"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
06/14/2020 at 13:59 • Filed to: everything that is wrong with
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"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
06/14/2020 at 13:59 • Filed to: everything that is wrong with | 2
| 13 |
Well... as per my “everything that is wrong” posts I’m quite sure this isn’t everything . Certainly everything I think is wrong anyway.
Yesterday in a fit of “why not” I bought an 8-speed 60s Schwinn Varsity and some air tools for the grand total of $50. Given the air tools are, to me, well worth the $50 I’m calling the bike $20. Yes that makes sense.
Anyway, the bike is in rough shape from clearly having sat for many, many, many years, but still operable. After an adjustment and some oil the brakes and derailleurs are in working order, the tires hold air, and the dynamo and rear light even work!
Obviously there is still much to do though.
Brakes
The cantilever brakes that are on there are mechanically fine, but the brake pads look like pencil erasers and are very crumbly. Since my 2-stroke bike burns through brakes like you would probably believe given how I started that sentence, I have a ton of spares to swap in there.
While I’m at it, I’m going to replace the brake cables as well, which set me back $10.
Handlebar
I have no reason to believe the handle bar isn’t original and while it looks perfectly functional I am not a fan of drop handlebars. I took the bike down the driveway and back and the feeling was akin to “constantly crashing”. While bikists would likely demand I suck it up and learn to ride the correct way, I think a flat bar conversion is in order. I already have the brake levers from the 2-stroke build and the bike needed new brake cables anyway. Shifters are on the top tube, so I don’t have to worry about those.
New bar and grips set me back $30.
Bearings
The rear hub axle has some play and a lot of noise, which leads me to believe it needs new bearings. However after swinging by the local bike shop they’re pretty sure it just needs to be adjusted. I don’t feel like messing with the removal of the rear cassette, so $25 for them to do it seemed... fine. I could have bought the bits to do that myself but I really didn’ feel like dicking with it.
Pulled the fronts and they look fine, so I’ll either repack the old ones or spend the $6 on a new set.
!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!
While the tubes hold air and the tires are roughly round, they are old like grampa so they probably need replaced. Unfortunately , like all my crapcan cars, this part is going to get ‘spensive. Specifically tires and tubes on Amazon ran about $70 but I opted to spend $80 for the same at the local bike shop.
Th e front wheel also needed a new spoke so that was $25 and (presumably) includes adjustment. Again, not exactly cheap but I don’t really feel like messing with it.
What else?
Well who can say. This should get it operating as a bike. From there... we’ll see. As my first ever non-mountain bike I am interested in seeing how it rides.
But I suspect I will do something absurd with it because that is what I do.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/14/2020 at 14:19 |
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Swapping bars? Check the bar diameter. MTB flat bars are a different diameter than drop bars and brake levers meant for curved bars usually don’t work so well with a straight bar. Sometimes the old brake levers will be able to fit. It depends on the clamping mechanism.
An alternative is the moustache bar. This style bar is the same diameter as a drop bar and works well with road bike brake levers. There are more hand positions than a flat bar and they don’t require the forward lean of a drop bar. It’s what I use o n my road bike.
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/14/2020 at 14:21 |
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Every single bearing on that bike should probably be dissembled, cleaned and greased. Then cables and housing for brakes and shifters. Tires and tubes you can buy generic and probably find some 700x28 or so for $20/tire. Needs a seat and bar tape and should be good to go. I’d WAG $150 parts and it would take me, an ex bike mechanic around 8 hrs labor to do all that.
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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
> TheRealBicycleBuck
06/14/2020 at 14:36 |
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Thanks for the heads up. I went over it with a set of calipers and I’m reasonably sure everything I own should work OK. Luckily everything is returnable if it comes to that.
facw
> Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/14/2020 at 15:11 |
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I’d guess these aren’t 700c wheels, so it probably needs more specialty tires (though I’d still guess you can find something for less than $20/tire)
atfsgeoff
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/14/2020 at 15:23 |
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It ain’t the drop bars that cause the bike to constantly feel like you’re crashing, it’s the super-narrow tires and overall steering geometry that make the bike very twitchy.
I had an early 80s Ross Eurosport 10 speed drop bar bike many years ago and it felt exactly like you described: always on the verge of crashing. I ended up giving it away for free about a year after I got it because I simply didn’t like the way it handled.
Fast-forward to 2018, and I got a drop bar gravel bike from Lynskey that rides and handles like a dream. Super stable. I attribute that to a longer stem, wider drop bars, and wider tires.
Before dismissing the drop bar completely, maybe consider trying a wider drop bar first.
Good article about drop bar width:
https://www.analogcycles.com/how-wide-doth-your-drop-bars-need-be/
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Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> facw
06/14/2020 at 15:50 |
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Yes they are proper 27" diameter or 630 mm vs a 700/622 mm.
Chariotoflove
> Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/14/2020 at 16:21 |
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Cables and housings probably need to be replaced and are cheap. On the other hand, you can probably use them until they fail. No danger in that, none at all.
VincentMalamute-Kim
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/14/2020 at 16:26 |
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It gets complicated if you switch - even if the bar diameters are correct. Drop bar brake levers don’t have the correct curve for the straight bar. Mountain bike brake levers have different pull ratios meant for cantilever or V-brakes.
Moustache is good. I have extended bullhorn/cowhorn bars on my commuter.
Feeling of always crashing - A Varsity should have a pretty stable geometry. The drop bar isn’t what I would first go to blame. Front hub / headset aren’t loose?
Is this a project you really want to take on? At the end, you’ll be out a lot of money you could’ve spent on a modern bike and you’ll have an ancient, obsolete bike that works but is worth less than the money you spent on it.
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Chariotoflove
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/14/2020 at 16:26 |
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I am a solid fan of supporting the local bike shop, even if it costs a little more. That’s a lot to pay for basic tires and tubes though. I will tell you that Amazon turns out to not be the best source for a good deal in this case, in my recent experience .
The spoke wouldn’t have been hard to replace yourself, if you’re doing this project on the cheap. But $25 isn’t bad. As long as the shop did a complete true on both wheels, it was worth it. I recently had a spoke replacement and wheel true for $16, but prices vary by region.
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/14/2020 at 18:15 |
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Oh I've played this game before...the bike is fixed-ish but hanging in the shed unridden because I wasn't prepared to properly invest time and money to make it a proper ride.
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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
> Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
06/17/2020 at 19:49 |
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Circling back to give you cred for this. I was like “how bad could it be?” Then I opened the crank and those bearings were dryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Replaced and repacked now, but I’m also doing the pedal bearings, which is not a thing I knew existed, front and rears just in case.
Also yeah ended up with those Bell tires via Walmart of all places (bike shop fell through *grumble grumble*) as the tires are indeed 27x1.25. Current parts cost is looking like... $13 0ish, excluding the parts I already had. So not a bad WAG!
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Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/17/2020 at 20:54 |
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I know this because I’ve done it several times. Thanks for the compl iment and I hope it goes well. My dad had this exact bike in orange, i remember it well.
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Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
> atfsgeoff
06/18/2020 at 11:02 |
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This is good stuff, thank you!