I decided to put this post up to complete the record of the project. Most of what was left involved cleaning... steel wool on the aluminum, Meguiar's Scratch X on the paint (applied like car wax), and wadding polish on all of the metal. I installed a mid 90s Shimano STX rear derailleur and put the original Grip Shifters back on.
I also installed a used but cleaned chain. Everything worked pretty nicely. The Exage brakes mounted up well, and I was able to get the pads adjusted about perfectly. I added some new cables and routed them through the existing housing. I then attached the cantilever straddle hangers to where when the cable moved, there was enough clearance that when the levers engaged, the hangers wouldn't hit the housing stops. Finally, I adjusted the length of the straddle cables to where they were just off of the rim and wouldn't rub when the brakes were not engaged. The bike has plenty of stopping power. Overall it was a good project. No money was spent because the added parts were take offs from bikes I have parted out in the past, so it is actually good that they found a home. Hopefully this bike will help push Geer toward a lifetime of riding.
I find that in general I loathe working on kids bikes. They tend to be rusty, abused, and plagued by low-quality parts to begin with. Typically though I am fairly pleased with the results when complete. Unfortunately, adult bikes are much bigger money makers. Still, I usually won't turn down a kids build when asked by friends. It is always a good feeling to get kids interested in bikes, being outdoors in general, and fostering healthy habits.
This bike turned out great. It is a cromoly frame with mostly decent, lightweight aluminum parts. The result was a solid, attractive used bike for much less cost than one from a bike shop or even the junk in department stores. If I sold this bike, I would hope to get around $150 for it.
