Mission Successful

This weekend I went looking for parts for the 1200. After going to a few bike shops previously, I figured that the group I wanted to put on it, shimano 105, would cost about $900. While this might sound like a lot, it's actually less than I would have paid if I bought the group online rather than through the shop. In addition, my family gets a discount because we are Potomac Pedalers. 

However, when we went to The Bike Club, we were surprised to learn that we could get some older parts for less, a lot less. We were able to pick and choose what we wanted, and we bought parts that were a little worn, but still good. In fact, we got shimano 600, the predecessor to ultegra, for $240, including labor. 

There is an important caveat. We got a $100 credit for the parts that came off the 1200 and two wheels that we no longer had any use for. In the end, we paid $200 cash along with the $100 credit. 

The mechanics at The Bike Club were extremely helpful, and they let me help mount many of the components on the frame. They were knowledgable and I recommend them to anyone trying to restore a bike. They have many, many older components collected over the years by their owner. 

Looking for parts in the shop is like a treasure hunt and a history lesson all in one.  

American Stripping Company

When I first started rebuilding my dad's 1200, I had no idea where to start. I stripped the frame of all the components and then it sat for a while until last summer when I decided that it was finally time to repaint it. I went to Home Depot and got some chemical paint remover, which worked well but didn't provide the result I was looking for, so I went to my local Spokes etc where they recommended American Stripping Company.

While it might sound like a gentleman's club or something of the like, American Stripping Company is a great place to get a frame stripped and powder coated. I highly recommend them to anyone in northern Virginia. 

The service they provided was outstanding and the prices were incredibly reasonable. The people who worked there were friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic about their jobs. My frame and fork took about a week to strip and paint, and bikes are not the only thing that they can service. As you can see from the picture I posted earlier, there are an abundance of colors and not all are powder coating options. 

I'll post the link to their website under the "resources" tab.

Oops

Alright. After spending almost $200 on that beautiful paint job, I learned that we made a mistake. If you take a close look at the fork, you can see that the race for the ball bearings in the headset is still attached and slightly painted over. This is a problem because even if we found a headset that would fit, the ball bearings that allow the steerer tube to steer would literally be ripped apart by the unevenness of the race. Unfortunately, with the age of the frame, the steerer tube is only 1 inch, while most today are 1 1/8 inch. In addition, the steerer tube is threaded. Essentially, make sure you have the race removed before paint; good luck finding a 1 inch steerer tube and a headset for it.

That '88 1200

It has been much too long. Finally, we have taken my dad's 1988 Trek 1200 to the paint shop. The first picture is the frame after I stripped and painted it myself, but after deciding that it didn't really like this paint job, I went to my local bike shop and asked for a stripping/painting location. They recommended American Stripping Company, and the third picture show the colors that were available. The final two pictures show the outcome!