So, it's been a while but the old Flandria bike is back on the road doing what is was made for: riding!
According to the frame number, this bike is from 1973. Two years older than I thought. And considering the state it was in, the previous owner(s) hasn't been riding it often. (lucky me)
It turned out to be more of a serious cleaning job than restoring as most of the parts were dirty and somewhat rusty, but still usable. The only parts that I replaced / changed are:
- seatpost, original one too short
- stem, again original one too short. Considering my back problems handle bars needed to go up
- saddle, I love originality but I love my butt more than an old uncomfortable saddle
- tyres, put on some Vittoria randonneur 2 tyres
- freewheel, although the 5 speed was in good order I replaced it with a 6 speed
- lights, I turned the original lights into battery powered led lights
- pedals, original ones were too far gone
- chain, was too rusted
I added:
- saddle bag
- handlebar bag
- 2 bottle cages the MacGyver way as the adapters by Elite ans Zefal didn't work out for me
- handlebar mirror for some safety
- gel pads underneath the cotton handlebar tape
As far as the frame is concerned, all I did was treat the superficial rust and give it a good clean. So frame looks battered and spotted, but hey it's 43 years old and it's rider is 49 so...
Did touch up the (not original) black on the lugs though, just because I like that look.
It was a lot less work than I expected and the project came in at about 250 euro's to get this bike back on the road. Including purchase price for the bike.
In the mean time, I've done 5 rides with this bike. Two test rides of 8.5 km, a longer ride of 86 km, a long ride of 102 km and 1 abandoned ride of 10 km after a truck lost a wooden beam in front of me.
Overall opinion on this Flandria bike:
Although most people will consider it a low budget bike, to me it turned out a top end bike. Rides like a dream, handles tarmac, dirt and sand trails well and gives me lots of riding fun. And that is the main goal for me as riding is concerned.
Here are some pictures from the clean-up proces:
> taking it all apart:
> using lots of elbow grease and polish to clean it:
> discovering the beauty underneath the grime:
> my first try at harlequin wrap:
> mounting bottle cages the MacGyver way, but still solid as a rock:
> standing proud after all these years of collecting dust, dirt and rust:
> making friends with my Surly Disc Trucker:
> and finally doing what it was made for, taking me on great rides:
