Long time no write...

So February 13th was my last entry, what was it that has caused me to wait so long in writing? I'm not sure. Things at work have gotten busier (thankfully) and I have been riding more, but just really in the month of May. April was a poor month for riding here in the Finger Lakes (at least that my story and I'm sticking to it!) May has been beautiful! The project bike still isn't completed due to finances, but I did decide with my wife to start another project bike for my daughter! A big set back was that the cheap route can be frustrating at times. I have two sets of Shimano brifters (the STI combination brake levers and shift levers), one set of 7-speed RSX and one set of 8-speed Ultegra 600. Both were gummed up sufficiently to not be functional! Well thankfully I found someone who repairs/refurbishes/cleans these brifters. Totally saved me from going to the newer plastic 8 speed brifters for $150+

Here is his ebay store:

eeforme ebay store

His (anti-spam version) e-mail is:

jrmcvey *at* aol.com

He also has a facebook.com page that I will post soon as I don't have it handy. I also plan to send him photos there of both projects when they are completed.

Another bloggers take:

john-s-allen.com

I've gotten them back and preliminary tests look great! I'm not waiting on two sets of Jagwire Racer cable sets to install both brifter sets. The 8-speed Ultegra 600's on my Cannondale project and the 7-speed RSX brifters on my daughters Trek 460 (1985 Vintage) project.

Here is the latest parts list (from http://www.niagaracycle.com/):

For my Cannondale:

 Jagwire Racer Complete Road Brake & Derailleur DIY Kit, White

Victor Pedal Cleat Set - Look Compatible Red Free Arc Float

Profile Conversion 22.2mm (1" fork) to 28.6mm (1-1/8" threadless) 

Origin8 Headset Spacers, Alloy Black, 10 per Bag - 1-1/8" x 5mm

For my daughters Trek:

Origin8 1" Threaded to 1" Threadless Quill Stem Adapter

Origin8 Headset Spacers, Alloy Black, 10 per Bag, 1" x 5mm 

Origin8 Sport Road pedals Black

Tektro RX RL721 Top Mount Cross Levers 31.8mm Pair Black/Silver

Jagwire Racer Complete Road Brake & Derailleur DIY Kit, Red

Other stuff:

Park PFP-6 Home Mechanic Floor Pump

Dicta 18t 3/32" BMX freewheel (for a single speed build I am going to sell to help pay for all this stuff!)

So I have kept both original forks (Chrome-moly) but in order to save time and ease future upgrades, I have gone to a quill to threadless adapter for both bikes. This way if I need to change stems to improve fit I don't have to throw away the brand new double layer bar wrap I just bought from nashbar.com along with new cassettes (7-speed 11-28, 8-speed 11-28)for both bikes!

So other than one miscellaneous part (the brake lever brake cable bar stop that you thread the cable through within the lever) that I have yet to source, I should be done VERY soon!