Gary Fisher Wahoo 2006

[dimrub]

There are just two problems with it. First, the plastic window through which the gear number is seen is completely opaque. Personally, I think it's a good thing: it's not a good idea to be looking on one's shifters while riding. Second, I thought to maybe paint the exterior while it was disassembled, then didn't do it, and now I regret that: it has that same strange combination of black and grey - but now, in the fully assembled state, it's much harder to paint. I might do it still.

Did I say "problem"? Opportunity! I'm going to repaint those shifters - and paint over that ugly window. No window - no problem!

 

[Spiderweb]

These might do if you decide to repaint the fork;
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005004825416435.html

 

[dimrub]

These might do if you decide to repaint the fork;
https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005004825416435.html

Alas, not an exact fit. I mean, why would anybody care, same brand, same model name, but for some strange reason I do.

 

[dimrub]

@Cycleops, tried your advice today - flushed the other shifter with WD-40. Practically flooded the thing, Nile river flood style. It worked almost at once! Magic... I celebrated this by not taking it apart - enough fun was had with the other one.

Aside from that, took apart, painted and reassembled the rear derailleur, painted the crankset, polished the frame.

Yes, I used chopsticks to hold the derailleur plate for painting. I'm sure I haven't invented this, but I'm very happy about how well it worked.

All that remains before reassembly is the fork. I'll tackle it tomorrow. Oh and I did the stickers for the fork, it turned out not too bad.

I couldn't figure out how to do the rounded corners in my software, but that's OK, I have scissors for that.

 

[dimrub]

It's fork day. The rust on the stanchions cleaned easily, as expected. The rust on the steerer tube - not so much, but it's good enough, and nobody sees it. I then removed the decals on one side (but not on the other) - and off we go with the spray paint.

Some hard learned lessons:
- Same as feeding gremlins, never paint after sunset. You'll miss some spots for sure, even if standing under a streetlight.
- Use gloves.

I'll do the second coat tomorrow. But that's all cosmetics. Whether I need to actually service the fork is another matter. At the very least, I'll need to get hold of the oil. I'll put the bike together, try riding it, then see whether the fork reacts as it should and decide accordingly.

 

[dimrub]

The fork is done:

Not bad for a first time paint job, if I say so myself.

I'm still waiting for the vynil paper to arrive, once it does, I'll print out and apply the other sticker.

The only remaining thing really is the headset.

It seems to be integrated, I mean, the bearings are inside the cups. To do things properly, I'd need to remove the cups and repaint them, or repaint them in-situ. Or call it a "patina" and let be. I have time to decide, since I'm basically done with this bike until the parts arrive. For now I've just went over the cups inside and outside with steel wool, so it's all clean at least.

 

[dimrub]

The brakes calipers have arrived recently, so I thought I'll install them today, but something went horribly wrong:

Yup, 3 right side calipers and just one left side. I wrote the vendor, but it will take quite some time to have this fixed. So I installed the front one, and that's it, this bicycle is stuck again. The only thing I can do is try and remove the stuck pedals again. I got the heat gun, will try again tomorrow.

 

[dimrub]

Hmm, I tried printing out the decals, and something seems to be wrong here:

Aside from the imperfections of cutting out and application, the colors are not as bright as the original. If you don't have them side by side, I think it looks acceptable, but side by side the difference is starking.

 

[Cycleops]

It looks okay. Have a beer or a cup of tea and relax, it's an old mountain bike.

 

[dimrub]

The tires have arrived recently, so I put them on today.

Gave another go trying to take the pedals off the cranks, using a heat gun. I was able to rotate one pedal half a revolution - progress! I have an idea, will try it tomorrow. Other than that, it's the waiting game again: waiting for the rear calipers, seat clamp fastener and the unnecessary yet fun new QR skewers. The pedals are here, so once I take off the old ones, I can put them on, put the chain on - maybe route the cables while at it. It's getting there.

 

[dimrub]

Visited Alon of the Bicycle Museum fame today - he has a vice (and I don't), I thought together we will get the pedals off. We did manage one, but not the other. Then, "forget it", Alon said. "I'll find you another crankset". And he did - just like the old one, but without the pedals on! So I took it, put it on, and did a few other things, so here we are now:

The front brake is done, the rear one - well, missing, and I haven't done the gear cables yet. The front derailleur is worrying - it has a bit of a play in it, about one mil, I can't figure out where is it coming from, could it be wrong assembly? It's connected to some sort of bracket that connects to the bottom bracket - I don't have experience with this method. The other thing is the pedals - I don't know what do they put in them, bitumen perhaps? They barely revolve. I'm thinking of taking them off and apart, flushing them with degreaser then regreasing. I just don't understand why would they do this.

But hey, we're almost there.

 

[dimrub]

Did the gearing cables. Then dealt with the pedals.

I got two pairs of pedals from Ali. One is a very nice looking pair of wide platform pedals, so I wanted to use those. Unfortunately, they didn't revolve freely, as these Ali pedals often do, it seems. No biggy, I thought. I'll take them apart and figure it out. Right. First, the dust cap won't come out. I had to apply heat gun and a lot of screwdriver, until it relented. But then it turns out the nut takes a 10 mm socket, which won't fit into the opening. I have no idea how do they do that. Do I need some kind of special thin walled socket? Anyway, I despaired of those, so took the other pair, not as nice. Those I was able to take apart and adjust. Why on earth don't they adjust them properly at the factory?

Anyway, we're past that, so just the caliper to arrive and we're done.

 

[dimrub]

The missing caliper has arrived and this bike is ready to ride.

So I still need to adjust the gears - but other than that we're done, I rode it and it's a fine ride.

 

[Spiderweb]

That’s quite a transformation, well done 👍
What was the total outlay?

 

[dimrub]

That’s quite a transformation, well done 👍

Thanks!

What was the total outlay?

Right, the butcher's bill. The bike itself cost me 200 shekels, or 50 euros. The parts - about 70 euros, with tires accounting for about half of that sum, followed by calipers, pedals and chain (and a long tail of small stuff, like valve caps, bolts etc.). Total of 120 euros.