I swear, I’m not cherry-picking the posts recently. This is just the kind of quality rides I’ve been receiving the past few months. Can somebody start bringing the crappy back? You know if it’s not crappy, I’m not happy!

hello, this is my fourth submission, hope you all enjoy it. this bike is a mint 1985 panasonic team that i acquired on craigslist for a great price. it was in dusty, but excellent shape. the frame is finished nicely with tange 2 tubing and tange chromed dropouts. it’s hard to describe but when disassembled, the frame just feels like a really nice steel frame should, light and almost delicate with a nice ping when “flicked”. i completely customized the drivetrain making it a 12 speed indexed shifting bike. the cranks, bottom bracket, and front derailleur are shimano 600 arabesque that i’ve been holding on to for a while, i’m psyched to finally find a bike worthy to use them on. the rear derailleur is a vintage light action model with more aluminum than most you see, matched to a shimano hg 6 speed freewheel. the aero friction shifters were replaced with sunrace clamp-on dts which i must say are much better than i expected both cosmetically and mechanically, finish is good and shifting is quick and precise. my only gripe with them is that the front shifter has a strange feeling ratchet action and the d rings are purely cosmetic with no purpose other than to rattle around, both are definitely not deal breakers though. i also replaced the gran compe brake levers and installed new tektro “campy copy” levers. the gran comps, though nice, just didn’t feel that great when riding on the hoods (which i do 75% of the time). a nitto technomic stem was installed, as i like my bars at or close to saddle height. the cables, housing, tires, and bar wrap are all new. i used “friction” electrical tape to finish the bar wrap instead of regular electrical tape, and i really like it, looks like cloth and doesn’t slip and leave a sticky mess. the bike came in at 21lbs, not bad for the price. well, looks like the sun’s finally out, i’m taking this bad boy for a ride!

thanks, mike v. westfield, ma