BSA Javelin - My First Project!

OK, so I was gutted when my Langster was pinched. I'd just got it right how I wanted it. It was a great ride.

Anyway, that was about a month ago and, having just about got over the first stage of grief, I'm in the mood for creating its replacement. I thought I'd have a go at building something up. My main reasons for this are:

• interest,
  
• something personal, and
  
• I don't have the cash to splash!
  
  

Seeing as this is my first project, I thought I'd go cheap. A target of £100 was set. But, that is looking a little bit ambitious right now! Particularly, as I've already spent about £85 and haven't even got as far as stripping down the frame...

Ah, yes, the frame. A £17 beater off eBay. A little bit on the, erm, rusty / battered side. But, then, part of the idea was to build something that won't go the way of the Langster.

So, this is my starting point:

Hopefully, I'll actually manage to turn it into something rideable! No idea on spec. But, since it'll mostly be used on my 20 mile commute, it'll be drop bar, fixed, and have brakes both ends.

Seeing as I don't know what fits what, I'll probably be back (again and again!) for some advice....

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If you want to keep this under £100 it should be easy, just don't use all that money getting the frame reprinted. I quite like the look of it as it is and shabby paint detracts the thieves. Spend the money one something that makes that bike feel nice. Get a nice saddle, bars etc and solid wheels, get second hand or you will just be buying cheap crap.
Have you tried getting the cranks off or are you going to use those? I know most BSAs have funky bottom brackets so be wary of what lurks in that shell. If it works smoothly you could be better off using those cranks.

Cheers, Loctez.
I am planning on going as second hand as I can - scouring eBay and this forum for bits & pieces.
I'd like to be able to use the chain wheel. It only has the one crank, which is a bit of a bitch. And, the previous owner has obviously tried to hack at it, as the cotter pin has had its nut cut off. I'm hoping that I can build up the BB with what's there and some new bearings - it runs like its got square bearings at the moment.
Mostly got to get the seatpost moving, headset and BB rebuilt and work out what to do with the chainwheel / cranks. As you say, wheels need to be secondhand - I've had enough cheap wheels on my MTB to realise they last for 5 minutes and run crap in those 5 minutes!
It's moved to the shed now, so I'll keep the updates coming in...

+1 on keeping the original paint and saving cash for better parts.

70's BSA often have Raleigh BB shells, so you may find that it's 26tpi x 70mm shell width (rather than the conventional 24tpi x 68mm).
Measure the shell width to check.
If it's 68mm wide you can have whatever BB or chainset you wish, if not, your life will become a little more complex...

Assuming it's 70mm, If you can salvage the cups that'll be very useful to you. Easiest way to remove them is to clamp the spanner flats in a big bench vice and turn the frame.
If you trash them in the process, or they end up pitted, replacements will cost you a fiver from here
Once you have the BB removed you can decide whether to stick with a cotter pin steel chainset, or go with a cotterless aluminium one. If you go down the modern aluminium route you'll need a replacement BB axle suitable for the 70mm BB shell - the seller on the cup link above has them, or you can get new ones here.
It would also be worth going into a couple of your LBS's, they are also a good source of bits like this which would have been commonplace in the past.

Hope this helps, and good luck in the build.

Rik,

Thanks for the tips; and the links are awesome. Looks like I've some measuring to do! And, clearing my work bench for some serious BB action!

My local LBS is very helpful. But, usually, a little bit lacking in parts / experience for older bikes. I may need to go further afield....

I'm sure I'll be back on with more exciting conundrums.

TTFN

OK, it's been a while!

Lack of funds and time have mostly caused this hiatus. That and having lots of, erm, fun removing the seatpost!

So, progress since last time...

I finally managed to drill out the cotter pin. I tried everything else, but going medieval was the only option that worked. This process resulted in a trashed crank - well, it'll be difficult to use anyway. So, I am trying the build-a-BB route. I had an axle and bearings in my bits drawer, which was a bonus. Although, either my build technique or the parts are not quite right. There is a small amount of end float, which is annoying. It could be that I've not managed to tighten the cups up fully. At least, that's what I hope. The axle came from an old Falcon I had once. I replaced the BB on that with a cartridge type - much easier. I've got to get the headset replaced by my LBS (I don't have the tools). So, I might see if they can lose the float.

Which brings me onto the front end. I quickly discovered that the old Raleigh/BSAs have narrower hubs (90 mm?) than pretty much everything else. Or, certainly, anything I could find. So, I splashed out on a pair of Coppi forks. Their purple shininess is somewhat in contrast to the rest of the frame. But, hey. At least I've been able to find plenty of wheels and hubs that fit.

And, indeed, I've procured what seem to be a nice pair of Ambrosio Elite rims on Quattro and Maillard hubs (front & rear). They fit - nearly. The rear needs 6 mm of spacers either side to fit in between the chainstays without bending them too much. The rear came with a 17T gear, which may have to go. Though, I might wait until I've ridden it a bit before changing the gearing.

A decent KMC 1/8" chain is lying in wait in my bits drawer, ready for the day I feel brave enough to actually ride the bike! It'll connect the 17T rear gear to a 44T chainring. I've gone all aluminium-y on the front whirly bit, with a System-Ex crank. Not sure what these are like. But, I couldn't afford a Sugino!

Brakes seem to be one of my other conundrums. I'm having trouble landing a pair that fit properly. I think I might have finally found a rear that fits; a Weinemann of unknown vintage. The front is a more modern Shimano Exage. The Shimano Super SLR and Modolo wouldn't fit - screws the wrong length. I have a pair of Dia Compe brakes on their way, courtesy of eBay. And, I'm hoping these will fit. I'm sure I'll work something out with what I've got / will have. At some point, I'll have to make sure I've got cable to let me operate the brakes - always handy!

The brake levers will be attached to an ITM handlebar. Although, this might be a little on the wide side. It'll do for now, especially as it's winter and the extra control of a wide bar will be most welcome as the slipperiness increases its hold on our roads. A 3T stem bridges the gap between handlebar and frame, or at least will do once the headset has been fitted.

To stop me doing myself an injury on the crossbar, I've got a Selle Italia SLR saddle. Bit racy. But, it's cost me nothing. I may have to remove the cover, as it is already coming off. Still, gives me a chance to go all naked carbon. So...

The biggest problem on the whole bike so far has been the seatpost. I tried absolutely everything; used all the tools in my shed, including monkey wrench, vice, every type of "freeing" oi, everything. But, it wouldn't budge. I gave the frame to my LBS for two weeks. They couldn't budge it - not even by stabbing it with a screwdriver! So, in desperation, I gave it (and £50) to De Ver Cycles in Norbury. A week or so later, I was handed my frame back without the offending post, and no discernable heat damage - result!

In its place, I now have a Chinese knock off Truvativ aluminium post (greased, just in case you ask). Hopefully, this one won't get stuck!

So, I have nearly all the parts now to finish the bike. I just need time to find the time to fit them. When I've done so, I'll be back on to bask in the glory of having finished my very own first project. In the meantime, enjoy a couple of piccies of the journey so far.....

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Re. the crank play, it's probably not tapped deep enough for the new cup, which has bottomed out.
Been there. Don't hand them another 50 quid to fix that.

"My LBS pulled my Javelin for 50 quid".

I have an old Carlton ladies frame for my girlfriend that had odd sized wheel spacing but when I enquired, it made sense. Its not in metric measurement because its such an old bike so instead of 120mm in the rear its 116. Not sure about the front. Also the axle size was about 8mm instead of 9mm. May be the same on yours.

Thanks, chaps (I'm assuming 57Hawkes, you're a chap, given the comment!).

How did you overcome the BB cup issue, 57Hawkes? Or didn't you?

Phil, the flexibility of the rear triangle is helping me, in that I can be a mm or 10 out and still get the wheel in. The 6 mm spacers each side should help make sure there's no pre-stressing of the frame. I'm not planning on fitting original wheels, unless I stumble on a front. I'm happy with a mongrel!

Cheers

^^ The easiest way; I sourced cups with the same depth of thread as the originals.

^^ The easiest way; I sourced cups with the same depth of thread as the originals.

Cunning!

Thread resurrection ahoy! Just wondering how the Javelin conversion went as I'm in the process of doing one myself and yeah, it's not proving to be the easiest (my 2 previous have been a breeze in comparison).

I've stripped it down to the bare bones and like the OP I've had some BB issues which led me to leave it as it is for now (cranks etc all in decent working order so might save myself a world of pain by leaving them). Forks, headset & stem are all sweet so again will keep them as is.

However, I have had to ditch the wheels as they were totally trashed so I'm in the process of sourcing replacements. Otherwise I should have enough bits and pieces around from my previous conversions to make a functioning single speed, hopefully!

Anyway, would be curious to see how this one worked out and if the OP stumbed across any other pitfalls on the way!

^ Hi spammer, how you doing?

@hippy @Velocio

I was attracted to this thread by user 139132's intriguing post* but, having read the rest I'd like to add a comment even though the original problems must have been resolved years ago.

As usual RvL understands the problem: this 'BSA' is a Raleigh and so it has the odd 26tpi BB threading. This means it cannot take a standard cottered BB bearing, not just because of the threading but also because the shoulders of the Raleigh spindle are slightly wider than standard, so if you try to use a standard spindle you have end float (as noted above) The Raleigh spindles are not good quality and (I think) only come as 'gear case clearance' size.

Why bother to post this now? Because these non standard Raleighs, although plentiful, are just too difficult to convert to be worth bothering with, especially bearing in mind they weren't that great in the first place.

• Which has now disappeared