the chrome and steel she rides

THE CHROME AND STEEL SHE RIDES

The Super is starting to clean up pretty well. I have lost count on how many cleanings I've done now. I started with a standard soap washing. I've used a detail brush with simple green. I've used Brasso and a Turtle Wax chrome cleaner (multiple applications). I've treated the non painted parts with vinegar and a tin foil scour. I've used a copper brush with a variety of cleaning products. I've polished and waxed. And finally, I treated all of the aluminum to Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. 

I wasn't too scientific about my approach, so I can't tell you how best to de-rust and de-funk a bike.  I can tell you that the tin-foil/vinegar was pretty impressive removing rust from chrome without scratching.  I even used it sparingly on the painted frame.  The Mother's was definitely the secret sauce.  There is a chemical reaction of some sort, so there is no effort required in polishing with the stuff.  Rub in and wipe off...shine.

I can't quite articulate why an activity as 10-22-14

About six months ago, I bought a Park Tools bike stand.  This is my favorite tool right now.  Without it, washing or tuning a bike is more about juggling the bike, than fix it.  It's like changing a light bulb with a ball-peen hammer and a chisel; it can be done, but not gracefully.  So the bike stand lets you focus on the thing instead of the not thing you're doing.  The bike stand is zen.

I'd done the once over.  The Moto was clearly a win.  I had it's golden body in the stand, held firmly by the clamp on the seat tube. Gloves on; check.  

I'd bought a set of tires after work to install, and I was looking forward to getting a reliable set.  Tires are pretty darn important, after all.  I got a set of Schwalbe Marathons.  These are nice because they have the reflective sidewall.  But they were definitely a modern looking tire.  Plus, the set I bought were a 1-1/2 inch tire, whereas the original tires were a 1-1/8 inch.  Different ride for sure.

I was ambivalent about this choice. So after the shifting tune-up, I held off on the tire installation, leaving the funky original and the nice gumwall Specialized that came as a freebee on for a time.  

Instead of changing the tires, I used my time polishing the chrome and doing a bit better detail work on the components and frame.

I'd spent too much time on the internet researching how to restore chrome.  I had a bottle of chrome polish, but knew from experience that the polish didn't get at rust.  As it turns out, chrome can be restored to a decent condition using vinegar and tin-foil.  You can soak small parts in vinegar for a while and polish with foil.  Or you can dip the foil in the vinegar and polish.  From a distance, chrome restored this way looks pretty good.  Up close, you can see the pitting...but short of stripping and reapplying the chrome.....

I hit all the chrome on the bike with the quick method first.  I figured I could soak the small parts later when I was working specific components.  The Moto cleaned up very well and I could have probably stopped there...but I couldn't.

I had resolved by the end of this cleaning and tune-up to go with a full restoration.  I was going to strip the bike down to its frame and rebuild it from the bearings up.  Necessary - maybe for me...not probably for the bike.  But I was thinking back to those hours of pretending to be captaining a ship with my bmx in the back yard of the Orchard house in Gardena with the rear wheel as the boat's motor and the front as the boat's wheel. 

I'd get distracted then by the nuts holding the wheels on.  Then I'd gather up what wrenches and screw drivers I could from my step-dad's tool box in the back shed and start taking my jalopy apart.  Trong, my best friend from a few houses down, and I were always dis- and re-assembling various bmx components into new bikes.  And it was about as much a pass time to work on our bikes as it was to ride them.

I was going to pursue this deep seated impulse with a bit more finesse.  I resolved to restore the bike with modest upgrades, taking it all the way down.  Tomorrow, I would rebuild the front hub.   as polishing aluminum is as satisfying as I've found it. The act itself is satisfying.  Take an oxidized piece of metal and rub it variously for hours until it shines back at you.  Obviously, this is done with the full knowledge going into it that between strokes of the polishing rag, the metal is being attached by oxygen, and is reverting to its rusted, corroded, or otherwise funky resting state.  So it is a Sisyphusian effort with only a momentary sense of satisfaction, but I am drawn inconceivably to it each night.

Even though I can't seem to stop myself from shining the Super, I recognize that I wouldn't have the same compulsion with just any piece of scrap metal.  There are lots of deserving pieces of scrap out there.  Several much more challenging than the Super.  What could be more meditative than picking up an old transmission casing from the scrap yard and refurbishing it?  I'm not sure....But I can say I haven't spent a lot of time daydreaming about old transmission casings.  So, it isn't just the act of shining it up.

I have a perfectly good bike on the hook on the back porch.  In fact, I think it would be jealous if it was conscious, wondering why the hell I was inspired to start a blog on some 37 year old, low-end, piece of steel (Aluminum Alloy snob, my other bike would be).  In fact, my Kona is more than just pretty good. While the Kona Jake is the bottom tier cyclocross in the Kona family, it is way more better than the Super in terms of features, design, geometry, components, technology, etc, etc...The Jake is my mid-life crisis bike, ok?

Given my superior daily rider, i clearly am not doing this project for utilitarian purposes.  Why am  I compelled to restore this bike?  (apart from the fact that the Super is an absolutely beautiful bike, I mean).

What is it then? I suppose there is a bit of a control thing. I can control the tiny box that is the restoration project of the Super.  That is a weak solution to this question though.  I guess it is somewhat related to a creative outlet.  But I don't know how creative polishing a bike is...and I don't think the bike was a pretext for the blog.  It could be a tinkering thing.  But lord knows I've got plenty to tinker on with the house and the car and what not...it isn't escapism, because i pretty much only work on it when I don't have family or work obligations. 

I guess it is the hunan condition.  I'm trying to make something deep of something that is actually preety mundane.  I am trying to shine my scrap piece of brain and convince you that it is a shiny Motobecane.

anyway.  Excellence is probably something good to strive for.  So, overthinking it is probably not worthwhile...but, being anti-philosophical is a lot like being anti scientific, which is a lot like being illeterate, which is a lot like being dumb.  But being dumb is a lot like being philosophical, so long as you are open to being educated, and uderstanding that no amount of education can enlighten you, rather the education can inpire you.  So, you can glean wisdom from excellence but that is a truism.  So, I would suggest striving for excellence.