A Change of Plans

Despite my best efforts I just couldn't get my new height adjustable cantilever brakes to hit my 700c rim without rubbing the tire. This was very upsetting as I was really looking forward to mounting wider tires on my Takara touring bike. After much moping and whining I had a great idea. I made the decision to put the touring bike into hibernation. I removed the Albatross bars, Nito stem, and Brooks saddle from the Takara and mounted them on my wife's unused Univega Sportour mixte. She hasn't used it in a very long time and it was very unlikely that she was planning to ride it anytime soon. The Univega was originally equipped with 27" wheels but the 700c wheels and 38mm fit perfectly. The bike isn't ready to ride yet, I need to add some new brake pads and longer cables. I also plan to move my upgraded stem shifters over as well so I don't have to lean over too far to shift.

The Univega is a great bike. It's equipped with a complete Shimano 600 Arabesque group. I've always liked mixtes.

I'll be switching out the cloth tape when I change the brake cables. Maybe I'll actually get the tape and the saddle to match.

It's hard to tell from the photo but there is actually quite a bit of room between the tire and the chainstays.

Installing the rear rack is going to require some work. The metal stay that attaches the front center of the rack to the brake bridge is too short. I guess I'll have to buy a piece of metal and drill it to fit.

This is what severe drought will do to your grass.

Done!

Finally! We took the mixte out for its maiden voyage. Thankfully, everything worked as it should. It was nice to be able to once again share a nice evening ride with my lovely wife.

The Women's Brooks B67s saddle, bell, and cork grips arrived yesterday. After a few coats of shellac on the grips the bike was ready to go. Next payday should see the addition of a basket and maybe a set of fenders.

My wife suffers from neck and shoulder pain and needs to sit upright when she rides so I was glad to find this generic but attractive riser stem at a local shop. I coupled it with North Road style bars from Wald. The stem and bars combined cost me less than $25.

Getting Started

I've been looking forward to working on my wife's bike. The plan today was to remove everything from the frame so I can clean it and get it ready for powder coating. The first sign of trouble showed up almost immediately when I discovered that the seatpost is stuck in the frame.

 I don't know if it was forced into the seat tube or if it's rusted in place. I sprayed some light oil in the tube but it hasn't budged. I read Sheldon's recommendations for fixing this problem. I'll try heating the seat tube with a hair dryer. Some penetrating oil should help.

Everything else came off with little fuss untill I got to the cranks. The bolts that attach the crank arms stick out too far to allow my crank puller to be screwed into place.

I messed up a crank arm the last time I tried this. I'll probably have my LBS remove the cranks for me. They can remove the bottom bracket while they're at it.

This old bike originally came with 27 inch wheels, I'm going to update it with 700c wheels so that we'll have plenty of tires to choose from. I plan to build up a set of 700c wheels on a 126mm 7 speed hub. Me and my wife really like the look of the Shimano 600 EX components and wanted to keep them. I'll have to replace the original brakes with some long reach brakes so that the pads will reach the smaller 700c rim. I noticed that the front brake has a recessed bolt while the rear brake is the old nutted style. I'll probably drill out the rear hole on the brake bridge to accept a recessed bolt.

The reflector mount is shaped at the attachment point to fit the brake bridge. I might keep this and adapt it for use with a blinkie light.

I didn't realize until a few days ago that new brakes would not mount to an old bike without some minor frame modification.

I'd like to have the frame powder coated at the beginning of January.  

Univega Sportour Mixte

I've been searching Craigslist for the last couple of weeks looking for a bike for my wife. I was wanting a mixte or an interesting 3 speed. My wife could care less, she just wants something pretty. I found her a frame but it's not real pretty, at least not yet. It's a Univega Sportour mixte circa 1981 or 82. It's got some really interesting Shimano 600 EX or "arabesque" downtube shifters, and derailers. It also came equipped with SR crankset and Dia-compe brakes. The frame itself is  much lighter and higher quality than I had expected. 

I will probably have it powder coated sometime soon and re-install the existing components. I'll be posting my progress.

Vintage Univega

I pulled into the Radio Shack parking lot at the Montgomery Plaza yesterday morning when I ran across this old steel framed Univega mountain bike secured to a light post. Judging from the skyward facing bar ends, gel seat pad and frame mounted floor pump, it probably belongs to one of the construction workers in the building. The bike looks like it's from the late 80's. It has that speckled paint job that was so popular back then. It has Onza bar ends, thumb shifters, XT rear derailleur, LX front derailleur, Suntour cranks and a really long Zoom stem. It has some really cool after market cantilever brakes on back. It's also equipped with a really nice Bontrager fork with V brakes (a later addition I suppose). You don't see too many of these old mountain bikes around.