She's been disassembled and sitting in boxes since I broke a rear axle in 2017. Today, at 40 years young, she's back on the road.
I bought her during the summer of 1980 when I was 19. I can still remember the excitement I felt when I first spotted her in the window of Toga Bike shop in Greensboro, North Carolina. I walked in, spoke with Dale Brown, and put a $50 deposit down on her.
It took the remainder of the summer for me to save up the $250 so that I could take her back to university with me that fall. I thought I was hot shit driving up to archtecture school in my 1970 BMW 2002 with a Trek strapped to the roof.
Lizzie and I have traveled quite extensively together. We've been all over the United States, from California to New York, Chicago to Florida. We've been to parts of Canada, across the Yucitan Pennisula in Mexico, to England and Wales. So when I started working on her again, I wanted to take my time and do it right.
New Campagnolo Axle
Finding an older Campy axle proved to be my first chore and when I finally found one; it was a too long, so I had to cut it down just a tad.
Getting the measurements precisely accurate from the broken axle was crucial. I wanted to be sure that I could establish the correct spacing between the cones whilst allowing for a longer axle. This shows that I needed to cut 7mm from one end of the axle.
Double-checking each end of the axle before cutting. And then assembling the new axle, cut to length with new cones and the old spacers and nuts.
New axle with two new cones. The measurements look good... She's ready to go!
The Big Day Begins!
The weather has been wonderful. I chose two days (April 9th & 10th) to focus on the task before me. And honestly, I could hardly sleep the night before as I played out the process in my mind - over and over again!
I bought that book new in 1984 and it's been my bible for bike maintenance. Oddly enough, 10 years later I found myself working with the author at PC Magazine in New York where he was a writer. A very cool coincidence and a great way to meet someone I admired.
I purchased new handlebars and stem for the bike a couple of years ago from SJS Cyles. They're a great shop here in the UK that I highly recommend. "If they don't have it, you don't need it." Here are the links:
I'm super pleased with the look. They are fairly close to the SR bars and stem that originally came with the bike, but with a slight upgrade (IMHO). The Nitto bars have nothing but great reviews, so I cannot wait to try them out.
Now she's starting to come together. Reassembling the crankset was pretty tricky. There is a specific order to getting the chainring bolts in place... plus you've got to consider the saftey pin on the inside of the largest chainring. I got everything set and then noticed that I didn't have it behind the crankarm. Urgh!
The Sugino crankset was an upgrade I made after my first trip to the UK in 2009. I had no problems with the Shimano BioPace triple (52/39/30) I was running until I got to the hills in Wales. Immediately upon my return, I went straight to Cycles de Oro and had Dale order me a 46/36/26 for my next trip. I also got the corresponding Sugino bottom bracket.
I've got new brake blocks to go in the "newish" cartridge holders. I've been using Clarks triple-compound brake blocks on my Dawes for years and I highly recommend them. They work really well in wet conditions and are fairly soft so that they don't dig into the surface of the rims as much as others I've tried.
I've seen two Shimano 600 long cage rear derailleurs come up for sale on ebay here in the UK and both times they sold for over £100! Mine was damaged in the late '80's and I needed to replace it. I went for the Deore upgrade. I changed to the Deore front derailleur when I got the crazy BioPace triple crankset. What can I say? After more than 20 years and somewhere in the region of 50,000 miles, they have both performed flawlessly.
The Fun Begins!
The weather is gorgeous and despite the current lockdown, I can take an hour for exercise.
Where shall we go Lizzie? Shall we find a quiet country lane? Perhaps a little climb overlooking the valley? Come on girl... Let's go!
| COMPONENTS |
|
- Shimano 600 Brake Levers & Calipers
- Shimano 600 Gear Shifters
- Shimano 600 Pedals & Toe Clips
- Shimano 600 Seat Post
- Shimano Deore Front & Rear(Long Cage) Derailleur(s)
- Sugino Triple Crank 48/36/26, 172.5
- Shimano MF-TZ20 14-28 6-speed Freewheel
- Nitto 135A Randonneur Handlebar
- NItto Techtronic Stem
- Braided Stainless Steel Brake Cables
- Wolber GTX 2 Rims 27" x 19mm
- Campagnolo Victory Small Flange Hubset, 36 hole
- DT Swiss Double-butted Stainless Spokes
- Clarks Triple-compound Brake Blocks
- Continental Tour Ride Tyres, 27" x 1 1/8"
- Brooks Professional Saddle
- Christophe Leather Toe Straps
- Elite Cussi Stainless Bottle Cages
- Zefal XPX Frame Pump
- Cinelli Cork Gel Handlebar Tape
- SKS Long Mudguards
- Cateye Bar-end Mirror
- Tourbon Canvas Saddlebag
|
▲ Back to top
