Thursday, December 29, 2011

Ciocc World 77

I picked up a 1986 Ciocc World 77 on craigslist. It was in decent shape, totally complete, and, most importantly, my size! I typically like to assemble my own drivetrain so I can gear it soft for the hills. This one is geared very aggressively, chainrings: 42-52 and sprockets: 13-14-15-16-17-19-21.b This means I ride it mostly as a single speed in its lowest gear and never go uphill. Since it had a little rust and hard oxidation holes in the paint I feel okay about riding it for errands and commuting. Kinda makes me feel less bad about thrashing it in normal use.

Rough Spot

I also did a little clean up just for the hobby of it. I prepped the big rust spot by sanding off rust with fine grit paper. You can also use steel wool, brass wool, or some crumpled aluminum foil depending on how much abrasiveness you need. I try to stick just to the spot, I don't mind a visible ridge of paint where it's chipped. Keeping the area you need to paint to a minimum is key, big spots are easier to see, especially if you don't mix your color right. I clean thoroughly with a damp cloth and make sure the site is free of debris or oils.

Mix and Match

It took me a bit to get the color just right and hand-fill the broken decal. I touched up the big rust hole with a hand-mixed enamel, Testor's Dark Blue and Testor's Black for the body, and Testor's Steel for the decal lettering. Of course it looks better in this photo than close up IRL, but still better than a gapping rust spot. I ended up re-dinging that spot and more oxidized paint chips fell off so I had to paint it again. I'm getting a lot of practice hand lettering the bottom of the W and the O.

Smoothed

The brakes were stiff but could stop okay. Changing the cables and cable housing did the trick, this bike can now skid like hell out of control when you don't modulate the rear brake.

Cable

New leather straps:

Strappy Shoes

Fresh hoods, new tape, a slightly more aggressive road bar for short hops, and my 77 is ready for a trip to work.

Taped

Monday, December 5, 2011

Coming Soon

SSCXWC Recap



Filmmaker Chris Leavell captures the unique atmosphere of the 2011 Single Speed Cyclo-Cross World Championships. From Peleton.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

What I Did this Weekend

The Final Tally

We broke our records: 201 riders, 7,990 lbs. of food, $9,652 in donations.
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