Stripping a bike down

rodgers73

I'm stripping down my old bike in prep for having it powder coated. Apart from needing bottom bracket tools and a chain breaker, will I need any specialist stuff to remove all the parts? It's a rather old (1980s) racer.

Thanks

Tom

leaflite

cassete thingy

markos1963

If it's an old racer it's likely to have an old threaded headset so you'll need a drift of some sort to take the bearing cups out of the head tube.

You won't need a cassette 'thingy' as the cassette is attacheted to the wheel, unless of course you're having the hubs done as well

ugo.santalucia

Headset... assuming you have a threaded one, you need a large and thin (32 mm) spanner to undo the top and bottom screws, then you need to remove the cups... you can do it by hammering the head of a screwdriver you don't care about, same for the fork crown race. Remember to put it back on you will need some sort of press for the cups and some form of tube to push the race to the bottom of the fork

leaflite

markos1963 wrote:

You won't need a cassette 'thingy' as the cassette is attacheted to the wheel, unless of course you're having the hubs done as well

Sorry-forgot that! Im stripping a bike down and was having a new cassette, so i got confused

rodgers73

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Headset... assuming you have a threaded one, you need a large and thin (32 mm) spanner to undo the top and bottom screws, then you need to remove the cups... you can do it by hammering the head of a screwdriver you don't care about, same for the fork crown race. Remember to put it back on you will need some sort of press for the cups and some form of tube to push the race to the bottom of the fork

I take your point re the removal of the headset but I plan to replace it with a modern one - any specialist tools required to fit that??

Thanks

rodgers73

markos1963 wrote:

If it's an old racer it's likely to have an old threaded headset so you'll need a drift of some sort to take the bearing cups out of the head tube.

You won't need a cassette 'thingy' as the cassette is attacheted to the wheel, unless of course you're having the hubs done as well

No, the wheels are going in the bin - I may try and save the freewheel but not sure - its only a 5 speed and I want to try and get a 7 speed on the new wheels if there's space between the seat stays.

Thanks

ugo.santalucia

rodgers73 wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Headset... assuming you have a threaded one, you need a large and thin (32 mm) spanner to undo the top and bottom screws, then you need to remove the cups... you can do it by hammering the head of a screwdriver you don't care about, same for the fork crown race. Remember to put it back on you will need some sort of press for the cups and some form of tube to push the race to the bottom of the fork

I take your point re the removal of the headset but I plan to replace it with a modern one - any specialist tools required to fit that??

Thanks

You can't fit a "modern" i.e. threadless headset on a threaded fork. If you change the fork for a 1 inch threadless one (there is no benefit in doing so), then fitting a threadless headset requires the same tools (except for the 32 mm spanner) to fit cups and crown race.

rodgers73

Hmm, so will I be able to fit a new stem etc to the old headset? I'm looking for a more modern look at the front of the bike.

ugo.santalucia

rodgers73 wrote:

Hmm, so will I be able to fit a new stem etc to the old headset? I'm looking for a more modern look at the front of the bike.

The only option is then to go for a quill to ahead stem adapter. They are functional and there's nothing wrong with them, except they're ugly. I had one for a month, mechanically nothing wrong with it, but I then went back to the old quill. Quill stems are coming back into fashion. They have a lot of benefits... for example it's very easy to adjust the stem height, whilst in modern setups you have to move spacers around and in the end the result is pretty ugly. Quill stems are a bit less rigid, in view of the wedge system, but it's hardly noticeable in my view.
In summary, stick to the quill or change the forks for an esthetically pleasing result, go for the adapter for practicality

rodgers73

Hmm, thanks. some nice black quills on Ebay that would look ok with black bars etc.

Thanks for the tip!

ugo.santalucia

rodgers73 wrote:

Hmm, thanks. some nice black quills on Ebay that would look ok with black bars etc.

Thanks for the tip!

Check out the clamp size... in quill stems it's a minefield. Modern 26 mm handlebars (forget about the 31 mm ones, they won't work) need a 26 mm clamp. Around there at least 4 sizes, all very similar: 26 mm, 25.8 (kind of compatible with 26 mm), 26.4 mm (Cinelli only) and 25.4 mm.
In addition, if you are thinking of buying bars with ergonomic shape, it might become difficult to slide the quill in (I would avoid).

If I were you, I would look for classic parts, polished rather than anodized... silver is the new black....

rodgers73

You're right. 25.4mm quill is easy to find in style I like but can I find bars?? Can I buggery.

Damn.