resuscitating a very old bike

unscarred

I won this on ebay, and will hopefully be picking it up this week:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130364148831

I posted asking for suggestions on the Commuting section because I'd like to be able to use it on my every day commute if possible, but didn't get much of a response so I thought I'd try here instead.

I figured this would make a decent commuter due to the fact it's cheap, and the 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub keeps it simple.

At the moment I'm planning on putting some old drops on it and a matching 700c wheel on the front - I'm assuming that was a lazy replacement when the original got damaged. I'll probably respray it in a similar colour too when I have time.

Does anyone have any strong opinions about this plan or suggestions for a better way? I'm very open minded on this so if you can make a decent case I'll pay attention!

bagpusscp

Hmm.
How honest do you want me to be?
1/ Do not spend money on a respary.
2/Spend as little as possible to make it rideable.
3/ I suspose when you are the wrong side of fifty like me ,it is not that older bike .
4/ A classic it is not.

stickman

If it was mine i'd definately get a cartridge bb/alloy 'ring/cranks/platform pedals, same bars and put a hub brake in the 700c front rim.

unscarred

bagpusscp wrote:

Hmm.
How honest do you want me to be?
1/ Do not spend money on a respary.
2/Spend as little as possible to make it rideable.
3/ I suspose when you are the wrong side of fifty like me ,it is not that older bike .
4/ A classic it is not.

Fair enough, didn't think it was a classic, just something interesting!
I was planning on respraying it with cans of auto paint myself, so it wouldn't be much money.
Hopefully all it needs to make it rideable is a new cable for the hub gears, but I'm not sure I can put up with mis-matched wheels!

stickman

If you'd like a black resray there's Poundland (they only stock black topcoat).

lae

I posted in this thread with a little tutorial on how to repaint bikes with spray cans

I'd go with cartridge BB, aluminium bits where you can, like people have suggested. Check the threading of the BB shell though - most bikes are 24tpi but if this bike is made by Raleigh or any of it's subsidiaries (someone with more old bike knowledge might be able to confirm/deny this) it could well have a 26tpi thread bottom bracket - you'll have to fork out more than the bike could ever be worth for a Phil Wood cartridge BB to fit it. That, or you can get a YST threadless bottom bracket - not particularly smooth but better than the old cup/cone ones, plus the advantages of cotterless cranks. Headsets and forks are different on raleigh-made bikes too.

If it's going to be knocked around a lot or used through the winter I'd look into getting it powdercoated. Paint from rattle cans is delicate and doesn't provide very much protection against salty roads, meaning your mudguards and chainguard (and eventually your frame too) will succumb to rust. Mine and my girlfriend's daily bikes are around this vintage and I've repsrayed my girlfriend's one twice and she's only had it for two winters! Both are getting powdercoated at Easter. The cost is £30-50, and you'll spend £30 on paint and materials if you're doing it yourself anyway.

stickman

Not all bad, if it's Raleigh made, BB could be fine - i've got a Chiltern that's regular thread.

unscarred

Thanks for the comments guys, I will come back to them and give them the attenbtion they deserve when I get a bit further along.

I picked up the bike last night and so haven't had much chance to look at it, but here's my initial impressions:

The hub is in much better state than the frame. It's an 86 AW, and seems to be in fine condition, though I haven't been able to test it yet. TBH, I reckon this is worth the £20 I paid on it's own, assuming it works.

The frame certainly looks older. It's got braze-ons for pump, chain guard and front light, but no cable guides. I haven't decided whether to keep and use these or grind them off. There's a cryptic serial number stamped under the BB, but none of the badges/stickers have survived, so I don't know the make.

The wheels have huge clearance under the mudguards. I'm thinking really big tyres, maybe even 700x47. What do you think, is this just stupidly big?

The rear wheel is missing a couple of spokes. How easy is it to teach myself to build a wheel, or should I just get someone to do it for me?

lae

Actually building the wheel isn't as hard as people make out, but getting it perfectly trued, dished and tensioned is! I have only built one wheel (out of parts, as a practice as I will need to rebuild my girlfriend's SA hub into an aluminium rim at some point!) and I got it checked over by my LBS - it did need a little adjustment but the mechanic was impressed and didn't charge me.

Just replacing a spoke or two isn't that hard at all, just takes a bit of patience to get it right. You can do it on the bike using the brake blocks to check lateral truing.

I used Sheldon Brown's guide.

unscarred

frinkmakesyouthink wrote:

Actually building the wheel isn't as hard as people make out, but getting it perfectly trued, dished and tensioned is!

Good stuff, I'm going to give it a go. I've got a friend who's got the mechanical skills so I'll get him to check it over when I've done it. I figure between Sheldon and youtube I should be able to get most of the information I need.

The same friend came over at the weekend and seems to like the bike, although he does like almost every bike he sees! He's suggested keeping the braze-ons for the pump and removing the others, sounds sensible to me.

Also, the gears appear to work properly and smoothly, which is one less thing to worry about The stem is currently stuck, but a bit of persuasion with a hammer and a block of wood should sort that.

I should be able to get this thing rolling pretty soon, although moving house will probably delay things a little...