I don't know if this counts as a modification, but installing Mafac Racer or Competition brakes on a modern bike--without the original cables or pads and with a meticulous reassembling of the calipers. Competitions with braided cables, compressionless housing, and Kool Stop EC1 pads are easily the equal of modern dual-pivot brakes. This could dovetail with another question: Consider 70's bike-boom bikes, from PX-10 level on up. They were assembled for the most part by either unskilled teenaged shop rats or unskilled 20-something stoner shop rats. Combine a more skilled and attentive assembly with modern improvements in small things--cables, pads, where to grease/distrust of factory bearing installation and frame alignment--and those bikes would work much better than in their day of manufacture with fewer mechanical and wear problems. Yes? No?
David Feldman
Vancouver, WA
> <Cue John Coltrane Music>
>
> One of my favorite things is making things work "better." Last weekend I
visited Art Stump and his history is a history of making things better. One
of the questions I asked him was, "Can you tell me of anything you've looked
at and thought was perfect and wouldn't be made better with a little
modification?"
>
> Art looked at me from under his fishing cap and after a long pause said,
"I'm sure there's something though I can't really think of it, and I'm not
sure if my ego would allow me to leave it alone anyway." This got me
thinking about why I love being a mechanic, because these are the same words
I've heard come out of my mouth before. Maybe it's also a desire to have
something different then everyone else, but I love to change things from
stock. It may only make the part lighter or look better, but it sets the
part apart from the others of its kind. "Here are a few of my favorite
things."
>
> 1. Drillium parts. Like everything good it can be overdone and lead to
sadness, but done correctly it can remove a lot of weight and add a lot of
style.
>
> 2. Campagnolo rear deraileurs can be made much better with replacing the
stock pulleys with Bullseye and installing a barrel adjuster in the back for
cable tension.
>
> 3. Making non-aero brake levers aero and running the housing and through
the bars. This is one of those mods that can be screwed up easily. The
trick is getting the same amount of cable pull.
>
> 4. Adding the same color, or a complementary color, to all the grooves
and cut-outs in the parts. This really adds a stunning look to the bike
even if the parts aren't milled and drilled. It's really easy to do the
crankarm and shifter grooves, but the lettering in the brake calipers is a
really nice accent.
>
> 5. Custom cutting of your leather saddle looks really nice and saves some
weight. If you have chrome rails and a polished post it looks really nice.
>
> There are a ton of other more mechanical modifications, but the above 5
are ones to give ideas to folks who don't like to run with a crowd. I have
planed someday to have a web page dedicated to modification, but that's not
going to happen any time soon.
> enjoy,
> Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
> SB, CA
>
> PS: I'd like to thank my dad who let me take apart the lawnmower when I
was way too young. Val Kleitz for teaching me half the mods I know, and all
the people like Art Stump that were never satisfied with stock.