[CR] A thanks, and a tough restoration question

(Example: Framebuilders:Brian Baylis)

From: "Steve Birmingham" <sbirmingham@mindspring.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:49:34 -0400
Thread-Index: Acmw2cYM9RNklmaGTXSPLL3V2EgIMQ==
Subject: [CR] A thanks, and a tough restoration question


I'd like to thank Len Diamond for posting the link to the 7-11 pics.

I happen to be working on reconstructing one of the bikes from the 1984 Olympic TTT, and the link has only the second pic I've been able to find.

The tough question is this: The frame has had a modification over the years, at some point a mount for a shift lever was added to the downtube. It was probably done at the same time as a repaint/rebadging from Raleigh to Huffy. From the pics, it seems that a barend shifter was used on one side, probably a suntour. Which explains the extra cable path through the frame that I hadn't quite been able to figure out. So, I'm wondering what choice someone else might make, do I use the existing shift lever mount which is probably right for the current paint job which I won't be changing, or do I set it up with the barend lever, which is a bit of a slicker setup, and obviously right for the 1984 time period. Right now I'm leaning toward the down tube shifter for correctness to the later paint scheme, but I do like the barend setup.

The bike won't be ridden, as it's more than a bit fragile, so function isn't much of an issue.

Steve Birmingham
Lowell, Massachusetts
USA