Well I finally managed to finish the Schwinn World road bike. The parts arrived about a week ago. But I have been to exhausted to do anything with them. My other job, Journeyman Mason & Master Wheelbarrow mechanic has been keeping me busy lately. That is a rare thing these days. And I gotta tell you "It`s not as much fun as it was 30 years ago.
Enough about that, back to the bike. First thing was to mount the new 27 x 1 1/4 gum wall tires, tubes and rim strips on the wheels. Then I put the new Jag Wire brake shoes on the freshly polished and remounted side pull brake calipers. Next I installed the new 1/2 x 3/32 Chain. I decided to refurbish the original pedals. They had some surface rust and needed a good cleaning. Replacing them would have been easier. But this is supposed to be about refurbishing and recycling parts. So break-out the elbow-grease! I finished off the pedals with some new "old-style" pedal clips and straps. I did replace the saddle. The original was intact but a little rough. And I had this road bike saddle, that I decided not to use on my MotoBecane. So what the heck, put it on the Schwinn. Now it is time for some Jag Wire brake cables, and new cable housings. The original cable housings were a little rusty inside, I think the black ones look better anyway. Not to mention that I had a bunch of new cable housing left over from re-using original cable housings and just saving the new housings that came with the new Jag Wire Basic cables. That is before I started buying naked bulk Jag Wire cables. Well now I can ride it around the driveway and see how it feels. But I can`t shift because I have not installed the new derailleur cables yet. So those went on next, no problems there. I did replace those cable housings as well. Cutting them to match with a cutting disc on a high speed DeWalt keyless chuck drill. With the typical 1980's road bikes you will want to install the front derailleur cable with the front derailleur on the small chain-ring before you start. Once the old front derailleur cable is removed it's not like you are going to have a choice anyway. The front derailleur is spring loaded and will snap back to the small chain ring when you cut or loosen the cable. And when installing the rear derailleur cable you will want to place the chain on the smallest cog or gear before you start. And make sure the shifters are in the up position. (no tension position). That will make it possible to remove all the slack in the cables before securing them at their anchor points. If done properly you might not need to adjust the derailleurs at all. Now the only thing to do is install the new blue Gecko handlebar tape. I also added some blue 3M vinyl detail tape and some black over the chain stay. It is a nice way to add some color and also cover some scratches. I found it in the paint department at the local (Peter's True Value) hardware store. Now a quick damp cloth wipe down and she`s done. Although I may change a few things before it is over. I`m not sure I like how I did the blue trim on the top tube. Looking at it now, I`m thinking I should have cut it into segments to break it up a little. Well nothing is carved in stone here. I can always change that latter. Until next time Please Ride Safe and Remember to Always.... RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh
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