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.

Schwinn update

At school currently, so no photos of its current state, but, Rachel's Schwinn is almost done. Since the last posting, I applied the decals, clearcoated the frame and fork and have begun to hang the parts on her. Even though the old crank was a triple, the new crank slightly rubs on the chainstay, so I'll need a new BB axle. The current one was 119mm and I bought a 126 off of eBay for $12 shipped.

So, waiting on a longer BB axle and some pink brake cable. I've also decided to wrap the handlebars using brown cloth tape with amber shellac. Going to get the tape from VO.

Also am planning on buying this rack and doing what "stepinthefunk" did (see below). He cut off the outer ring on the rack so its more sleak and minimalist.

Schwinn Cranks

So, I've had these Sugino "Silstar" cranks and wanted to use them on Rachel's Schwinn. However, the large ring is fixed and is 52 tooth. Rachel doesnt need a 52. Additionally, I wanted to only give her one ring up front to ease shifting.

So, I grinded off the teeth on the big ring of the crankset. Now, there will be a guard on the outside and the 40 tooth inner ring will actually be about the perfect size for a single ring up front.

Schwinn Fork Painted

So, I sanded down the fork on the Schwinn CrossFit. I thought that the steering tube was covered in grime, it was actually rust. Schwinn didnt paint it, just bare metal. Cheap bike I suppose.

So I sanded down the steerer to bare metal, then primered the thing. On the base of the steerer it said "Spinner" looked like a brand name. Also it had stamped 1991 on it, which I had figured.



This morning, I hit it with the first coat of Jade. I will go back over it later today because I missed some nooks and crannies.

Progress is fun.

The Old Bike Blog

I'm a fan of this guy. Check out the before and after of a bike he restored:

Schwinn Decals

So this is on order......reproduction pink Schwinn for Rachel's bike.

Pair for $10 from Graphicity.com

Fenders

So I'm on the fence about fenders.

My options:

1. Buy VO 48mm fluted fenders now for $42



2. Wait a month or more and buy Honjo's for $85.


I like the look of the Honjo's better. Additionally, for my 32mm tires, I like the width of the Honjo's more. But for twice the price? Eh, that's tough to swallow.

Univega Mounted on the wall

This is partially to display the current state of the Univega and partially to show my new bike mount.

What's new with the bike since the last post?
-new wheels (Shimano 105 and Mavic MA2)
-Panaracer Pasela tires 700 x 32mm
-front derailleur
-leather saddle
-new seatpost
-rack partially mounted
-barcons in place

The bike mount is a Home Depot hack. Each bracket was about $3. So $6 later plus 4 wall stud molly type bolts and instant bike rack.

Schwinn painted

So the weather has been nice and this means that I've been painting. The Schwinn frame took 2 cans of white primer and one can of "Jade" Krylon. The jade comes in satin only, but I will be putting a clear coat over this after application of some cool Schwinn decals which the misses wants in pink.







I'm thinking I will also highlight the letters on the headbadge before I clearcoat it.

Removed the logo

I had this ITM stem and it was the perfect size for the Univega Specialissima so I installed it. But that freaking ITM logo was annoying me. Largely because I wanted most everything on this bike to be Japanese. But, I didnt want to buy another stem just because of this.

So, I pulled out the wife's finger nail polish remover and scrubbed off the logo; much better.



Yes, the stem still isnt Japanese, but at least it isnt so obvious now.

Wheels

Well, I threw on a pair of 27" wheels I had. The black rims arent ideal, but I'm going to use them until I find some silver wheels for a good price, or a donor bike.

All thats really needed now is to get my bar end shifters in the mail and my Brooks saddle. Prices for Brooks have been crazy on eBay selling for more than new. So, I may just buy a new one.

Also, I went to Home Depot and bought some stainless steel nuts for my brake pads. I like the narrower look a lot more than the standard allen buts that come stock.

Before:


After: