hi Doug,
All these things were considered, but the Geliano airbrush was so gorgeous. Since it would have needed a seatpost, would have gone with zero offset to take back an inch. We have the fit on the Fuji dialed in pretty well for her. But with all the parts needed, including front derailleur, bottom bracket, crankset and headset, it would have cost $500 more to build that bike. And she is very proud of her Fuji.
Griff wrote:Thank you bulldog. I've been thinking of rebuilding my old Nishiki and carrying it with me on my truck. But, it's been hanging upside down out in my barn for 20+ years... And while the paint still looks good, I just know that tires, tubes, seat handlebar wraps (foam ones were the hottest rage to tell how OLD the bike is) and every drop of grease is probably dried out and will crumble at the slightest touch... maybe it needs a professional, not a clumsy amatuer.
If you decide to try it, look at Tektro brake levers - they're the same levers that Cane Creek sells for more money. Also go with the inexpensive flexible cable housings (Shimano, etc.) - the expensive Yokozuna Reaction cables are too stiff to work with cross levers. Nishiki is a class bike - you should definitely rebuild it.
You could also go upright with it - here is a great place to get build ideas:
http://www.rivbike.com/ Check out the Staff Bikes and look at the components that make up the cockpits.
That is where I got the idea for the moustache cockpit on my Raleigh. It uses road levers in a horizontal position - plus it has a wide grip position on the bars for control. This is an all-day-long cozy bike.
The long stem is a Nitto Technomic, 225mm quill length, with 160mm above the headset, and only a 60mm reach.
But you can go even more upright with Albatross bars, MTB brake levers, and B68 saddle.
Most of the components at Rivendell are competitively priced. If you find parts you like you can also shop around.
What I do is make a list, google each one, find the best price and make 3 or 4 orders from different shops.
Tree fort Bikes, EBikeStop. Outside Outfitters has great prices, but slow shipping. Still, we bought a big order from them including brake levers, Nitto Noodle bar, SRAM hollow-pin chain, Miche cassette and custom gears.
But even using your bars, you could bring the bars higher and closer with a Techomic or Dirt Drop stem.
You can do the cockpit and plumbing, and take it into a bike shop for them to do the bearings in the hubs, bottom bracket and headset. A new chain is always a good idea, and new jockey wheels (with bushings) on the rear derailleur. Jockey wheels are easy to replace with a screwdriver or allen wrench.
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/ ... nance.html
btw, here is where the Raleigh started - these are all the components that followed the bike from my college (and early employment) days (although I used to ride skinny Unicanitor saddles). At my age I could no longer get comfortable on the long-reach stem and long-reach Maes bend bars - it produced cervical strain.
The rear derailleur went to the Moser and the crankset went to the Fuji.
If you look again at my Moser, you'll notice it's a much more relaxed position than this, with shorter-reach stem and compact short-reach road bars.
