Hartford Cycle

The culprit is actually this guy. Unlike modern cassettes which let their hubs do all the work, freewheels have their own ratchets, bearings, soul, and free will. This one was cranky and after a flush… is still cranky, but moving freely.

When I finally make that randonneur, it will have cloth rim strips. These cool translucent ones will do for now.

Cleaning up the donor wheels. Weinmann in the front, Araya in the rear (be still, my OCD). This Weinmann is actually USA-made and, unlike the Araya, it's hub's bearings still work.

Or… are the rear wheel's problems even at the hub… (?!)

HB-03 – a 1985(?) Univega Supra Sport

While hunting for an old road bike to turn into an earth-and-forest-hued randonneur, I ran across this instead. Univegas already came from the factory dripping with style, forcing brown and olive on one would be like pasting Cannondale stickers on a Trek.

RED’s not my color, but RED it shall be…

First test configuration – New saddle, new cassette, rubber stopper-reinforced fork, Kenda Kross tires, and… the same magenta bottle cage.

A very smooth and comfortable ride, reminiscent of the Trek FX (but slower, heavier, and possibly more credible off-road).

Now, the feature problem of this build – the suspension fork. The third stage elastomers (orangish red, to the left) are intact, the first stagers (red) in varying condition, the second stagers (black) completely melted.

This “melted” state is the ultimate destiny of all MCU elastomers from this era. One day they’ll all be gone, leaving behind sad, empty fork shells and distant memories of trails once shredded…