Help with an Ernie Clements champion 1

z0tty

I've inherited My fathers much loved and long owned road bike (and nope he aint passed away lol. has retired to spain and only felt the need to take his mint 1980's raleigh triathlon with him) . 'Ernie' had been stored in dads garage covered in grease for the last 15 years or so and owned by him since new (he also owned a bike shop (Barry's bikes)in southend on sea Essex).

aside from it missing one of its pedals (which my father assures me is in the garage and will be with me as soon as the rest of the garage gets emptied) it seems to be all present and correct and indeed fairly functional. ive also started to clean the protectiing grease away and aside from a few scratches to the paintwork and/or decals all seems in fairly great condition.. certainly seems that rust etc has been held at bay (the alloy rims still shine and the chromo forks have next to no marks on them :)and all bearings and moving parts seem smooth and free)

anyways thats how i gained ownership lol.. now on to the future

what do i do with it?

i'm a mountain biker that has felt the need to return to a road bike for those none off road days for a fair while now so..

do i

A
restore it as is and enjoy as it is?..

B
restore it to the classic it once was (was it? and is it worth it being so again?) and spend forever polishing it and rarely riding it

C
drag it into the 21st century but still keep it as a road racing machine? and prob end up polishing it etc

D single speed it and go with the current flow modding old frames and end up polishing it and or breaking it lol..

heres the spec

not sure on size but it fits me well and i'm 6ft

Ernie Clements Champion 1 frame (tange tubing stamped by rear drop outs)

Ernie Clements Champion Tange chromo forks(again stanped by dropouts)

Shimano 600 drivetrain through out aside from the chain set which is is an aerox double ring

shimano levers/brakes but unsure of group

mavic double 3 700c rims on pellssier 2000 forged pro hubs but i suspect the spokes are past their best (pitted surface)

and one rather well worn and wrong shaped for my ass brooks leather saddle (been my olds mans for most of my 41 years on planet earth lol)

for it to be ridden today it would need a new chain/new brake lever hoods maybe both wheels rebuilt (for cosmetics as both run very very true still)) and and of course a pedal lol..

and heres a few pics (mostly.. what looks like rust is actually grease. ive just gave the front mech a rub with car wax and it shines like new which is not the case in the current picture in this set of pics lol)

































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MichaelW

There is some info on the model

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... sc&start=0

It looks more a of a rebadged mid/high-end Falcon factory frame than a custom-made EC bike
Still judging from my old Falcon, it should ride really well. I would consider it a bike for riding, not polishing but I would keep it as original as possible.
If the rims are OK you can still ride them.

Monty Dog

I probably popped into Barry's Bikes circa 1990 when I was living in that neck of the woods - I was looking for a FAG bottom bracket

lae

I'd strip down, clean and service all the mechanical bits, give the frame a good clean, and ride it as it is.

z0tty

update

more info and pics

its finally ridable..


built by my father in 1986 while he the owner of 'barrys bikes' in southend on sea essex.

was used as a promotional tool up until 89 then covered in grease and stored until it was given me in november 2010

the missing pedal should arrive tomorrow


Lady's and Gentlemen i give to you

Ernie

has had a complete strip of all parts.. clean n waxed then all parts cleaned or replaced with the same or indeed as close as possible to the original.. wheels rebuilt (mike at ACE cycles in wednesbury YOU ROCK!!)

only parts changed so far is

spokes
bar tape
brake levers
tyres
cables

everything else is original

still a few things to do but for now its back from the dead lol

will add specs a little later


few more pre resto pics







and heres after



















pre rebuild pics http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e128/zotzotty/ernie/

more post rebuild pics http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e128/zotzotty/ernie/ernie%20clean/

z0tty

well ive put a few miles on ernie now and have to say i'm very happy rides SO smooth..

update

missing pedal fitted

missing toes clips fitted

new christophe white toe straps fitted

the correct shimano 600 brake set and seat post should arrive tomorrow leaving me to source a 600 chain set and stem which will then complete the group set


pre toe clip pictures

z0tty

MichaelW wrote:

There is some info on the model

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... sc&start=0

It looks more a of a rebadged mid/high-end Falcon factory frame than a custom-made EC bike
Still judging from my old Falcon, it should ride really well. I would consider it a bike for riding, not polishing but I would keep it as original as possible.
If the rims are OK you can still ride them.

just spotted this.. cheers for the link bud..

its deffo a an EC frame, built after EC had moved from falcon and opend up shop in Ledbury (check out the gear cable guides) as my old man has a letter that came with it.. it was built for a certain racer at the time but was done an inch to small! which is how it ended up with my dad....

either way. its special to me .. twas my dads after all lol