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Azuki Rebuild |
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In 1974, I bought my first real 10-speed. I had Schwinns, etc. in the past, but this was the first bike that I bought myself. In short order I replaced a number of components, not because they need to be replaced, I just wanted to, or decided I needed something different. The primary changes were stem shifters to tips shifters, a two chain-ring with a three chain ring bottom bracket and the standard hubs to low flange fours cross hub for a smoother ride. The next time I bought a bike was in 1992 (Trek 850). The Azuki was my love. I did not log all my miles, but there were about 20,000 logged. This bike never let me down on numerous trips to the San Juans, tours in Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Idaho and Montana (or example see the Northwest tour) or on my Trans America ride. In 1992 the Trek became my primary bike. The reason was that I was doing mostly off-road riding getting around on trails on Whidbey Island where we lived. The kids were getting into some biking, but there was no need for speed so I used the Trek. When we moved to Camas, my youngest started liking bikes. so, one day in August 2003, we decided to strip the Azuki down to metal and rebuild it. The project lasted about two weeks. Below are the pictures of that project. |
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Although not super evident in this picture, the rims were pretty tarnished. We were
going to replace the spokes but they were frozen up and I would have had to cut
them and then replace them, so we cleaned everything up and they look and ride nicely.
The frame had some serious rust. It took a lot of work to strip it down by hand and
get all the rust off.
Aluminum polish, rags and a tooth brush got the calipers nice and shiny. Here is
before and after.
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