Hi there,
Upon purchasing my new Allez, I have an old Trek 720 touring bike from 1986 that I would like to fix up, as it's the perfect compliment to my new fast-and-uncomfortable road bike.
It was my first 'real' bike, and there is a romantic attachment to it for that reason, therefore I am restoring it the right way. Some restoration is fun, such as picking out a fresh Brooks saddle and leather tape, but some is not so fun. Such as:
I have a problem with the existing shift levers, one of which are frozen inside the end of the handlebar with a stripped bolt. basically, the bolt presses the shift lever base into the handlebar, the same way that the handlebar stem holds to the fork.
I would love to preserve the Cinelli handlebars and stem on the bike (both of which looks like I will have to throw out if i can't get the shift lever removed), and am looking for any tips on how i might be able to remove a shift lever without destroying the bars. I was thinking of a drill and a good hard bit? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Another question I have is, what are good recommended replacements? I would like to use those cool new Shimano brake/shift levers if I can, but I don't know if i need Shimano derailleurs with them. I want to keep the Sachs Huret set that exists now on the bike to keep as much vintage as possible. I couldn't care less about the existing levers. I never liked them at the end like that anyways.
PS: Bonus points for any info on weather I should keep or replace the Biopace crank. It was added on a couple years after I bought the bike. Thanks.
Court
Upon purchasing my new Allez, I have an old Trek 720 touring bike from 1986 that I would like to fix up, as it's the perfect compliment to my new fast-and-uncomfortable road bike.
It was my first 'real' bike, and there is a romantic attachment to it for that reason, therefore I am restoring it the right way. Some restoration is fun, such as picking out a fresh Brooks saddle and leather tape, but some is not so fun. Such as:
I have a problem with the existing shift levers, one of which are frozen inside the end of the handlebar with a stripped bolt. basically, the bolt presses the shift lever base into the handlebar, the same way that the handlebar stem holds to the fork.
I would love to preserve the Cinelli handlebars and stem on the bike (both of which looks like I will have to throw out if i can't get the shift lever removed), and am looking for any tips on how i might be able to remove a shift lever without destroying the bars. I was thinking of a drill and a good hard bit? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Another question I have is, what are good recommended replacements? I would like to use those cool new Shimano brake/shift levers if I can, but I don't know if i need Shimano derailleurs with them. I want to keep the Sachs Huret set that exists now on the bike to keep as much vintage as possible. I couldn't care less about the existing levers. I never liked them at the end like that anyways.
PS: Bonus points for any info on weather I should keep or replace the Biopace crank. It was added on a couple years after I bought the bike. Thanks.
Court