Startdate 2016.145

Gimme an S...

This past weekend Snowcatcher and I ventured out to the Chatfield Reservoir area to enjoy the spring-like weather blanketing the Denver Metro. For a change of pace, I decided to ride my steel-tubed Serotta. The last time I threw a leg over her probably was back in 2002. I purchased the bike on 06 February 1996. Hence, it would be a 20th anniversary ride as well. Most components are original; however, the carbon fiber forks are not original and have a story themselves. That being, I crashed into a rock retaining wall on Colorado National Monument after losing front traction on icy hard-packed snow. The crash results included backward bent (destroyed) original forks. About a year ago, I performed a lube, bearing, cable and anything else requiring some maintenance go-over on the Serotta. See overhaul Part I and overhaul Part II. It was due time for a ride.



Steel is real! A quality steel frameset feels the road working its way through the tubing. It's something you feel as part of the bike. Difficult to describe, it has a silent, soft "buzz" to it. When the road surface changes, the "buzz" also takes on a new element. On the other hand, steel can be a bit corpulent by current standards. Scaled, the Serotta weighs in at 21.5 pounds (considered a tad heavy). The carbon fiber bike I normally ride weighs in at 16.5 pounds. Albeit super light, carbon fiber just doesn't have the road feel steel offers. Carbon is highly muted with the occasional pothole thud. The Serotta still has "man gearing" from when I was a bit younger and stronger. I give solid Uhg to climbing with the 53/39 front and 8-speed 12/23 rear gearing. I've become weak pedaling around on compact 50/34 front and 10-speed 12/28 rear gearing. I attribute the latter gearing to mountain riding. However, I know better than to cop out.



The fastest speed I've attained by bicycle is 63 miles per hour with the help of the steep, north dam road below Horsetooth Reservoir, just west of Fort Collins, Colorado. The descent was comfortable on the Serotta. However, I would not be comfortable at that speed on my carbon fiber bike. I've had my carbon bikes into the 50-mile-per-hour range, and it was not comfortable; albeit very exciting. Following are some additional pics from our ride. Let's continue with a nice active beaver pond in the Chatfield area. Enjoy!




A cozy beaver lodge.




It was a big sky day at Chatfield.




A good ride usually includes several miles of gravel grinding.




More snow is forecast for the coming week. We enjoyed the temperate calm while we had it!

Adios

Stardate 2015.090

Steel is Real

Part I

I've always had a bike of some sort. I started riding a little red and white Schwinn around age 6. I guess I had kind of a knack for riding. When my mom brought it home, she first went inside to change into more appropriate riding teacher attire. Being oh, so patient, I hopped on and took off — no extra hands or training wheels required. Then somewhere around 1968, give or take, my little red and white Schwinn evolved into a green Schwinn Sting Ray. The Sting Ray lasted forever. BMX bikes didn't exist yet, but we liked dirt riding and jumping. So, a 10-speed seat was installed in place of the banana seat, and knobby tires were thrown on — an early BMXer if you will. By the mid-1970s, the Sting Ray had given way to an orange, Schwinn Varsity 10-speed. (5-speed by today's nomenclature). The Varsity led a good life, but gave way to 250cc and 480cc two-stroke motocross bikes. The late 1970s and early 1980s found me, hair on fire, racing 40-plus horsepower dirt missiles, but that's another story for another day.



In 1985, I started University studies. This was just about the time of the mountain bike explosion. I bought a mountain bike for commuting; I also fell in love with off-road riding. I've had a mountain bike ever since. Over time, I developed an interest in road riding. In 1994, I purchased a Cannondale R600. Then, in 1996, I upgraded to a Serotta Atlanta (named for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics). I retired the Serotta in 2002. It's been in storage ever since, including climate and non-climate controlled storage. Several weeks ago, I decided to bring it back from the dead. This is that story.



The bike's tubing is Reynolds 531 steel, from across the pond in England.




Serotta builds beautiful bikes with clean lug work, highlighted by an awesome, durable finish. The bikes are American built, using Serotta proprietary tubing from England (Reynolds) or Italy (Columbus). In 1996, component choice was Shimano (Japanese) or Campagnolo (Italian). My build was Reynolds 531, double-butted, lugged steel, size 54cm. It was a comfortable and stable bike sporting a 73.5-degree head-tube angle, and 73-degree seat-tube angle. I spec'd Campagnolo Chorus components and a Mavic Open Pro wheelset.



You can kind of see the beginning of classic Serotta swaging of the chain stays. I believe Colorado Concept Tubing is a nice way of stating proprietary swaging and butting of steel tubing.



Here's a better view of swaged chainstays. Notice the symmetrical curve of the steel.



I don't see a lot of American lug work like this anymore, except from small, boutique, hand-built frame companies.



I wasn't sure what I would run into. I planned on lots of rust and corrosion, but was surprised there was not more. The headset bearing cups were in good condition. This headset is not original (Shimano) for a reason to be disclosed in part II. Nonetheless, it hasn't been tinkered with since 2000, give or take.



The crown race was in good shape. The steerer tube was a bit corroded, but not bad. I cleaned and greased the heck out of everything.



Threaded steerer tubes are becoming fewer and fewer these days.



New brake and derailleur cables and housing were installed.



If anything was to be mated for life in rust, it would be the bottom bracket and shell. The left cup of the bottom bracket came out easily, wagging its tail all the way.



The right bottom bracket cup, however, decided to be a red-headed stepchild. What can I expect after 14-years of neglect? I had to employee "little Bertha" for some leverage. Thankfully I didn't have to call upon "Big Bertha" — she scares me.



I've seen worse. The bottom bracket had not seen the light of day for a while. I think I've only replaced it twice. If I recall correctly, I wrote the okay that is seen in the photo. I had a bad creak and thought it was the bottom bracket, so I put this one in. I found the creak to be something else and reinstalled the initial bottom bracket because it still had a lot of life left. I probably installed this bottom bracket around year 2000.



Ferrous cannibalism was not too terrible, considering what it could have been.



The bottom bracket shell was scrubbed and cleaned as best I could. Check out the old guy age spots.



Most likely, I won't ride this bike too much. So, I tore into the bearings and tried to refurbish them the best I could. Yes, I got a little grease happy. If I find I'm putting miles on this bike, I will replace these bearings.



Yeah baby! It even spun smooth, not gritty and in need of replacement. I always liked square tapered spindles, they are good candidates for a KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

More to come!

Adios