The bike I should be riding...89 Marin OAP conversion....finished!

[Canuckbiker]

The "plan b" bars turned up. Azonic double wall risers from 92....if the date stamp is a date stamp!

They are a bit faded, but oddly so faded as to be kinda " smoke" colour. I might leave them as they are or if i get into them, re powder them at a later date.

These bars have a bulged center section, rather than being feathered to the first bend.....as im sure you have all found at some point, a lot of more modern risers don't go into quills as they just won't go round the bends.....being built for the world of open face.

These looked ok, so i took a punt.....they also have a mahooooosive 63mm rise.

The upshot was i could use the lighter / lower angled or the 2 marin stems i had.....in fact its from 89, like the frame. The adavantage over the more modern marin lite stems is that there is a reasonable amount of quill. The later (post 91) stems have very little height, probably as a weight saving!

The earlier 88 stems are 100g heavier, but do have a few more degrees on them...but as the bars are taking the height.....not needed. Both are steel, so will absorb some clatter......and honestly, i think the lower angle looks better.

The set up below is with bars level to seat, even without the grip thickness....so im happy. There is probably another 15mm to go before the stop line if needed.

View attachment 669951

I think this is a great compromise. You get the handlebar height you need without loosing the cool 90s stem look. The profile looks really sharp

 

[pw_pw_la]

If you don't need those Ritchey's now, I know a man who might...

As for the Azonic's: they look just the ticket, I reckon. And I really enjoyed the bike I rode with them. Nice and wide and comfy.

The stem and bar switch give the front end exactly what it needed, too. You barely notice the OAP vibes now!

Everything looks well proportioned I think.

 

[Tootyred]

Pedals are on.....as you can see above in fact!

Was going to use some mk2 tioga surefoots i cleaned up, but have decided to go with this silver set of sakae lowfat. Mainly because the platform is nearly an inch wider......and I've got big feet!

They rebuilt pretty easy too, with pretty standard fayre guts to them....unlike the tioga surefoots......they are just weird......bit more on their rebuild another time!
....

 

[Darren66]

Probably a little premature but as one of the few who could ride this bike, I'll have it off you when you want to finance the next build
p.s. still loving the Saracen Skyline

 

[ClassicDodo]

Pedals are on.....as you can see above in fact!

Was going to use some mk2 tioga surefoots i cleaned up, but have decided to go with this silver set of sakae lowfat. Mainly because the platform is nearly an inch wider......and I've got big feet!

They rebuilt pretty easy too, with pretty standard fayre guts to them....unlike the tioga surefoots......they are just weird......bit more on their rebuild another time!
....View attachment 670704

I was wondering on these pedals if the inner bearing seal was still OK or you found a suitable replacement seal you could recommend? After attempting to service Sakae low fats and trying doner pairs, I've given up as the inner seals keep crumbling.

 

[Tootyred]

The seals were fine, in fact other than a de grease and re grease, it was very good internally.

So can't help you much there im afraid.

 

[ClassicDodo]

Thanks for the response, I’ll keep searching for the magic solution!

The seals were fine, in fact other than a de grease and re grease, it was very good internally.

So can't help you much there im afraid.

 

[Tootyred]

Progress is slow!

Im awaiting a whole heap of cerakote to come back, but my mate is snowed under....but i can't complain....

So, all I've done is clean up some toe clips and straps and popped them on; fitted a bottle cage with a pump under it and wrapped some old onza bar ends ready to go.

I was going to use silver cages, but decided as its now all black, they stood out too much.

Oh well those 2 original Jim blackburn cages can go back with the original front and rear racks I've been squirrelling away for years .

The shed will never be empty........especially as my clear out sales have ground to a halt!

 

[Tootyred]

Little win today. The "lost" saddle, made its way back to the sender. No explanation as to where its been for 2 months.....just a hand written label!

Bloody evri....what a shower!

But the good news is it today it turned up at mine overnight with royal mail.

Huzzah !

You may think this an odd option, it being early 2000s, but i have one on my 700c touring bike for the best part of 20 years and 1000s of miles. I just find it really really comfortable!

So when a pretty much new one came up.......no brainer for a long distance bike.....got to be comfortable...just got to be!

 

[Tootyred]

Finally after some weeks, my pile of parts is back from cerakote.....so now i can rebuild the shifters and brakes and get on with it!

Theres also a load of other parts that i found in my tidy up in there, that were not good enough to use and are going through restoration.

Here's a before and after......

Only thing with cerakote is the thinness of the coating...it hides nothing so prep is everthing!