Univega completed

Realized, I never posted completed photos of the Univega Speciallissima. I sold the bike about two years ago, probably for less than it was worth -- $360.

The importance of decals

In my opinion, decals can make all the difference when repainting a bike. Getting stock decals from eBay is one option I've done in the past, like on my Colnago restoration (bike was powdercoated):

But more recently, I've had some fun picking out a new font and choosing my own color to compliment the new frame color:

Schwinn above was spray painted using Krylon

Gunnar was powdercoated

In the above two examples of the Schwinn and the Gunnar I bought the decals from a small online business called www.bikenames.com. They've always have good communication, the prices are reasonable, they're quick and even better I can send him a font I've found online that I like and he takes care of the rest.

For the Raleigh Randonneur project, I'll be using metallic gold vinyl and the font is called Birmingham. It'll look something like this:

Raleigh Randonneur

I've had this bike for over two years now, bought originally off of Craigslist for $60 when I needed a bike to trek the 3 miles to my then job working as a marketing analyst for a small printing company.

I made some functional improvements in the thing, swapped out the cottered cranks for more modern three piece variety. New handlebars, Suntour bar end shifters, I even repainted the rusting downtube one weekend. The bike was transportation, nothing more. And nothing less, I needed it and couldn't tackle a repair or project that meant it wouldn't be ready for duty come Monday.

I don't work at the same place anymore, or live in the same place anymore, and I own a modern day station wagon now, so the bike has sat in the garage. Until now.

The Raleigh Randonneur project is on.

Rachel's Schwinn Townie

So Rachel had this Schwinn that we got a thrift store in Sacramento. She rode it a lot in Portland, and when I wanted a new bike project, I dove into making this ugly 1991 Schwinn something pretty cool.

I showed Rachel a picture of a townie bike that I thought she might like:

 

But that bike costs $1200. I took the Schwinn she had and added $200 worth of parts/materials to make this. Fun project.

In the end, I kept the Headset, BB, RD, frame, fork and wheels. I had the Schwinn decals custom made by www.bikenames.com. Also, ground off the teeth on the large ring so that it would act as a guard.

Before:

After:

Bianchi Brava

Thought, I'd post the pics of my Bianchi Brava I sold awhile back. She was pretty.

Layers of Cotton and Shellac

Decided to wrap the Schwinn with Brown cloth tape. This way it would match the saddle and the bar end shifter cable could be hidden underneath it.

Single Coat of amber Shellac


2nd coat of amber shellac


3rd coat of amber shellac


4th and final coat of amber shellac

Schwinn photos

So this is where it currently stands. Yes, the seat clamp needs to be switched around.