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So I have been riding the FCT20 Chainset for about a year and a half, I was quite happy with the quality for £40 if they are a little on the heavy side.

However recently the chain set has developed the old loose left crank syndrome, now I know this happens to allot of people and have resolved it on many rides.

On closer inspection the alloy seems relatively soft and has dished out a little after coming loose on the steel BB arm (a little more than I would expect/have observed before) so I am wondering:

1) has anyone else experienced this with the FCT20? (or is this just the result of the usual factors).
2) can anyone recommend a nice budget Chainset you have been riding for a while with good reliability?

thanks

this site has some nice evans catalogue scans, looks pretty likely this is an evans frame with all original parts
http://www.bikebrothers.co.uk/evans.htm

gonna go with re-chrome and black paint job, to insure the frame is good for the long term, undecided on transfers as I don't know enough to make sure they are right and I quite like the anonymous club look

as for the parts I think I will take a more considered approach

does any one know if old willams rat trap pedals and the like are serviceable ? I don't know if I will resort to getting them and the willams chain-ring/cranks rechromed but if I do I will need to dismantle the pedals

I would love to hear from people who have carried out similar projects or any good links to blogs ect

most of the bitz are original but if I replace the wheels at some point what are roughly historically correct hubs ?

ohh makes perfect sense!

Hello Sir,

James from work here-
surely if you are going to paint it stove enamel would be best, especially if you go for black as it always looks a, erm, deeper more-black type of black. Conrad always moans his path-racer is not black enough-that's powder coated I think. I know it's costly but... You've seen my Viking so that should tell you what powder coated clear-coat looks like, if you do consider that - even if as something not to do.

Where exactly is that little braze on by they way? I can't quite figure it out from the photo. That may at least give you a rough idea of the age if it is for some specific type of gear or something similar.

And if it's rideable bring it in please next time it's sunny-I want to see it in person!

James ! good to hear from you, will bring it back in once it's ride-able, it was actually in work till the other day stored in a cupboard! once I have it enamelled and the important bits chromed it's on! bike off at high noon, I really like the finish on your Viking a very tasteful build all round, hope I can compete

that little braze on is on the inside of the drive side chain stay, I am guessing it's for some sort of gear mech hanger although the flip flop it came with looks fairly legit

I have heard good and bad things

which to be fair probably means he is ok and good for the price

would like to see some examples

Re spraying a frame at Argos would cost around £300+/- for a single colour + lug lining + decals applied. It also depends if they have got to fill some pitting and how much as that will alter price. Then your decals £30 ish. I can highly recommend them but I understand that Mario Vaz is cheaper.
Most chroming places will take bike bits but check first because the most industrial places will prioritize big jobs and might leave you waiting months for your bits. And I found that it will be more expensive if there is a lot of polishing to pitted parts to be done, as this is time consuming, but otherwise will show if rechrome without polishing.

I know but I don't plan to put back decals or lug lining probably going for just the chroming and a black enamel frame and forks like the evans above but without decals, I imagine this bike was a club bike and has simple no frills construction so I'm not to bothered about fancy stuff just the basics done right

I am probably gonna take all the bit's I want done to London Chroming to ask their advice and get a quote, they seemed up for it on the phone

Lots can be said about this but I'd start with a simple staement about restoration. You need to be very clear about what is restoration etc and therefore budget. I know it sounds simple but many fail to do that.

A specific point re paint. The frame was not built/finished to be left raw so paint is essential.

Powedercoat will do but enamel is right for it and there are several craftsmen in London who can do the work and many are on here and you can get good recommendations by searching. I'd recommend Mario Vaz, who has done several jobs for me, but advise you to look around before comitting to anybody.

well restoration for me is anything that prolongs the life of the object and restores it to working function without drastically changing its nature or spoiling it's genuine charm ect

I imagine after re-chroming only the parts that need it for survival and cleaning polishing everything else else and getting the frame painted a single colour I would be looking at no less than £300 probably allot more

and that has been my plan from the start just wanted to entertain other options

still the all chrome Claud Butler in the science museum has always called out to me :3

London based but spend a bit of time down south so argos is an option

just don't think I can take their chroming prices if I get the forks and frame ends re done :0

thanks lucky looks like your dead on

I was thinking black for the frame anyway which is nice as that other evans looks good like that

now to research paint places

and just for interests sake here is my very cheaply obtained and very light 30s 40s frame that up until it got a crack in the seat stay by the chater lea dropout was my main ride, it has very nice simple flowing lugs and is supper light, also takes a headclip, I had built up with cheap aluminium parts and some of those cheap charge bars for a lauterwasser ish look (this was before the soma ones ect) , it's hopfully going off to get fixed and re-sprayed then I am going to build it back up with broadly the same parts (maybe some more quality) as it was just so light and a dream to carry up stairs ect

OK here's the seat post cluster stamp and a few more snaps to show age, might stick to re-chroming as some of the parts if not the frame are a little pitted, bet it's going to cost a painful amount :3

heres that lil hanger

and some pitting on the major taylor, the handle bars have a really lovely patina from all the paint jobs over time seems a shame to cover it

oh thats a close match lucky!

mine looks to be a simpler slightly more utilitarian model, the only braze ons being the pump holders which have been flattened (might be originally like this I don't know) and a small circular hanger on the gear side chain stay

when I got it it was set up flip flop fixed/ss I wonder if that braze-on means it was originally geared ?

that gear mech is sexy!

whats the Marque, Lucky ?

or clear coat it....... i really think it looks amazing as it is, but for use everyday maybe a tasteful restoration could save it for another 70 odd years.... i would say it is 30s early 40s, looking at the lugs could it be a FW Evans? serial number on the seat post cluster? any more pictures?

i really like this bike, not sure i would use it for my everyday bike, especially in London.....

I have a short commute to work and secure parking but I would probably only ride it in a day a week or so cos we have a lil battle at work, a few other guys have very nice classic British rides and atm I feel out gunned

thats so lame isn't it

witrh a sharp blade to take off the cracked / crusty layer on the brooks you could have a nice suede saddle

would love to have oiled the original at the very least but unfortunately it damaged passed repair, it has deep structural cracks by the rivets

I'm going to source an appropriately aged 'new' one from somewhere and put in a gallows seat post if you guys don't think thats a silly (over the mark) idea as the old aluminium one has some deep gouges in the seat end that don't look too safe (otherwise I would have just buffed it out)

It's survived for 60-80 years with paint.

How long will it last without?

It would be a shame if a trendy (cosmetic) choice made you the last possible user. Restoration would suggest replacing paint and plating. Preservation would have left the 'historical' finish in situ but addressed any defects that might allow corrosion. Stripping and oiling is not a long term solution, no matter how much you like the look - your choice of course, but I would plan a more appropriate finish at some point before bare/cool/rad becomes rusty/needing major work.

agreed I wasn't making it as a trendy cosmetic choice as it had already been stripped, I guess I was thinking more along the lines (as you are) of wanting to preserve it while also not giving it a disingenuous make over

it doesn't need to look perfect or brand new but I do want it to be weather and fairly user resistant :3

would it be sacrilege to powered coat the frame? dose anyone do stove bake enamelling any more on this scale or is a simple paint job the more historically accurate? and if so where is good and reasonable these days?

whats the consensus on riding unprotected frames?

any more opinions before I set the ball rolling on this?

should I just oil everything to protect it and keep it bare an utilitarian :p

cool thanks, it has a code on the down tube by the seat post lugs and another under the BB

looks like it might have been painted blue or red originally there are tiny traces of both

I know it's a stupid idea but I have always wanted an nickel plated frame :P

Hey guys been a long time since I have posted here

so I have had this very nice bike waiting to be restored for a while now I got a great deal online and have been saving so I can do a sympathetic restoration

the previous owner had already stripped away the multiple paint jobs it had been given over the years so I am at square one

It's an unidentified 30s- to early 50ish (by my fairly uninformed reckoning) frame that has a head clip and came with a convincingly worn Major Taylor stem and basically all the parts look fairly original or at least of the right era

I am thinking of getting all the parts re-chromed/nickel plated (depending on the most historically appropriate choice) including the fork ends and chain stay/seat stay/ drop out tips as they look like it was this way from what's left of the original finish (probably use london chroming)

then my plan is to pick a colour for the frame forks and have it painted coated somewhere

however I am building this back up as a bike I will regularly ride so if you guys have any ideas or advice or think I should do something else (i don't want it to feel perfect like an unreadable museum piece) then I would like to hear your opinions

thanks

edit (also just for background my other bike is a rescued 30s lightweight with a head-clip that I put together with modern light weight parts in an unffussy way but it's about to be sent off for repair as one of the dropouts cracked so this will be a ridden but slightly better looked after bike )

So my friend had his eddy merckx bike stolen from south london a few weeks ago

had nos hubs like these and lots of other nice bits

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAMPAGNOLO-C-Record-Track-Hubs-Fixed-Gear-/280671184302?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41594e65ae#ht_500wt_1074

let me know if any of you spot it

thanks

Chris

with normal road tyres, that's pretty much inevitable really, unless you're using touring tyres/city tyres like the randonneur/marathon/top contact etc.

yeah particular puncture wasn't surprising it was more the frequency of the smaller glass punctures when compared to my worn out Michelin (around 3 times more)

snufkin, puncture also depend on *how you ride your bike *as well.

for example if you ride too close to the kerb, you have a very high chance of getting punctured.

Tyres is sometime like a light bulb, you can go miles without getting a puncture on a shitty tyres and end up getting a lots of them on a puncture resistance one, The Conti is usually enough for me, hasn't had a puncture on mine for 13 months until last week (now running 4 season).

this is very true and I sometimes ride near the curb when forced to and I would expect a few punctures this way

its more those out of the blue tiny bit of glass middle of the road what are the chances!!!! DAMN you god of the road! type deals that really annoy me

maybe I should pump a bit over the recommended pressure?

And don't ride on them flat.
You probably ripped a sidewall after riding on that tire when it was punctured. Either that or you don't inflate your tires to an adequate pressure. I have gatorskins on all my bikes, have have one puncture in the last 2 years, and the sidewalls are perfectly intact. Like a lightbulb, in that respect. ;)

actually it was at the full recommended pressure and had been toped up that day with a pump with a gage :)

the problem was a small (but sharp) strip of metal (maybe packing material) I didn't see in the dark :(