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Building up a Bridgestone Roadman! Advice?

paradoxbox

Cruising
Jul 14, 2010
19
3
Hey all, first time poster, long time reader.

So, last year I bought myself an old school Bridgestone Roadman on yahoo auctions for around 8000yen or so. It was in decent shape, good chain, working derailleurs, not too ratty. It had a few small patches of surface rust on the rear frame from where it got scratched and nature took its toll on it.

Anyway, have been using it to putt around and now I finally decided to get the thing going. My eventual goal, is once the roadman's parts are completely upgraded, is to just switch out the frame for something more modern and decent.

Any advice would be appreciated on where I should go from here. Please keep in mind I'm a full time student who pays for his own tuition so I barely have any money. I use my bike to commute to school every day unless it's raining out (Basically Ueno to Shinjuku).

Here's what I have done so far:

New saddle
Campagnolo Khamsin wheels
Campagnolo Veloce 10 speed cassette/freehub/whatever it's called
Shimano Aero brake levers (Yeah not Campy, I know, they were cheap!)
New brake/shifter cables and housing
New brake pads
Fibre flare light
Panaracer slick tires with some cheap tubes


Plans for the near future:
New brakes (Any recommendations for this? I hate the super squishyness of my current ancient brakes)
New pedals, any suggestions? This will come right after brakes I think. Something lighter might be nice. Current pedals are steel.
Possibly new handlebars..Recommendations?
new shifters; are these useless with the old derailleur? it's an old ancient thing, bridgestone original. i just use the downtube shifters in friction mode now.

Stuff I'd like to do eventually, cash permitting:
Carbon forks
Repaint with rustoleum/tremclad type paint in flat black or white, then clearcoat it
new rear derailleur (Campagnolo), front deraileur and crankset.
 
Drivetrain

I would say hold off on buying the drivetrain til you do it all at once, the right way.

I would save and buy campys ergo shifters, New Chain, Cassette, Derailleurs, Crankset all at one time. You do not want to put new components in your drivetrain mixed with old ones, they tend to wear out the new ones faster and never work as would if you just started out fresh. Your Khamsin wheel has a Campy freehub body that holds the cassette. When you purchase the shifters if you look for something 9 speed as opposed to 10 spped you may be able to get a deal. Usually the shifters could be used and wont pose a problem, another way to save some loot. DEFINITLY buy the chain and cassette new, and maybe buy the crank and bottom bracket used if they are in good condition. Use a Campy Crankset for sure as well. The shift pins on the chainrings are in specific places, so a shimano or Fsa or whatever else will not work. Since you are dropping money into it, go pure and stop mixng components if you want it to work properly. in other words, buy Campy shifters, because your wheel is campy and only accepts capagnolo cassette.
The new carbon fork will shave some weight, but in all if you plan on getting a new frame, just buy a frame fork combo and save the money. If you do get a new fork, be sure not to cut it too short so it will not fit the next frame. ALSO VERY IMPORTANT make sure this your new cash cow actually fits you properly before you dump too much loot into it. In all you had better love this frame to do all of these things to it. You could get a brand new bike for around as much as you will spend in the long run. And it will be NEW. Sometimes there will always be something to deal with when fixxing up an old bike, and to me that is always the fun!
GOOD LUCKSKEE and show some pics of your bike, we like that and you will probably get more detailled ideas on what is right for your particular application
 
Buyng used in Japan can be very expensive, your saving about 10-15% and to be honest I'de rather have the peace of mind that Im riding something that hasn't been abused.
 
YEah

This is true, You had better LOVE this frame to continue on, rust is never good either, especially if it from the inside out :( A new bike will probably be much Lighter too. Sometimes its better to grunt around a heap o crap and then buy a new one, and keep that hunk o crap for a rainy day crusher!
 
like i said guys, the bike is already bought, i bought it ages ago, and the upgrades i listed above are already completed. the frame is fine, it's not light but i am using it to commute and i do not want a frame worth 200,000yen that will get stolen if i leave it outside my school for 5 minutes.

but the recommendations for the drivetrain are appreciated.

does anyone have any recommendations for brakes?

also how about the chain and rear derailleur? i noticed that when i put the new veloce cassette on, when i pedal with force, it seems to clunk a bit, like the thing is not securely in gear. i've tried adjusting the rear derailleur limit screw and the tension cable screw to no real effect. the chain also seems to be too wide to fit onto the smallest sprocket without rubbing on the inside of the frame. thinner chain needed?
 
paradoxbox, i bought a panasonic (about 20 or so yrs old). found cycly in yoyogi to be superb for 2nd hand components. superb. its still a downtuber, but i bought a threadless converter for 1000yen at narushima and got cannondale/colnago bars and stem/head on for less than 4000yen. the crankset has been shimano > sugino compact > back to shimano with stronglite chain rings. bottom brackets are only 2000yen.... picked up back and front wheels for 4000yen a piece at auction. its totally feasible to do more than commute on these older bikes. i still haven't spent 50000yen on my panasonic, thats including the 23000yen i bought it for. buying some tools and having a bag of fun learning loads from doing it all myself makes it totally my bike, something to feel passionate and devoted to. for me that makes riding feel so good. it has been frustrating at times, but it seems there are no rules. just keep swapping parts on and off till it hums. narushima are really good. they have no prejudices regarding age/make of bike and in my experience have never suggested a modification that wasn't the cheapest way to do it. i would love to see your machine, do you have some pictures... if you want to, it would be fun to hook up, and talk about being cheap. its so satisfying to solve a problem for 800yen. jules.
 
ProBikemechanic, I was refering to bike parts not the frame.

paradoxbox..... buying used parts such as shifters, cranks and the likes are a very expensive way to build up a frame. Stores will actually be able to offer you a very competitive pricing for complete groupsets and it works out a lot cheaper than buying the whole groupset in bits and peices.

Also as ProBike points out, mixing old and new components is not a good idea as it will actually wear the new parts down quicker. So its always recomended that you switch out the whole drive train system in one go, crank, cassette, chain.
 
Reading this it looks like all you really are after is a smooth rolling commuter and will sometime in the future switch out your parts to a better frame. Economically speaking you'd be better to just keep the Roadman rolling and put away your cash till you can buy a complete bike. You will never get the value out of your purchase by doing incremental upgrades. Upping brake power it depends what you have on there at he moment. Shoes and cables would be one place to look at but if you have old single pivot brakes then just go for some cheap second hand dia-comp dual pivots. I would think your shifters are likely indexed shimanos so getting them to shift smoothly across the range of the campy 10 speed will be nigh on impossible. Funky placement of the cable on the derailler anchor bolt can help in some cases but really we would need to know what you have on your bike. Check you have a 10 speed chain on there.
 
not to offend anyone but it's like only 1 or 2 of you read my original post;

guys, i already bought the bike, i'm into it too far to stop now, i'm going to build it up until i've got all the parts together then get a new frame. i'm a broke student and the most i can come up with is 1-2man yen at a time. i know it might be a better idea to save up and buy all at once but i need to be able to ride now, not later.

anyway, as mentioned i already upgraded the brake pads and cables. but the brakes are ancient originals from the late 70's or early 80's. the wheels and skewers, tires, tubes, cassette are also new. new bar tape, new brake levers. new saddle.

the original stuff left on the bike is the frame, headset, forks, crankset/chainrings, chain, handlebars and shifters.

the shifters are simple indexed down tube shifters but to be honest i often just leave it in the hardest gear i can, and change it up a few gears if i hit a big hill and i get tired. i considered changing this to a fixie or single speed but couldn't find the correct parts to do it on a campagnolo wheel set.

anyway, i still have this problem where the chain is skipping over teeth on the cassette in almost every gear. i managed to find a sweet spot today where it doesn't skip but it's still not entirely smooth. finally the chain still rubs on the inside of the frame when it's in the smallest gear.

the chain is the original 6 speed chain. the veloce cassette is a 10 speed cassette and i still have the original crankset on it. i'm guessing this is incompatible? if i change to a 10 speed chain will it stop rubbing on the frame and will it stop skipping over the teeth like it is now, or do i need to also change the crankset/chainring?

trying to keep costs low as i've spent more than i ought to have this month on the bike. the rust on it is not serious, it's just where the paint's been scratched off. as i mentioned, i like the rust. i do not want a racing bike, i need to be able to ride this to school and park it for hours at a time, if i were to ride one of your guys' bikes and park it in that area it would be gone forever within minutes. the ratty looks make for a good anti-theft device.

bike.jpg
 
Yeah the cassette is incompatible with the frame this is why its rubbing. Rear stays on a older bikes are much more narrow.
 
the spacing between the dropouts on my bike is 130mm, isn't that what modern 10 speeds are too?

i was reading somewhere on the internet that old 6 speed chains are extremely fat (outside width) but the inside width is the same as new chains. i'm guessing that a 10 speed chain would give me frame clearance but will it stop skipping over the sprocket teeth under load?
 
yes. 6spd is too fat for 10spd cassette. new 10spd chain is about 1900yen max, might solve all your problems. dude, drop into narushima. its close to shunjuku.
http://www.nalsimafrend.jp/shop/jingu.html
even though the shop is full of dudes wearing sidi's with loads of assos over their assos over their assos, their prices for simple things like chains and tyres etc are on average 8-10% cheaper than anywhere else i have been. except for the their assos. that stuff is Xpensive.
will cost 500 to have them pop the chain on. while they do it they will tell you everything you need to know to get the bike humming. they will.
nice bike.
 
there maybe an issue with campy cassette > chain > front chain rings. i have a creepy campy feeling that only campy chains fit campy chain rings...? anyone?... if so, and you can spend 1-2man at a time, i have seen campy record cranks with chain rings on, nice ones, in good condition, for about 11000 at cycly in yoyogi. then you can buy a campy chain for 4-5000yen ... anyone? .... and be all camped out for less than 2mans...
 
Brakes and stuff

Your bike will need long reach calipers so I would go with Shimano BR R450. Price is around 2500 \ each and they are very powerful and will also work should you decide to get new shifters.Did you have steel wheels on it before? If so try some new pads, Jagwire Basics Comp Road Molded Threaded Brake Shoe is 500\ a pair and may do the trick. You want your cables to be slick inside the housing and the cable should not be corroded or rusty. if there is any drag you can use slick honey or even chainlube to get them slick again. Chain lube tends to only work for a short amount of time before you have to do it again. the br r450 is Very responsive and will work great. The next thing I would try if you brought it into my shop would be a KMC DX 10SC Chain 4000 \. I have personally use this chain on my cyclocross bike and it works OK with campy 10speed and will save you 4000\ compared to campys lowest chain. the width is as close to campy that any manufacturer gets being 5.88 to Campys 5.9. Then do a rear derailleur only if there is problems but it should work. Derailleurs are "stupid" and will go wherever the shifter tells them and the with for the chain should be OK.
The distance of range between your chainrings on your crankset are slightly larger so at worst the chain could fall between your chainrings, but since you are using friction just be sure to fully shift, and only shift when you are safe to do so, like any other time. Really your not shifting between your front gears that often anyways. Next get a campy crank and shifters Bottom bracket. campy shifters are rebuildable and last a very long time, I would not worry about buying used if they are cosmetically clean and not crashed up and shift through all of the gears and back down. The bike looks nice, the seat looks a little low for someone who will ride that framesize. when your sitting on your seat put your heel on the pedal spindle when the crank is at the bottom dead center and stand up so your leg is straight. your seat should be raised until it reaches your butt in this position( standing with your heel on the BDC pedal ) that way when you move to where your foot should be on the pedal, on the ball right behind your toes, there is a slight angle in your knee so you do not hyper extend your knee. a seat that is too low will cause you to compress your knee too much at the top of your pedal stroke and you will not have as much power if you had full extension. Just an idea.
 
yeah, some of my local shops have that chain for the same price, yoshida is good when you've got time to wait, orders take about a week to arrive, i'm kind of anxious to get rid of the 1 gear restriction i've got goin on now, if i want 1 gear i'll just throw spacers on the hub and go single speed.

i'll see if i can drop by nalsima frend tomorrow and check out whether a non campy chain would work (cheaper) or if not, whether or not the campy chain will even work with the bridgestone chainrings.
 
update, i got my chain swapped out with a shimano 105 chain (cheaper than the campy chain). it works like a charm. the original derailleur even works with the indexed shifting but i don't have access to all 10 gears, but i don't even need that many...2 or 3 gears are more than enough. anyway it's all good.

i'm thinking my next upgrades will be the bars and stem (because i'm hearing a weird clicking sound coming from the right side of the bars, kind of freaking me out), then the brakes.

finally, a coat of matte black paint with some clear coat. planning to keep the paint job somewhat sloppy to reduce the theft appeal.
 
Good stuff. Get a converter so you can use threadless style stems. Staying with the 1 inch quill stem will severely limit your options in the future. Check the tightness of the bolt securing your brake to the bar, also stem and wedge bolts, the clicking might be in them. You do know that red is the fastest color you can paint a bike, don't you? And it blends well with rust.
 
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