Riding 1982 Bridgestone Sirius

Completed Bridgestone Sirius bike in Madison building garage (where I work)

I bought the frame, fork and bottom bracket on eBay for a 1982 Bridgestone Sirius road bike. It is a lugged steel frame, size 56 cm. The frame was like 85 dollars plus shipping. The paint is in better shape than the seller's photo showed it on eBay.


Nitto Olympiade handlebars, purchased on eBay

I was not going to try to create a "PC" (period correct) 1982 bicycle - I wanted to see if I could buy and assemble a pleasing ride with components from various years for around $500 or so. (The joke was that for $500 I would put together a bike that I could easily sell for $350.)

Still, some things I did more or less PC - since the bike requires a quill stem for the threaded headset, I got Nitto Olympiade handlebars that are similar to what the bike came with (it had Nitto Universiade bars - close enough). I found someone selling these handlebars along with an SR stem (same period) at a good price (around 25 dollars for both) and stopped looking for the Nitto Technomic A stem the thing came with.


View from the rear - "flamboyant red" paint (per catalog)

I got a Shimano 1055 series 105 group, although it didn't include the cogs (in back). So the brakes, brake levers, the stem shift levers, front and back derailleurs, and cranks and rings are all Shimano 105 from 1990 give or take. Intended to work with seven cog cassette. (The bike came with a six cog freewheel and most of what is now Shimano was originally SunTour.) The cog and ring tooth numbers are completely different than what this had originally -

Before - front, 52 x 42 teeth; now 53 x 39 teeth
Before - back, 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 28 teeth; now 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 24, 28 teeth
So nominally this makes it faster. Also, it came with 25 mm tires and these are 23, but now of course people are all over the place as to whether narrower tires are faster or not.


Seven cogs should be enough

Some things I bought new. The Shimano HG-70 cassette (with seven cogs) I bought new. The bike was sold originally with six cogs and apparently the "standard" was to have a space for the rear wheel 126 mm wide - when the increase was made to eight cogs (and now up to 11) the typical (or "standard") width was increased to 130 mm. So I had to buy a 4 mm spacer so that the set of seven cogs don't have too long (big) a cassette space to occupy (and slide back and forth - not good!). I decided not to try to find a 126 mm wide wheel so I simply spread the 126 mm wide opening of the rear stays to force in the 130 mm wide wheel with cassette. Four mm is not a problem for this "brute force" approach, it seems. Or so people advise on the Internet. So far so good.

I also bought a new aluminum seatpost and a (relatively) cheap new seat (but in red to match the paint!). I mismeasured, thought the opening was a standard 27.2 mm and bought a seatpost that didn't fit. Had to buy a 27.0 mm diameter seatpost - it fits. Not terribly attractive, but the choices in this size were few. In fact, I was a little concerned until I did find one that there was no such thing and that for lack of a seatpost the bike was going to be unfinished.

I got a new SRAM 870 chain. This is a chain intended for use with either 7, 8 or 9cogs (which are all the same width, it seems). Compared to a ten speed chain, it looks incredibly wide, which is sort of funny (to me).


Italian cut head lug (according to the 1982 catalog)

The frame is ChroMo tubing with Tange steel lugs. The headset is also from Tange.

The shift levers look more "old school" than they really are - the right one is actually "variable" - you can choose between indexed shifting or friction shifting. I have been using the indexed shifting option and it works well. The left one is friction shifting for the front derailleur.

I found brake and shift lever Shimano cable "kits" rather than buying lots of cable and housing and cutting to length. This worked fine, which surprised me for some reason. Some Jagwire replacement cables are pretty expensive but these were less then eight dollars each.

The wheels are new - Shimano R500 wheels that I found on sale (Presidents Day holiday) for $150 with free shipping. The wheels are the single most expensive purchase made for this - much more (relatively speaking) than the frame.

Oddly the original brake caliper slots for the brake pads were longer, the brake pads with these newer 105 brake calipers just barely make it onto the wheel rims properly; I will probably file out the slot holes so that they can be moved a little to do a better job of gripping the rims. This I suppose is the problem with choosing parts from different eras in bike production practices.


The Shimano 105 rings and cranks (pedal arms)

One change for me is that my other bikes have 172.5 mm long crank arms - these are slightly shorter at 170.0 mm. 170 is more typical of a (slightly) smaller bike. I don't have particularly long legs, so perhaps this is good?


Bridgestone company nameplate on headtube

Summary - the assembly of the parts (in effect, attaching to the frame in various ways) was not particularly difficult - the complex part was figuring out which parts from which periods would work together and also trying to order only parts that would fit with whatever had been purchased already. Not sure why, but it was quite enjoyable and best of all, the bike is fun to ride and looks lovely (says I). Getting used to the different shifters is a challenge but that's OK.

Four Mile Run Floods Bike Path

Taken with new phone's camera - slightly better than previous phone camera

Four Mile Run went up over the bike trail due to heavy rain, leaving debris on trail. I stopped and pushed the worst of it off the trail - although not so clear I did anything in this photo! I was "sweeping" with a board that had floated onto the trail, so not very neat. Still, I got the big bits and pieces off the bike path.

Since this is right around a curve, someone could have a problem if they came around the corner at a moderate speed into this the way it was.

Riding in the Rain (with Umbrella)

Seen while walking the dog, Sunday morning

This fellow was slowly making his way on the sidewalk, umbrella in hand, early Sunday morning as I was walking the dog. I have seen this in photos of people riding in the Netherlands but a little unusual here. Presumably he was on his way to work and probably wishing he had a car. Some cycle riders I see pretty clearly would prefer that transportation option.

Poor quality of photo result of poor quality of camera in cheap phone, alas.


What the fellow needed, I suppose - patent application made in 1896

1896 Map of Washington "Bicycle Tours"

PDF of this newspaper page provides the best image quality and ability to zoom in. Given that this image is from microfilm of the original (that is, several times reformatted from the original paper item) the quality is pretty good. Not great, but good.

From the article below the map ~

There has never been a season when there was half as much travel on the flying wheel as there has been, is, and is going to continue to be this season.

and

Not a night passes but some gay party passes out for a run through the country. All routes are being tried and becoming better known, so that even the inexperienced, with the assistance of a map and a little information from a friend can make pleasant and health-giving trips into the open country.

The article goes on to provide descriptions of different possible excursions.



Above, somewhat more detailed view of the Northern Virginia part of the map; below, zooming in further



Already in 1896 bicycle rentals were available ~

Escape from the heat and air of the city for a few hours a day is possible to every person who cares to learn to ride and can get the small amount necessary to hire a wheel - it is of course better to own one, but no longer absolutely necessary.

Japanese Bicycles, 1896

A Japanese bike from 100 years later than the two articles below

Short article about Japanese bicycle industry in 1896, from the Morning Times of Washington DC, September 13, 1896

JAPANESE BICYCLES.
An American Says They Are Not Being Largely Exported.

D. H. Kenaga of Port Townsend, Wash., has received the following letter from a friend in Yokohama, related to the oft repeated Japanese bicycle rumor:

"I have visited the oldest bicycle factory in Japan, and had an interview with the proprietor. He gave me a printed price list of all the cycles he is now putting out. The retail prices varied from forty five to one hundred and ten Yen. He informed me that his factory is unable to supply the demand iu Japan at these rates. At wholesale he could not offer 10 per cent reduction. There is a factory in Tokio which I have not yet heard from, but owing to the large demand for wheels in this country a large number being imported from America and Europe, I believe that the Japanese are not now exporting, and never have exported cycles to America. The great danger on this side is not from the Japanese alone, but from foreigners who may establish factories for the purpose of flooding foreign markets. In a few years the country will be all opened to foreign enterprise. The Japs [sic] have the will and facilities to compete with foreigners, but they lack in enterprise, originality,
and organization. In due time these drawbacks may be corrected, but it will not be for years to come."

In 1897, the Yen was worth about fifty cents to the U.S. dollar according to a Wikipedia article. So these prices were (in theory) about half the U.S. range for bicycles at the time.

Thus it would seem that at this early period of industrial production in Japan there was a concern in the U.S. that inexpensive Japanese bicycles could or would flood the American market. (Presumably that potential flood is what is meant by "oft repeated Japanese bicycle rumor," above in bold.)

Short piece in the magazine "Cycling Life" for bicycle tradesmen, 1896

JAPANESE BICYCLES.

Yokohama, Japan, Oct. 9.—There are at present four bicycle workshops of note in Japan, two in Tokyo, one in Kyoto and one in this city. All were opened some three or four years since. Kajiuo's workshops in Yokohama and Sasaki's in Asabu, Tokyo, being the pioneers. One other big workshop is that of Morita, in Honjo, Tokyo. The output of each shop does not exceed 130 machines, 17 mechanics being employed in one, and only 10 in another. They are not adepts at the work. At present many different kinds of bicycles, are manufactured in the workshops of Tokyo and elsewhere, the price of the machines varying very much. A pneumatic tire machine of the first-class from the Morita factory costs $58.92, a second machine $49.10, but one of special make costs $73.05 The pneumatic tire being difficult to repair, is not in favor with Japanese riders, who prefer substance to fashion. They like the solid tired bicycle, which costs less to keep in repair The latter sell for a first-class machine at $51.50; second class, $46.64; third class, $39 GS and fourth class at $34.39. The high, thin tired machines, though much more in vogue formerly, are not now so popular. Their price is comparatively low, a first-class machine costing $31.15, a second-class one $27 and a third-class one $22. Both the Tokyo shops are patronized by the post office and one is under the patronage of the metropolitan police. Generally speaking, bicycle riding is not so popular in Tokyo as in Yokohama riders of that city being confined to employees of mercantile and banking corporations, head clerks of large shops and school teachers. In Tokyo the home-made machine and foreign makes are closely balanced in point of numbers. With the increase of riders the patronage accorded to Japanese machines is on the increase.

This author does not seem concerned about imports of Japanese bicycles to the U.S. but rather interested in trade heading the other direction. From time to time Cycling Life would report export figures of bicycles to different countries, including Japan, although by today's standards the figures would generally seem modest, Japan was generally in the top half.

Cycle Path in Qatar

What one usually thinks of when (rarely) thinking of cycling and Qatar - the Tour of Qatar race event

Web announcement (with mocked up photos) of a proposed 35 km bike path in Qatar to promote the health of the local over-wealthy, under-healthy population. Some of it seems unintentionally funny.

. . . problem is the fact that Qatar's climate is intensely hot and humid. The project group therefore came up with the idea of cooling the entire cycle path using cold ground water.

and

The American consultancy firm the Rand Corporation has been leading in advising the Emir on the realisation of his goal of getting Qatar's population to cycle.

Oh, the Rand Corporation, consulting on bike paths! That's . . . absurd, actually. But they are probably quite happy to take the money. And involving consultants like Rand gets you a proposal to make the thing 35 km long when a more reasonable start would be to see if anyone uses a cycle path that was 3 or 5 km long - but the longer the trail, the more it costs, and the more the consulting fees presumably are.

Another blog post refers to it as being "air conditioned" but in fact it just has a mister - like riding in the vegetable department of the grocery store. Sorta.

The Velomondiale announcement has a photo at the bottom of four "trendsetters" - cyclists in Qatar today - but these look like guest workers who can't afford other transport and not the target audience the Emir has in mind. Strange.

Video "Me and My Bike" (from Kenya)

Short article about the video that was produced as part of a contest to create one-minute advocacy videos in support of the environment. Besides being energetic, gives a good street-level view of that part of the world. (Uganda looks much the same - I have not been to Nairobi.)

The video apparently won the contest (http://www.1minutetosavetheworld.com/)