After seeing a ton of restoration videos, finally decided to give it a go myself.
First time owning a road bike and first time doing any kind of work on a bicycle.
I’m not even completely done yet, but I have to say, it was really fun. Seriously hard and annoying at times, but overall really glad I did it.
I’ll try to give some details on what I did and how things went, feel free to skip this if I’m boring.
With some help here I learned that this is a 1981 model (according to the guy I bought these from, everything was original apart from the saddle). I couldn’t find the model though.
Taking everything apart showed me how many tools I was missing and I started to slowly accumulate what I thought I needed.
Most of the time was spent cleaning and removing rust, some of it I couldn’t remove completely. Some spots on the frame are scratched and started developing some rust which I tried removing softly to not ruin the paint but it didn’t work too well and it’s still a bit rusty in some spots. I did have a bunch of fun hand polishing the frame though, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
The pedals had a lot of rust on them and I did the best I could but they still look pretty crappy.
Same for many of the wheel spokes.
I am pretty happy with the shine I got out of the rims, it was a big improvement compared to how they were.
Unfortunately there was a dent in the front wheel that again with some help here I managed to improve a bit, but it’s still there.
The rear wheel I couldn’t get dished correctly, even took it to a bike shop and they said it needs rebuilding in order to make it center in the frame.
The breaks were probably the hardest part, from putting back together after taking apart, to the actual installation on the bike later on. Also not really happy with the stopping power, and I plan on fiddling around with them some more.
The bar tape was something I really waited to do, I did a really bad job but still it’s such a look improvement in my opinion that it felt really good to get it done.
I’m still planning on changing the saddle and maybe the pedals, and most of all looking forward to riding them and learning how to use the friction shifters.
If anyone has tips on how to adjust the front and rear derailleurs when I don’t have a stand to lift the bike from the ground, I’ll be very grateful.
I decided not to put the bell and the dynamo light back on, at least for now. I like the cleaner look without them.
Might put some mud guards (even though it will definitely not look better for them) just for practicality, because I do want to ride them as much as I can.
If you read this far, thanks, you’re awesome.
by tommy309030