Bret Van Horn Dot Org

I admit it, I’ve been feeling guilty. That poor, poor Bianchi has been hanging in the garage, neglected in favor of my Surly Cross Check, which has been bringing me much enjoyment. That’s going to change this weekend, however, as I’ve finally got a day with no other major commitments, which means it’s time to [...]

Bianchi
The Bianchi has been in somewhat of a holding pattern as of late. Once I got the headset and bottom bracket removed, it became clear that the frame needs some attention. So I took some time off to think over my next move.
In the meantime, I did some shopping and managed to pick up some [...]

Not much to report recently. Been a busy transition for the kids going back to school, soccer season starting up and a general mad rush to take advantage of the nice weather before it’s surreptitiously replaced by water-bearing clouds for the next nine months. I do have a few quick bullet points, however:
On Thursday evening, [...]

Quick update tonight: Took a little time to remove the cranks, which came off pretty easily and look to be in great condition. Bottom bracket looks more and more sad the more I unearth it, however. More rust keeps appearing and it’s making some awfully suspicious grinding sounds. I tried to remove it, but the [...]

I blogged about disassembling the Bianchi over the weekend and finding not only a cocoon in the brake lever, but also a wasp nest inside of the bars, which had been plugged for a number of years. Last night, as I was polishing some of the chrome, I noticed on the top bar, very faintly, [...]

With my DIY bike stand completed and a couple hours of free time on my hands this morning, I donned my best grease outfit and braved the garage to begin the disassembly of the vintage bike project. I got most everything stripped off the bike and sorted into ziploc bags, with the exception of the [...]

So I’m looking at my tools and realizing I don’t have much in the way of bike tools. Looking online, there are a lot of options, from smaller “essentials” type kits, to full on retirement-fund-cashing-out master mechanic kits. What I need to know is, well, what do I need? In the short term, I need [...]

Dropped by Camas Bikes today to pick up a Presta-Schrader adapter so I could pump up the tires and take the Bianchi for a spin. While I was there, I asked Ed, the owner, if they can order Surly bikes and to my delight, he said they could! He also said I should check out [...]

Here we go, the first batch of photos. This is the condition in which I received the bike. As one can see, it needs some serious rust rescue. My first order of business is to begin stocking up on the necessary tools to strip this baby down. I need a bike repair stand and a [...]

My dad recently handed down his Vintage Bianchi racing bike to me. This is a bike he’s had since before I was born. I’ve always been aware of its historical value on some level, but I had no idea just how much of a gem it actually is. When he offered to give it to [...]