An old racer

[rebelpeter]

I think the point crankarm was making was that cotter cranks were generally fitted to lower-spec bikes - and the other point he was making was that not every old bike is a 'vintage classic' as some on here seem to think. Anyway, if you know so much about this stuff, why did you ask for help identifying it..?

Yes but years ago they were all cotterpin cranks and worked perfectly well, and I asked about it as I had not seen one before.

 

[rebelpeter]

My Holdsworth had cottered cranks when I found it, but the frames a peach, so don't disregard it altogether ....
I'll wait for pictures.

I never disregard any old racers as there is always someone after them, I have a couple of older Claud Butlers too, and just sold a pair of Raleigh Bananas I have all sorts of people looking out for them and a contract with the local council tip and so I get quite a few of them, this one is in good condition and rides lovely . Thankx. . .

 

[rebelpeter]

He may know a lot of stuff, but not THAT much stuff.To put it another way, imagine your jeremy clarkson and your driving a ferrari across europe and it develops an annoying sound. You may know everything about cars but the first thing you would do is ask a mechanic or something.[/quote

I have not seen one of this make before so wondered if anyone else had

 

[black'n'yellow]

I have all sorts of people looking out for them and a contract with the local council tip and so I get quite a few of them, .

would now be a good time to tell you that a couple of years ago, I skipped a perfectly good Frontiera 531st frame simply because I couldn't be arsed to strip it for ebay..?

 

[Crankarm]

Huh I am a bike engineer and I sell old racers and already have a buyer for it so dont think I will bin £175, I have Dawes, Raleighs, BSAs one of which is a 58 BSA I keep for myself . Cotterpin cranks were no trouble at all and dead easy to get on and off .

£175!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Blimey . I'm in the wrong job. Why are you coming on here if you are an experienced dealer? And no pics!


The problem with cotter pins was they came off or fell out far too easily. If the design was any good it would still be in use today. It is not as it was crap. I had an old Raleigh Carlton that had cottered cranks and they were forever working loose. In the end I fitted a Campag chainset with sealed cartridge BB which was a revelation in comparison. This was in the early 1990s. The frame looked good but it had corroded terribly from the inside so if I had gone a head and had it blasted for re-enamelling it would have developed lots of tiny holes making it as good as scrap pointless to have re-enamelled and not even good scrap as the frame was corroded from the inside. I wouldn't ride a 40 year old bike that had been sitting in a damp shed or at the bottom of a garden for 25 years expecting it to be safe. The Carlton head tube snapped while I was riding up the Hartside pass doing the C2C. Fortunately it was on the way up and not down. I found it in a basement of one of the houses I rented as a hard up student in the eighties. However a brand new retro frame would be something of beauty - fancy lug work and the frame builder's artistic additions.

 

[rebelpeter]

Well like everything else they change many things but not nessasarily cos they were no good , I never had any cotterpin problems of them coming loose and a simple way to stop this should it happen is a spot of locktight and a spring washer never failed me, and why should I not come on here as I am experienced well I guess over 60 years into bikes would make me experienced but I am not a dealer as such it is a hobby that brings me in some extra cash, and no pics is as I do not have my camera plus I would not know how to put a photo on here anyway as I am into bikes and know nothing about computers.

 

[rebelpeter]

would now be a good time to tell you that a couple of years ago, I skipped a perfectly good Frontiera 531st frame simply because I couldn't be arsed to strip it for ebay..?

Yeah I know what you mean and I have dumped some good things too, but any old racer I get I do up as round here many people want an old classic type racer to have a Sunday morning ride round the country roads, and most are not interested in buying a modern racer for 100s of £ just for a ride round the lanes here once a week and sometimes once a month, it is all farms here and most do not have the time for regular rides and most are not young and so they remember from when they was and like the old racers with down tube shifters etc . . . .

 

[Globalti]

So I can't interest you in buying a carbon aero bike with Di2 shifters, BB30, carbon wheels and an integrated headset then?

 

[400bhp]

Huh I am a bike engineer and I sell old racers and already have a buyer for it so dont think I will bin £175, I have Dawes, Raleighs, BSAs one of which is a 58 BSA I keep for myself . Cotterpin cranks were no trouble at all and dead easy to get on and off .

So, you are making a business from selling old bikes, then expect free advice here?

 

[tyred]

Cotter pin cranks were CRAP. Depending on what you consider good this bike may be only good for scrap. Don't waste time or money on it. Bin it.

What utter nonsense. Properly installed cotter pins will give many years trouble free service.

 

[rebelpeter]

So I can't interest you in buying a carbon aero bike with Di2 shifters, BB30, carbon wheels and an integrated headset then?

Ere well no not really I ride old classic racers although I have a modern Trek and a Cannondale but I much prefer to ride my old Raleighs and Dawes BSA classics I have 9 racers the 2 modern ones and 7 vintage ones But thanks for the offer . . .

 

[rebelpeter]

What utter nonsense. Properly installed cotter pins will give many years trouble free service.

Glad someone aggrees and I have old 50s racers with cotters that are no problem at all . .

 

[rebelpeter]

So, you are making a business from selling old bikes, then expect free advice here?

It is a business it is a lifetime hobby NOT a business I own a farm with lots of storage space and I also collect vintage motor bikes too plus a couple of vintage cars but then I dont think there is a law against asking if anyone knew anything about a Elan cycle on here is there, but then you don't have to answer if you think it is such a crime to ask on here about bikes.

 

[tyred]

Glad someone aggrees and I have old 50s racers with cotters that are no problem at all . .

I've quite a few bikes with cotterpins and they all work fine.

I would suggest that as cotterpins were the norm for the majority of European built bikes for almost a century, they are perfectly serviceable or would have been phased out by about 1900.

 

[Boris Bajic]

What utter nonsense. Properly installed cotter pins will give many years trouble free service.

I'm with tyred on this. I disliked cotter pins, because I was not good at removing or replacing them. There seems to be an art, not unlike with those funny peg things to hold motocycle rotors and flywheels on.

A cottered crank properly built is a fine thing.

Sadly, as I am left-handed but have two right hands, I had something like a 30% hit rate when either removing or installing cotters smoothly.

Joy of joys when they went straight in and gripped nicely.... Hell and misery when I ended up with skewed pins, mashed threads and tears all over the bicycle.