The chain was delivered a few days ago, but then I decided to replace the bottom bracket since the bearings were shot. The replacement BB arrived here today. Also today, I decided to replace the headset. The headset was loose when I got the bike, but I held out hope that it hadn’t been ridden in that condition. But I was wrong. After cleaning it up, regreasing it, and reassembling it the headset was still “notchy”. It doesn’t make any sense to finish the build knowing that this will need to be replaced very soon. So I ordered a replacement headset, which means a trip to the local bike shop to have the old cups knocked out and the new ones pressed in place.
The tally for parts I hadn’t planned on is:
a new chain
a new bottom bracket
a new headset
None of these parts are overly expensive, but since I don’t have an inventory of parts each one adds a few days to the project. This is why builds almost always take longer than you would think.
And just to be complete, I haven’t disassembled the front and rear hubs, so there could be some surprises waiting there too. Oh well, I’m hoping not to be foolishly optimistic, but it would be great to just clean up and regrease the hubs and have everything work as it’s supposed to.
Just don’t bet on it. Unless you like long odds.