Brandon Ives wrote:
>
>Which leads to a new thread. Does anyone have a favorite part that
>is "perfect" right out of the box and can't be made any better with
>some modification?
Back in the '70s, Campagnolo hubs were like that, perfectly adjusted
and slicker than a Teflon banana peel.
>Second, what are your favorite parts to modify, why, and how do you do it?
Back in the day, I used to do a "Sheldo-Glide" modification to Regina and Atom freewheel cogs. I'd take the freewheels apart and reshape the teeth with a grinding wheel.
You may remember that they had this stoopit groove running along the tops of all of the teeth, which would sometimes cause the chain to zzzzzzzing over the tops of the teeth instead of settling down properly after a shift. I would bevel the inside edge of each tooth, eliminating this groove. I also attacked the front corners of the teeth, making the sprockets look a bit like they had saw teeth, when viewed in profile (the high end was the side the chain pulled against.
These modifications resulted in notably improved shifting.
I also usedta run the brake cables out the bottom of my brake levers, giving a quasi-"aero" effect back before aero levers were available. This was cool looking, and also provided easier access to a handlebar bag, since the cables ran below it, instead of above. I learned this trick from a local cycling legend, Air Force Col. John Vanderpoel.
I also used to like to find various ways to add multiple sprockets to
Sturmey-Archer hubs. I had a 12 speed bike in 1960, a 24 speed in
'62. My OTB has 63 speeds, but I haven't ridden it for a couple of
years. See: http://sheldonbrown.org/
Sheldon "Sparks" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
+------------------------------------------+
| To invent, you need a good imagination |
| and a pile of junk. --Thomas Edison |
+------------------------------------------+
--
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com
Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
http://sheldonbrown.com