Back to the Backroads

[Pondo]

This is a project that I've had for a while now but I'd like to ride it this summer so it's time to get busy. From a previous musing of mine:

I built up this gravel bike on my dad's old hybrid, Spindatt style. It's a cool bike. I haven't ridden it much and never got the brifters to work quite right. I came across this cool old Fuji touring bike for $20. It's ugly and had no usable parts on it but I like the lugged frame and the fork so I've been planning to transfer my gravel build to this frameset and utilize the downtube shifters with the brifters becoming just brake levers.

Backroads is a touring company that rents bikes and you can buy your rental bike if you fall in love with it. Here's some info I found online:

"I worked at Backroads for ten years beginning in the late 1980's as a regional manager, and a tour guide.

From roughly 1989 to 1997, they had their road/touring frames made by Fuji, with spec'd componentry of Backroads' choosing. They went through three iterations of Fuji lugged steel frames, beginning with the steel blue Mistaya in 1989, then moving onto the Blue Chimayo in 90/91, and finally the red Chimayo frames after that.

The blue Chimayo paint was somewhat defective. It faded prematurely, as shown by the band of darker blue on your frame, which was probably the result of a Zefal pump peg being attached there, inadvertently protecting the new paint.

The silver sticker on the top of the down tube had a four digit number on it for the company's inventory. The first digit referred to the frame size in inches: 1=19", 2=21", 3=23", and 4=25".

The stock componentry was usually of Shimano LX variety with some substitutions on brake levers and bar end shifters if it was a drop bar bike. An Avocet Touring 1 or 2 seat, and Blackburn rear rack was part of the standard equipment as well."

My Fuji frame appears to be a '91 judging by the parts group that was on it, mostly Shimano LX. It's very well used, ie totally thrashed, and the paint is Fugly! So it's time for some fresh colors.

 

[Pondo]

I like this paint scheme

 

[Pondo]

I started stripping the paint and this stuff is stubborn. The citrus paint stripper I have isn’t doing much. I tried a stripping wheel on my drill but I think that’s just going to wear out my chuck. Hand sanding bites. The best method I’ve found so far is scraping with a utility knife and then sanding. I wish I had a bead blaster. Anyone have any paint removal recommendations?

 

[Pondo]

Here you can see the original blue which was pretty nice.

 

[Pondo]

It has these interesting axle adjusters. I haven’t seen these before. Are they for single speed setups?

 

[Pondo]

I like this paint job also

 

[Captain Awesome]

I started stripping the paint and this stuff is stubborn. The citrus paint stripper I have isn’t doing much. I tried a stripping wheel on my drill but I think that’s just going to wear out my chuck. Hand sanding bites. The best method I’ve found so far is scraping with a utility knife and then sanding. I wish I had a bead blaster. Anyone have any paint removal recommendations?
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Citrus strip is junk

Buy aircraft stripper and some big ole trash bags. Slop it on and wrap the whole thing up in the bag and leave it in the sun

 

[Captain Awesome]

This is a project I can get behind

 

[Pondo]

Citrus strip is junk

Buy aircraft stripper and some big ole trash bags. Slop it on and wrap the whole thing up in the bag and leave it in the sun

This is a project I can get behind

Thanks Capt! I'll go to the store later to see if I can find some aircraft stripper. I don't know if it's legal in Cali anymore. I know the fumes will make you high. I found that out inadvertently years ago.

 

[Endlesschain]

nice start, I have those axle adjusters on my road frame, they are used so you can do micro adjustments to the wheel alignment and when taking the wheel off and on it will always go back into correct position so you don't have to align the wheel every time

 

[Pondo]

nice start, I have those axle adjusters on my road frame, they are used so you can do micro adjustments to the wheel alignment and when taking the wheel off and on it will always go back into correct position so you don't have to align the wheel every time

Oh, that's very cool, thank you. I like the idea of being able to run SS as well but there might not be enough adjustment for that. Not an issue on this build as it will have gears.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I like the idea of being able to run SS as well but there might not be enough adjustment for that

You might be able to get there, that drop looks horizontal enough to me... and if you really needed to dial it in, half link chain might be the thing. You can be more precise with your chain length that way

 

[Endlesschain]

I've been saved by the half links, I scored maybe 20 links once for nothing and just use a link when needed on vert dropouts its usually worked depending on cog ratio, probably only once it didn't work out, a must have chain for the ss builder

 

[Pondo]

if you really needed to dial it in, half link chain

a must have chain for the ss builder

Yeah, if I decide to go SS down the road I'll definitely get one of these, thanks guys.

 

[Pondo]

Well I guess I don’t need to worry about stripping any more paint off of this frame cause it’s junk. I flipped it over to work on the underside and noticed that it looked bent. Then I noticed the telltale bulge in the bottom of the down tube. Ugh. Got out a straight edge and sure enough this thing was crashed hard into something. It is bent.

The downtube is bent by nearly 1/4". Even the top tube is bent down a little. Surprisingly the fork looks pretty straight but I don't trust it after taking a shot like that.

So I guess I'll have to tune up the Bianchi build as good as I can for now and keep my eyes open for another cool older frame to rebuild this gravel bike on. C'est la vie!

 

[Kevin B]

Well I guess I don’t need to worry about stripping any more paint off of this frame cause it’s junk. I flipped it over to work on the underside and noticed that it looked bent. Then I noticed the telltale bulge in the bottom of the down tube. Ugh. Got out a straight edge and sure enough this thing was crashed hard into something. It is bent.
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The downtube is bent by nearly 1/4". Even the top tube is bent down a little. Surprisingly the fork looks pretty straight but I don't trust it after taking a shot like that.

So I guess I'll have to tune up the Bianchi build as good as I can for now and keep my eyes open for another cool older frame to rebuild this gravel bike on. C'est la vie!

Bummer. The bright side, it gives you fodder for a shop stool or wheel truing jig.

 

[twojs.bike]

Honest question: Obviously that isn’t ideal, but what is the main concern with those bends. Frame strength, frame geometry, flex? Or is it just knowing that it is bent will drive you nuts? I don’t blame you for not moving forward, I’m just always trying to learn.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

A frame builder told me "no tube is ever straight". To what extent he meant, I don't know, but I took it to heart. I have placed straight edges on most of my steel bikes, and he's right. Anyway, I would not dismiss giving a go at taking out most of that bend and wrinkle. Secure the frame, place a large long pipe/rod in the head tube and see if it will bend back to where it was?

 

[Pondo]

Bummer. The bright side, it gives you fodder for A shop stool or wheel truing jig.

I'm thinking I can use the back triangle and other tubing for custom build stuff. Something will come up that it's good for eventually. Maybe the back half of a swing bike?

Honest question: Obviously that isn’t ideal, but what is the main concern with those bends. Frame strength, frame geometry, flex? Or is it just knowing that it is bent will drive you nuts? I don’t blame you for not moving forward, I’m just always trying to learn.

The main concern for me is strength. I actually think it would probably be ok to ride this frame but I just don't trust it. The bulged tubing tells me it took a lot of force in that crash and is compromised. Plus the paint on the head tube joints was cracked on the lug which is a stronger component telling me that is also compromised. I just don't trust it. I will be riding this bike on all roads and even trails and I can't risk having the frame fall apart. I'd like to do some bike packing with it too. I'm less concerned about geometry but I think that was probably affected too. And, yes, it would absolutely drive me nuts. If I had crashed this frame myself and then noticed how bent it had become I would be shopping for a different frame. But I would finish my trip first.

Something cool will turn up. I've got a big road trip coming up in a few weeks. I'll be traveling half way across the country and I'll be able to shop outside of my local high price market. Anyone have a cool old road bike for sale that I can turn into a cool gravel bike?

 

[Pondo]

A frame builder told me "no tube is ever straight". To what extent he meant, I don't know, but I took it to heart. I have placed straight edges on most of my steel bikes, and he's right. Anyway, I would not dismiss giving a go at taking out most of that bend and wrinkle. Secure the frame, place a large long pipe/rod in the head tube and see if it will bend back to where it was?

I was writing up the previous reply when you posted this. Now it's got me thinking. I don't think it will bend back but maybe I should just build it and see what happens? If I can figure it out I'm going to post a poll to see how many people think I should just push forward with this frame. Interesting.