It's done. With new brake pads and some final cleaning and waxing, it finally reached the point in the project when there truly wasn't anything left to do.
On a shakedown ride earlier in the week, the bike performed flawlessly. It is a very, very nicely-riding bicycle. If I ever come across another Univega project, I will scoop it up.
It's heavy, no doubt, but it doesn't mess with what works, I guess is how I would describe it. The solid Suntour drivetrain still shifts clean and crisp, and the Dia-Compe center-pull brake calipers are surprisingly strong.
Yes, it has turkey levers, but like a minivan, you can't deny their utility.
The saddle received the full tear-down/rebuild treatment, and is quite comfortable, at least over short distances, and the new black wrap can be swapped out for something more adventurous at any time.
The 27 by 1 1/4 Araya rims were a pain to clean, but it was worth the elbow grease, and some patience was rewarded after a few days of brake pad truing.
I reused the chain, mostly to get some experience doing it. My bike book gave a good tip not to fully push out the chain roller, so you can push it back in. It worked, and while I probably should have done another round of degreasing before reinstalling, it functions just fine.
What a fun project. The big takeaways from this one would probably be that it's amazing what a thorough scrubbing will do; that Barkeeper's Friend does amazing work removing rust from chrome; and that it's worth trying to save an old chain.
If I keep it, I'm thinking fenders and rack and yellow bar tape. If I sell it, I expect I'll at least make my money back. Either way, the process in this case was its own reward.
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