Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
Tea looks a bit weak
Alpina mystery bike
- Thread starter dimrub
- Start date
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bonzobanana
Guru
Probably the main good thing about these old high tensile steel frames without butting is the lack of butting means any internal corrosion is less likely to compromise frame strength. Reminds me of an old bike that was pulled out of a river, Raleigh I think with a 3 speed hub and enclosed chain and it was given a rough restore and back into use and probably was in the river a few years. The corrosion had formed a barrier to more corrosion if that makes sense.
I bought a rubbish German road bike in the past, garbage components mostly. The brand was Sprick. Perfectly serviceable bike with a nice ride but heavy. Keeps the weight weenies amused when they lift it and make their jokes about lead pipes or uranium tubes etc or whether the earth's crust can handle so much weight in one spot. The great thing about such bikes is even the chaviest of thieves won't bother with them as it wouldn't even raise enough money for one hit. Probably even a poundland lock would deter them from stealing it, maybe even a piece of string with a double knot.
Seems like a perfectly sensible bike to keep riding and enjoy and have the satisfaction of keeping an old bike on the road in the times of consumerism madness.
I bought a rubbish German road bike in the past, garbage components mostly. The brand was Sprick. Perfectly serviceable bike with a nice ride but heavy. Keeps the weight weenies amused when they lift it and make their jokes about lead pipes or uranium tubes etc or whether the earth's crust can handle so much weight in one spot. The great thing about such bikes is even the chaviest of thieves won't bother with them as it wouldn't even raise enough money for one hit. Probably even a poundland lock would deter them from stealing it, maybe even a piece of string with a double knot.
Seems like a perfectly sensible bike to keep riding and enjoy and have the satisfaction of keeping an old bike on the road in the times of consumerism madness.
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dimrub
Senior Member
This rear deraileur is driving me bananas
First - because I can't read the inscription. What language is that, I say? Really, it looks like that of the aliens in the Independence Day or something. And then, what make is that? I looked through the Disraeli catalog, all of the mechs listed there for 1980s, and there's nothing even remotely similar. The fact that it has plastic and rivets where deraileurs from decent families have metal and allen bolts, as well as the fact that it is attached to a cheap bike, hint towards the low end of the range, but still, how come it's the seemingly last of its kind?
P.S. Actually, there's a striking similarity to a Shimano TY series, specifically, to Shimano Tourney (TY15 GS):
I mean, they are practically twins, with the exception of that strange inscription. So it seems like some kind of Shimano clone. The site lists 3 such clones: 1, 2, 3. Neither is the exact match for the inscription, but perhaps the one I have is a version for the internal Chinese market - and the inscription is in Mandarin?
By the way, Shimano Tourney (TY15 GS) came out in 1991 (and the clones must have followed shortly), according to Dizraeli gears, so either this is a non-original deraileur, or the bike was introduced at or after 1991, but before the unification, which was completed in 1991, so I'd say the likely year of production is 1991.
First - because I can't read the inscription. What language is that, I say? Really, it looks like that of the aliens in the Independence Day or something. And then, what make is that? I looked through the Disraeli catalog, all of the mechs listed there for 1980s, and there's nothing even remotely similar. The fact that it has plastic and rivets where deraileurs from decent families have metal and allen bolts, as well as the fact that it is attached to a cheap bike, hint towards the low end of the range, but still, how come it's the seemingly last of its kind?
P.S. Actually, there's a striking similarity to a Shimano TY series, specifically, to Shimano Tourney (TY15 GS):
I mean, they are practically twins, with the exception of that strange inscription. So it seems like some kind of Shimano clone. The site lists 3 such clones: 1, 2, 3. Neither is the exact match for the inscription, but perhaps the one I have is a version for the internal Chinese market - and the inscription is in Mandarin?
By the way, Shimano Tourney (TY15 GS) came out in 1991 (and the clones must have followed shortly), according to Dizraeli gears, so either this is a non-original deraileur, or the bike was introduced at or after 1991, but before the unification, which was completed in 1991, so I'd say the likely year of production is 1991.
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dimrub
Senior Member
I went ahead and ordered a bunch of things for this project, including an ultrasonic cleaner, which I heard very good things about from two different recent sources. It will take time for all of this to arrive, during which time I plan to deal with the rust mainly. I didn't order the brake pads - because I'm not sure which should I buy, need to take the original ones off and measure them, and I still haven't decided what to do with the paintjob. I saw a few videos on this channel, this guy believes in authenticity - leave the original paint if at all possible, and same goes for any other part of the bike. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but what I am striving for is a top condition bike with historic background, rather than top authenticity. We'll see how well the frame cleans up before deciding. In the meanwhile I've been playing with the decals (I might replace those even if I don't repaint, because they really don't look good as they are right now). Figuring out the fonts is a PITA, but I think I came up with something that does not replicate the originals exactly, but comes pretty darn close. I just need to find those vinyl sheets to print on, and we're golden.
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biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
Deffo one for just getting mobile and then enjoy it for what it is.
Bristolian
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Bristol, UK
I can confirm that an ultrasonic cleaner is a good investment - I still use one that I had in my sales kit when I worked for Telsonic UK Ltd. A word of caution if you've not used one before and are one of those people that leave the user manual in the box (who me?). To be truly ultrasonic the cleaner operates at (or above) 20KHz - typical ranges are 20-40KHz - and this just happens to be a frequency range that can create air bubbles/pockets in your blood stream which, in turn, can be fatal if they reach your heart.
Before anyone gets all panicky, this is a rare occurrence but it does happen and the way to prevent it is simply not to put any part of your body into the cleaning fluid when the cleaner is on and working.
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dimrub
Senior Member
The mystery of the rear mech has been resolved, thanks to the derailleur gurus on the Disraeli FB group. The inscription is Chinese alright - but in English letters. It's the name of the company, Qilong, and the derailleur in question is a QLB-4, most likely - an aftermarket addition, given that the company was founded 2 years after the terminus ante quem of 1991 (one can only guess what was the original mech, so I'll guess: it was a Sachs-Huret, same as the FD and the shifters).
Here's the description of this company from the Disraeli site, which I just must quote here:
Alas, the web site in question is no longer available - even through archive.org. We'll never now what "artfully over-designed" means in this context.
Here's the description of this company from the Disraeli site, which I just must quote here:
Alas, the web site in question is no longer available - even through archive.org. We'll never now what "artfully over-designed" means in this context.
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dimrub
Senior Member
I brought the bike home, in order to be able to tinker with it on evenings and weekends. Took another 2 photos. The brake pads:
Amazingly, the pads look like they don't need to be replaced - that's one less thing to obsess about.
Another sticker on the bottom, which provides absolutely no new information:
The next step should definitely be trying to remove the left pedal, in order to figure out whether a new crank arm is needed.
Amazingly, the pads look like they don't need to be replaced - that's one less thing to obsess about.
Another sticker on the bottom, which provides absolutely no new information:
The next step should definitely be trying to remove the left pedal, in order to figure out whether a new crank arm is needed.
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dimrub
Senior Member
It was a slow day at the office, so I came home early and had a bit of time before it got dark. Just enough time to deconstruct the bike, not anything beyond that. Well, I didn't take off the freewheel, nor the BB, nor did I take apart the headset, so not even that.
The chain came off easily, a nice surprise, given how rusty it looked. The cranks, on the other hand, required quite an effort. I really need to get a couple of metal pipes, to serve as levers.
Some findings:
1. The crankarm thread is gone, as suspected:
Damn! Expenses, expenses! I can't replace just the arm, can I? It will have to be the whole crankset, isn't it? I hope I can at least salvage the smaller crank wheel.
2. The kickstand is broken, I didn't norice that before. I'm not a big fan, but it was there, so I'll need it there again.
Just now, looking at the photo, I realized the kickstand was produced in Italy. The only part made there, and it's broken. Just saying.
3. There's this piece of plastic that was keeping the rear mech cable attached to the chainstay. It's broken - a piece of electrician tape was holding it together. I think perhaps I can ask a friend to 3D-print a replacement for me.
4. The brake cable housings were in a surprisingly good condition (the gear cable housings weren't). Were the brakes serviced relatively recently? Either way, I'm replacing them, as well as the cables themselves, of course.
Here's the crankarm - I took a photo from a bad angle, it's almost exactly 20 cm:
So, next steps: start cleaning the wheels and the frame while the ultrasonic cleaner is on its way, once it arrives - clean the rest of it, and once the components start arriving - start putting it all together again. But first - back to Aliexpress in order to spend even more money on this once cheap bike!
The chain came off easily, a nice surprise, given how rusty it looked. The cranks, on the other hand, required quite an effort. I really need to get a couple of metal pipes, to serve as levers.
Some findings:
1. The crankarm thread is gone, as suspected:
Damn! Expenses, expenses! I can't replace just the arm, can I? It will have to be the whole crankset, isn't it? I hope I can at least salvage the smaller crank wheel.
2. The kickstand is broken, I didn't norice that before. I'm not a big fan, but it was there, so I'll need it there again.
Just now, looking at the photo, I realized the kickstand was produced in Italy. The only part made there, and it's broken. Just saying.
3. There's this piece of plastic that was keeping the rear mech cable attached to the chainstay. It's broken - a piece of electrician tape was holding it together. I think perhaps I can ask a friend to 3D-print a replacement for me.
4. The brake cable housings were in a surprisingly good condition (the gear cable housings weren't). Were the brakes serviced relatively recently? Either way, I'm replacing them, as well as the cables themselves, of course.
Here's the crankarm - I took a photo from a bad angle, it's almost exactly 20 cm:
So, next steps: start cleaning the wheels and the frame while the ultrasonic cleaner is on its way, once it arrives - clean the rest of it, and once the components start arriving - start putting it all together again. But first - back to Aliexpress in order to spend even more money on this once cheap bike!
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biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
Any engineering workshops locally who might have a facility to weld it up and re tap it or to insert a sleeve that could be r
tapped to thread style and size required
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dimrub
Senior Member
There's some progress with the decals. I kind of sort of figured out 2 out of the 4 stickers I want to replace.
The blue background is just to make the outline visible, eventually I'll print on a transparent vynil page.
The emblems on the head tube and seat tube are more troublesome, since those are actual images rather than just text, but still, I've figured out how to do outlines in GIMP, it's all downhill from here.
The blue background is just to make the outline visible, eventually I'll print on a transparent vynil page.
The emblems on the head tube and seat tube are more troublesome, since those are actual images rather than just text, but still, I've figured out how to do outlines in GIMP, it's all downhill from here.
