trek 500 upgrade phase ii

Phase 2 ended up not being quite what I projected.
The problem was the handlebar and stem. The Belleri parts that Trek spec'd in 1984 don't have a good reputation for longevity. Given that handlebar failure is a fairly unpleasant event, I opted to put handlebar replacement ahead of the bar end shifters. As I've already documented, I did change the original Tange headset out for a Stronglight A9, and I also replaced the ratty old brake shoes with new Kool Stops.

So what's happend? The headset is already covered in the linked blog post, so first, the new Kool Stop pads.
These are the Eagle 2 shoes from Harris on the rear. They are quiet, effective and trouble free.


These are the Thinline shoes from Harris on the front; there are frequently clearance issues in front on vintage bikes, hence the different (thinner) pad. These were briefly very noisy (painful squeal), but are very adjustable and with some toe out they quieted right down (the rear of the shoe needs touch first, that's what toe out is.) The grip in wet weather is outstanding.


Part of the issue with the handlebar and stem was moving to better components without disturbing the classic look of the bike. I ended up going with an NOS Cinelli Top 66 Ergo bar from Ebay and a Nitto Techno Deluxe stem, which are much higher quality components that still have the right "look" for a 26 year old bike. Apologies for the ratty looking bar tape, I opted to try to reuse the existing Specialized bar tape and then put on new tape after the shifter upgrade later in the year. First, the bar & stem from the front:


And a detail of the stem from the side. The Nitto forged stem is a really beautiful piece of work.
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So what's next? I have in hand the yellow SIS (shifter) cable, Cinelli Bar Tape, and the clamp on cable stop for the bar end shifter project. I should order the shifters themselves in a week or two.