Streak. You can see I have already threaded the drive side cup into place with a light coat of bearing grease in the cup. The drive side cup gets screwed in all the way. Any adjustment in tightness will be done on the left side.

Above: I try to keep the left and right side cups and bearings together. Also I put the nut on the end of the drive-side to remind me that end goes in first. Everything gets a good cleaning and re-greasing before reassembly. I grease the drive-side bearing making sure the jacket is full. Then I lightly grease the bottom bracket axle.
Now I remove the nut from the drive-side end and slide the bearing onto the axle with the exposed side of the bearings facing out or into the cup. Once I slide the axle back into place feeling the bearings spinning smoothly in the cup. Then I can slide the protective plastic sleeve into place. Then grease the left-side bearing and cup. I like to slide the bearing onto the axle (again with exposed side of the bearings facing out) and then thread the cup back into place. It`s always a good idea to start screwing everything in by hand to avoid cross-threading.

Above: Once I have the bracket in just right, not so tight it grinds or so loose there is play. Then I can screw on the retainer ring. But before I tighten it down
with the bracket wrench. I hold the cup in place with an adjustable wrench. This way the bracket stays in adjustment when I torque the ring down. Now it`s ready for the crank set :)

Above: NOTE *I HAVE NOW TURNED THE FRAME AROUND ON THE STAND* I like to put a very light coat of grease on the axle spline. Someday I just might want to take this apart. Same with the retainer nut, just a slight touch of grease. It is important to use the correct socket when tightening the retainer nuts down. Not only the right size but the same number of points inside the socket.
In other words, the inside of the socket should be shaped just like the six point nut. This will prevent rounding-off the edges of the nut, making it easier to take apart (for service) and easier to tighten.

Above; The left side. The only thing you want to remember on this side (other than all the stuff we already talked about). Is make sure the pedal arm is pointing in the opposite direction. If you put them both on pointing down your gonna feel really silly. Not to mention you`ll have "a hell of a time" trying to pedal the darn thing!

Above: The crank-set before cleaning/polishing. This was taken apart and cleaned polished with Mothers. After-wards the Allen-heads were cleaned out with Turtle-Wax Chrome Cleaner/Polish and Rust Remover. I do this with Q-Tips dipped in the Turtle-Wax. I find this easier to do after the crank is back on the bike.
That about does it for the bracket and crank-set.

Above; Next post will be about getting these brakes looking and working good again.
Till next time, RIDE SAFE and remember to always RESCUE,RESTORE&RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh

Rampar Rapide Finished

Hello and Welcome, I`m not sure if I am ready to embrace this "new way" butt...
I did wrap the bars with Cinelli cork-tape in the modern way. I was not able to try the Crazy-Glue though. Seems the unopened tube was laying around here a little too long. I will have to try that (crazy glue) thing again at a later date.

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Above: The Rampar "Rapide". A Special Thanks to Alfred E Bike for getting the micro-adjust seat-post to me so promptly (as usual). Alfred E Bike is located in Kalamazoo, MI at 320 E Michigan Ave. Or "on the net" at aebike.com

Above: I did end up changing the pedals. The others were fine. Just a little scraped up. I do think these pedals "take-offs from the Fuji S10-S" look great.
I`m sure I will find a use for the others at some point in the future.

Above: Full drive-side view of the Rampar. I may have to shorten the new seat-post a little. It was "a little bit of work" getting it inserted in the seat-tube this far. I like the way the rear brake caliper looks mounted Mixte Style (facing forward). I will give it a good test ride to make sure it holds up. So far
riding around the drive it feels fine.

Above: A Port side view of the Rapide. This has to be one of the most unmolested frames I have had to work with in a while. No need to do any touch-ups on this paint job. And judging by the straightness of the wheels and the tread on the (what appear to be) original tires. I doubt this bike was ever really ridden.

Above: Another drive-side view of the Rapide.
Below: The Rapide as it looked when it first arrived from 'Up North"

Well that`s about it for the Rampar Rapide. I would love to hear your thoughts
on the rear brake mount. And any thoughts you may have (pro or con) about the bike.
Till next time. RIDE SAFE and Please remember to RESCUE,RESTORE&RECYCLE "whenever you can". Cheers,Hugh
Below: A preview of coming distractions (: