-
• #2
It's already seen a lifetime of being thrashed to death by my younger self, so I want to be kind to this one.
Balloon tyres, Full Mudguards and Porteur rack is where this is going.
1 Attachment
-
• #3
Really need to find someone who can re-chrome the original Bullmoose bars.
1 Attachment
-
• #4
There is tons of space for big tyres and fenders, probably Big Apple or Fat Frank?
1 Attachment
-
• #5
Original Deore cantis and a ton of braze-ons.
1 Attachment
-
• #6
Gears all working, as far as I can tell
1 Attachment
-
• #7
Rigida rims running pretty true, hub bearings feel ok and I'm pretty sure the front tyre is the original one from 1984.
1 Attachment
-
• #8
Nasty saddle had to be bought in a hurry when the original one got pinched. Same happened to the thumb shifters I think, so they aren't the original ones.
I'm going to go with a sprung Brooks saddle because I'm middle aged, and this bike is now for lazy cruising.
It needs a respray, but I really want to keep the decals, especially the head tube sticker.I bought it new from Overbury's in Bristol. As far as I can remember it was £425, which was a fortune in birthday/christmas/pocketmoney/paperround saving up.
It's 531 All Terrain tubing, and was one of the first MTBs. Everyone at school had either road bikes or BMXs, and I got a lot of strange looks.
1 Attachment
-
• #9
That looks like great fun! I've got my dad's old specialized rock hopper which is a steel frame mtb and it's a great bike.
-
• #10
Bet you glad you kept it all these years. Cant wait to see what it turns out like
-
• #11
a rarity, those overburys are very sought after
-
• #12
Awesome project
-
• #13
love the bike. needs a lot.
-
• #14
Wow, fab bike. When did you last ride it?
-
• #15
looks fun. you must have had a lot of fun riding it. look forward to the project.
-
• #16
Aside from one Christmas day, when i took it for a drunken bimble in the snow, it's not been ridden since the mid 90's.
I never had any intention of ever getting rid of it though.
First job, i suppose, will be stripping it right down and sorting out what can be saved. Bottom bracket and headset bearings feel ok, but need investigation.
Cables and outers all look shot, and the chain and cassettes can be replaced cheaply enough, but I was actually pretty surprised how well preserved it all is.
No excuse for that saddle though. -
• #17
Crappy iPhone pictures, but they give a general idea.
I've stripped everything off they frame except the headset and bottom bracket. Bearings will probably want looking at, but are ok for the moment.
Paint finish is pretty bad, there are lots of little rust marks all over the frame. The drive side chainstay is particularly bad. Rust seems only superficial though, nothing to suggest the frame isn't structurally ok.
The big question is, can I get away with this paint under the general umbrella of patina, or does it just look shit? If I can, I'd like to try and keep this farm as original as possible, with all the original decals. I don't particularly mind the paint finish as long as I can avoid it getting any worse.
Does colour matching and touching up ever work, or does it just look like a bodge?
Should I rub the rust spots down with wire wool and then get the whole frame clear coated?
Ideas please...
1 Attachment
-
• #18
Headset scrubbed up nice.
1 Attachment
-
• #19
Annoying little rust marks on top tube, but cool decals.
1 Attachment
-
• #20
seems a shame to loose the original paintjob
steel wool ? ( don't know what that would do to the frame i guess you could test it on a hidden part ) , wash with fairy liquid to remove grease, t-cut and a good car polish could have the nice bits looking lovely and the not so nice bits looking okmaybe a little tub of mer, it works lovely on my bikes to bring up the paintjobs
-
• #21
Tyres (fat frank brown with white sidewall), tubes and chain ordered.
Passable Brooks saddle won on ebay.
Still need to get hold of a complete set of cables, so far I'm undecided on colour. I was set on plain black, then I saw the silver braided ones.
Do I wait for a set of Shimano M700 thumb shifters to come up on ebay, or do I go for something like the Velo-Orange ones? Decisions Decisions...
Also need to decide on grips. Leather are nice but pricy, maybe cork?
Rack and Fenders will have to wait until next payday. -
• #22
Honestly, keep the paintjob, the bike would look pretty awesome when you get it looking real nice and clean, like a slightly well worn but looked after 80's hatchback.
How about this cable? used to be on high end bicycle in the past;
-
• #23
What make is that?
-
• #24
Velo Orange.
-
• #25
Decided to have a go at the hubs today. After about an hour of trying to remove the lockring and failing dismally, wondering why it didn't look quite right, I realised that these hubs are truly prehistoric and are from the dark days before freehubs were in common use.
These hubs are freewheel hubs, the freewheel mechanism is part of the "cassette" and the whole lot screws onto the hub. Easy when you know how, but very confusing when you're not expecting it.
Anyway, it's mostly done, although I had a look at the bearings and the rear wheel ones need replacing. Another job, but a set of ball bearings is only a couple of quid.
1 Attachment
Finally rescued from cobwebby limbo.
1 Attachment