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^ Funny you should mention that - I've just ordered cables in white
I don't have 1.5m lengths of cable knocking about in the shed so there's no option to go budget!I'd been rather tempted to drop £20 on red/white striped 1960's Bianchi cables - Coloured cables were pretty popular back in the day - it's only since the advent of cable stops and aero brakes that we've been boring!!
Dave Marsh has NOS at the mo, but I think white would be more rat-friendly - I'll leave the stripes for someone building something a bit more epic
There are some rather nice Celeste cables on a fabulous bike recently posted in the rat-thread - that's what got me thinking - it also happens to be precisely the sort of bike I had in mind when I embarked on this project...
Clearly my Dawes will not be in this league, but with a bit of luck I'll glue my tubs so that the valves are not wonky!In other news, I raised £22.50 on the sale of the derailleurs that came with the original ebay purchase, so the current balance stands at a paltry £8.50
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Did you service/degrease those dérailleurs in any way Rik?
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I assume you're referring to the ones I just flogged?
Yes indeed, I gave them a good thorough degrease and checked everything was working - I gave them a quick polish too. In the case of the chainset I gave a very thorough polishing and degrease and it came up very nicely (I offered it to the buffing wheel no less) - FYI the rear mech was a 7spd Deore XT 2 so it was a reasonable quality unit(If you're referring to the simplex unit fitted to the bike - that came in most excellent (if not NOS) condition courtesy of the forums own MrWolf69 with whom I swapped the shifters & mechs for a pair of Patao cages and bottles)
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Yep, I was talking about the ones you sold. Just vaguely curious about the potential for getting cheap parts on eBay off complete bikes then refurbing them before selling on.
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I've been tempted by that a couple of times - there was a rusty 50cm sigma that went a few months back for £75 with a full mavic groupset including 631 starfish chainset. I also saw a similarly tiny 653 falcon with tricolour groupset and open pro wheels in "barn-find" condition go for £65 - in both cases you'd make a tidy profit with a paraffin bath and tube of AutoSol - I'd been thinking of them more as donor bikes - keeping the kit for a better set of tubes and flogging on the frame to amortise the cost, but you could also take it on as a profit-making venture...
There's a slight moral issue here though - people go to a lot of trouble to put together period-correct bikes and if you're finding nice, consistent bikes carefully curated over years and buying them purely with a view to carving them up for personal gain rather than letting them go to appreciative homes at bargain cost then you want to have thought it through properly and be happy about what you're up to... (I'm just sharing my thoughts here, not make a moral judgement) - an extreme example of what I'm saying would be if you had that Bianchi up there - the headset would fetch £100, and the chainset probably a fair amount more - you'd even get £20 for the cable outers, but that bike has lasted till now in that state it would be seriously wrong to carve it up
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Brake cables, bottle cage, chain and front mech arrived today, not quite finished installing them but it's starting to look good (pictures to follow).
The Simplex AV223 "Prestige Criterium" front mech (courtesy of MrWolf69) is extraordinary, rather than the 4-bar linkage design we all know and love, there's a cable operated linear actuator (piston) that drives the cage... I've never seen anything like it
Managed another ride at the weekend, 70miles down to Brighton(3.5h) and fitting in extra climbs on my commute. I'm becoming increasingly fixated with cake and living in a world of fear and (self)loathing - so it's all going to plan!! I feel like a roadie again (except now due to the state of my body I have all the pain and none of the form I may have had in a previous life). Due to family commtiments it doesn't look like I'm going to get any proper big rides in before October so it'll be extended commutes and riding for survival on the day.
I'm considering adding a 3rd Work Package to this project - the sartorial.
I suspect my normal cycling garb (carhardts, merino t-shirt and adidas merckx) won't really cut it with the level of commitment I'm expecting from the fellow riders! check out this specimen.
Bring on the wool -
I've been tempted by that a couple of times - there was a rusty 50cm sigma that went a few months back for £75 with a full mavic groupset including 631 starfish chainset. I also saw a similarly tiny 653 falcon with tricolour groupset and open pro wheels in "barn-find" condition go for £65 - in both cases you'd make a tidy profit with a paraffin bath and tube of AutoSol - I'd been thinking of them more as donor bikes - keeping the kit for a better set of tubes and flogging on the frame to amortise the cost, but you could also take it on as a profit-making venture...
There's a slight moral issue here though - people go to a lot of trouble to put together period-correct bikes and if you're finding nice, consistent bikes carefully curated over years and buying them purely with a view to carving them up for personal gain rather than letting them go to appreciative homes at bargain cost then you want to have thought it through properly and be happy about what you're up to... (I'm just sharing my thoughts here, not make a moral judgement) - an extreme example of what I'm saying would be if you had that Bianchi up there - the headset would fetch £100, and the chainset probably a fair amount more - you'd even get £20 for the cable outers, but that bike has lasted till now in that state it would be seriously wrong to carve it up
Sorry Rik I rudely failed to reply to this. I agree totally but I was thinking more about barn -find bikes that have been left to go to ruin where some parts are definitely salvageable. I doubt there's much money in it but enough to fund and break even on a few builds like yours no doubt.
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^^ Sounds like a good scheme - the old Archer GP course perhaps, or the 1948 Olympic route round Windsor Park......
^ No problem - agreed - especially on examples like this where decent non-period kit has been fitted to bikes.
There's a general aura around period bikes created by their untouchability - if something's been in the package for the last 50 years on a shelf in an italian bike shop, how dare you ride with it. In the last year I've sold off all the NOS vintage kit in my shed when I discovered I was too scared to use it.
Bikes are there to be ridden and if you start worrying that you'll damage your investment by putting in the miles then you need to ask yourself a few questions!!
My brother and I still ride this 30's track bike on the road and track and gain a great deal of enjoyment from it - no idea what it's worth and don't really care tbh... there's a lot of fun to be had on old kit and it's a shame when economics get in the way of it - which is kind of what this thread is about...
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That's my brother benj - he's 3years younger than me
I'm noot an old man - I just have old-git taste in bikes! -
Toeclips arrived today: quite a lucky break really. Ebay listinghttp://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?pub=5574889051&toolid=10001&campid=5336525415&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER]http://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/1/710-53481-19255-0/1?ff3=2&pub=5574889051&toolid=10001&campid=5336525415&item=110943341172&mpt=[CACHEBUSTER] barely mentioned straps but when they arrived they're Alfredo Binda.
Galli clips on Zeus pedals - All I need is a gipiemme chainset for a complete "poormans-campag" suite!
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72712370/2012-09-08%2018.22.45.jpg https://dl.dropbox.com/u/72712370/zeus%20pedals.jpg
Just had a thought: with a 3-pin Solida chainset what's the chance the pedal thread's are going to be 14x1.25mm rather than 9/16 x 20tpi?Update: Managed to remove the big steel rat-traps (fitted to the donor BSA) - and the Zeus track pedals fit fine, quite a relief.
Frame seems completely full of iron filings, rotating the frame fills the bottom bracket shell leaving BB feeling graunchy.
I had to clean and re-fit the bottom bracket twice, and ended up doing 4 hail mary's (strip - clean - regrease - re-fit) before the headset would run cleanly.
Never seen this before and hope I won't see it again: I'd recommend blowing a frame through with compressed air and possibly using aerosol waxoil or weigle framesaver to prevent this. -
hi,
enjoying this thread very much, I've also got a Dawes (early 80's galaxy), that i truly love, I like the bit about Dawes being the dave gilmour of bikes - :) - wouldn't swap mine for the world, I've just replaced my old canti's with even older dia compe 980's, you're welcome to my vgc discarded ones - first gen xt like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32306142@N07/4482516324/, for a donation :) -
^ Cheers for the offer; I'm sorted for the time being with some faux-980s.
That said, I've been wondering what to do with the bike post-Eroica and considered fitting clincher rims and 700c knobblies to use it for Rough Stuff.
Dependant on the braking power of Lee-Chi "980's" I may be on the lookout for something of that ilk at a later stage!No real progress on the build this week or last, trying to carve out some time in the back-to-school routine - no doubt the vintage bike slot exisist somewhere between piano lessons, swimming, homework supper and lunchboxes.
I've got the brake and gear cables ready to fit and the tub cement to fit the tyres, but I Can't fit the tyres since the tape is coming off around the edges: I got out the trusty tub-repair kit on Monday night but all my liquid latex (fake skin) has dried up so I'm waiting delivery of a big bottle of copydex.
I'm also waiting delivery of some shellac crystals, toestrap pulls and white cotton bar tape - you need to be pretty patient on a build like this as there's quite a lot of waiting around - tub cement takes 24h to cure, decals are attached by transferring onto tacky varnish, you need 6 coats of shellac (which takes 12h to dissolve in alcohol) to get a nice warm honey colour on the tape and parts are procured from suppliers who continue to run "period correct" business models - you'll need to get your chequebook out (both metaphorically and literally) as some of the key suppliers (e.g. Dave Marsh) require a cheque in the post - all very 20th century. Good new is that Dave's got plenty of 1960's Bidons which I'm rather pleased about - I await the exciting parcel from Rotherham!
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Another evening of mechanical inactivity, so I thought I'd get moving on Work Package 3 - Sartorial Elegance in period style:
3-4 years back when I was putting in the miles a bit more, I started wearing cheap ebay 60's wool mix jerseys in the winter, I still have a few, and thought there's bound to be some old shorts lurking in my wardrobe somewhere....
Here's what I came up with....
The Jersey matches the frame "paint job" quite nicely, and I was quite pleased to discover I'd not binned the Jelmoli shorts. (These were obtained about 10years ago from the Santini warehouse by Mick at Prendas and are original late 70's team issue) - the only catch is that the chamois is hard as cardboard.
Given the thrifty concept I wondered whether to make my own chamois cream (Shea butter and olive oil??) - a tub of Assos cream would cost more than I've spent on the bike! Luckily I was spared this quandry and granted a few laughs when I discovered little sachets of "Eurostyle Butt'r" - adding the word "euro" onto anything invariably renders it colourful and naff... I've ordered a couple of sachets of this material and will report back on my findings
Since I'm using cloth tape and no hoods I thought period track mitts would be potentially painful so I got the Altura classics from TFG last week.
I shall also require a cap - I was thinking of a Faemino repro as I can't bring myself to wear a Mars one!The main issue with what I found in the wardrobe is in the footwear department...
The rather fetching Rivat boots you see in the above picture are actually winter boots....
And are filled with something akin to Rockwool.
I struggle when it's cool outside and I've just had my breakfast to imagine suffering on a hot mountain. Could any Eroica vetrans give their opinion on whether riding in warm boots would be suicide?
If so the only option I have are my old training shoes: Suitable for the summer and for clips and straps, but completely out of keeping with the rest of the outfit and bike......Polling the punters - which ones should I go for - "perspiring period slave" or "ventilated imposter"
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Progress at last
Copydex arrived last night too so I've started gluing the tape back onto the tub around the edge. The bar tape is in the post - with a bit of luck I'll be adjusting gears/brakes and gluing tubs tonight and Saturday, and then get a few miles in on Sunday!
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You are mad but have my total admiration.....Rik II would be proud of you and think you are crazy...way to go.
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Kind words Leon - many thanks!
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Bike is looking awesome.
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Thanks for the advice on shoes JMCD, and glad you approve of the bike and thread; likewise Chris and Bicycle - glad you're enjoying it.
Didn't quite get as far as I'd hoped at the weekend, I reglued the tape back onto the tub with Copydex, proofed the sidewalls with seam sealant* and glued them onto the rims with period Clement adhesive.
(I'm such a vintage-slave I even use period tub glue).
Made a pigs-ear of the gluing (too much cement on the front rim & inadequate drying time) so I've been picking bits of glue off the kitchen table, worktops, sink, back door, tyre walls and rim ever since (not to mention my fingers, arms and even my tea cup), so the time set aside for gear adjustment & set-up was wasted on cleaning up after the front tyre balls-up.
- Old cotton tubs need to be waterproofed or they rot. A good layer of urethane sealant will also mitigate the effects of abrasion and help prevent the sidewall splitting (split walls are probably the reason sensible people don't use period tubs for L'Eroica) .
In cyclocross circles the most commonly used sealant is Acquasure by McNett but since this is a budget experiment I decided to go for Outwell Seamguard (£2.80 at my local branch of Cotswold).
- Old cotton tubs need to be waterproofed or they rot. A good layer of urethane sealant will also mitigate the effects of abrasion and help prevent the sidewall splitting (split walls are probably the reason sensible people don't use period tubs for L'Eroica) .
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L'Eroica Rat
Posted by
@Rik_Van_Looy
Cheers Fahrgestell - I'm also starting to like the way it looks, and beginning to feel confident that I'll have it built, dialled and shaken-down by October!!
Total spend thus far on the bike above is £59, but I sold the original Shimano chainset for £28 and the derailleurs finish on ebay this evening, so we're at £31 minus whatever I get for the mechs! The only big spends left are things like a bottle (seemingly tricky to find) + cables, chain and bar tape.
@stedlocks - no worries on the timescale, hope Chris is OK.