Old iron

I decided to become more bike focussed with the aim of getting rid of the car, so this seemed like a good excuse to get another bike for round town duties. I enjoy fixing stuff up too, and the main bikes are fairly new so haven't needed anything doing.

Rather than doing things once I tend to repeat them and true to form, rather than buying one bike I ended up buying a few. I'll fix them all up but they won't all be keepers and you'll see some of them back for sale in the classifieds, which is where they mostly came from.

First off I bought this Pompino from @jg123:

That's now been fixed up / modded - more on this later - but I never really bonded with it so kept looking.

I then bought this Brodie from @adamdenw since I have most of the parts to go on it from an earlier project that didn't make it (Bontrager Privateer with seized seatpost that refused to come out). On the same visit to town I also picked up this no-name track frame from @Kieranthomson.

There was some problem with the trains out to Essex that day with lots of cancellations and remaining trains were packed so getting it all back home was more stressful then I expected.

Around the same time I put a speculative bid on a very large and shabby Swinnerton on eBay and no one else did, so I accidently won it:

At this point bike storage was becoming an issue so I started to crack on with fixing them up.

This is how the Pompino looks now. I gave it a good clean / grease / checking over, treated it to a new chain, and then got rid of the clutter:

I didn't like how it the position or the aesthetics with the BMX stem, so replaced it with a longer stem and wider bars. I still don't really get on with it though - it feels indestructible esp with the Schwalbe Marathons and is a good round town, lock up and leave bike but I don't know, just a bit too functional for me.

Looks loads better with the longer stem. I had a Pompino for a while and really enjoyed it. I only replaced it with something that fits me a bit better. Maybe different tyres would make it feel a bit more lively? Marathons are great for puncture protection but they're really heavy, slow and dull in my (limited) experience.

Thanks! You're right about the Marathons, I did think about trying different tyres (maybe Duranos?) but will probably move it on and focus on the other projects.

I don't think I've used Duranos so can't comment! I ended up with some 700x38c Terravail Ramparts on mine and they're brilliant. I've moved them over to the replacement now. Not cheap though so maybe not worth the investment if the bike isn't doing anything for you.

On to the Brodie. I originally planned to fit an 8spd XT groupset but then decided to make it singlespeed, so sourced a Singulator and some XT cranks from eBay. The wheels (Mavic on LX) and v brakes and levers (LX) are from the spare parts pile, and the seatpost and saddle are from another bike that has got an upgrade in return. Only parts that I had to buy were the tyres and grips (from Banana Industries), and the Thomson stem (from @mf):

This was an easy build as there was nothing to remove and the frame is in good condition. All it needs now are brake cables / noodles and a chain, both of which are on order.

The no-name track frame got some attention next. The stem, BB, and sprocket all came off without putting up a fight. It got a stem, bars, grips, lever, and Mirage brake from the spare parts pile. The no brand tyres were swapped out for some Conti Gator hardshells that had come off another bike. The seat bolt got swapped for a recessed bolt and I fitted new brake pads - these are the only new parts so far. It got a shonky downtube logo, painted in tippex.

It was all going so well until I tried to fit the BB and seatpost. The BB threads seem ok (I hope) but are grungy and need tapping out, and the seatpost needs reaming or possibly just some attention with a file to stop it scratching up the seatpost.

Great looking frame!

Thanks! Classic geo track frames with straight blade forks just look so right. I think maybe at some point I'll be tempted to get it sandblasted and lacquered, leaving it with a raw finish.

And finished! The BB threads have been tapped out, and I filed the sharp edges around the seat tube slot. The drivetrain came off another bike that will get an upgrade, the seatpost is from the spares pile, and the saddle cost a tenner on eBay and is actually nicer condition than I was expecting:

It rides so nice -light, fast, and responsive. The stem feels a little bit flexy with those bars so I'll probably swap for some narrower flat bars, or cut these ones down a bit.

The Brodie is now finished!

I wasn't sure whether to build it up for trail riding or urban use, but with the big green Vittorias (got them NOS from Banana Industries) and 32 x 14 gearing it makes a great cruiser. I don't currently have a use for it so it will be in the classifieds soon - but it was fun to reimagine it and bring it back to life.

And finally (for the moment) the Swinnerton:

I was planning on freshening it up by replacing the bar tape, perished tyres and tubes, tired saddle, and cleaning everything else - if only it was that easy. The RH pedal was fully seized in so I had to get new cranks... and they didn't work with the BB axle length so that was replaced too. I didn't want to run the old chain on the new cranks so it got a new chain and cassette. I recabled the brakes whilst changing the bar tape, and switched the STX RC rear mech for an LX from the parts bin that was in better condition.

I had planned to fit a modern shape bar (a Deda Piega) until I found out that the stem clamp was too wide to go round the curved part of the bar. Similarly the pads of the mini v brakes caught on the fork blades so I kept the XT canti brakes.

So out of all three projects this gave me the most headaches. I think that it came out well though.