BSA Tour de France

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biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
The penny has just dropped :idea:
With the nut inside the B.B. and using a socket to tighten it, the B.B. cup will unscrew.
Apologies for the muppetry.

When i first watched a video showing it , i thought what utter tosh .......
then went out in the garage and tried it and the rest is history
 
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EltonFrog

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
Just spent an enjoyable couple of hours cleaning and polishing, still a bit to do though. Just worked out how to get the headset cups out!
7C812845-E039-4E37-98D2-3995C38096E7.jpeg
 
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EltonFrog

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
@CarlP either use a spanner that fits across the flats poss 9/16ths size but could be wrong , if it's rock tight then get a big nut and bolt poke the bolt through from the bottom bracket and just keep tightening the nut up and as it gets really tight it should start to unwind the bottom bracket shell , see 1966 Dawes Debonair

It is a 9/16th spanner for that, but I couldn’t get it to turn. So I’ve decided to leave it , make sure I give it a good clean and replace the bearings with new ones in a race, which, incidentally I bought from a really old fashioned bike shop in Abingdon, cheaper than online.
 

biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
It is a 9/16th spanner for that, but I couldn’t get it to turn. So I’ve decided to leave it , make sure I give it a good clean and replace the bearings with new ones in a race, which, incidentally I bought from a really old fashioned bike shop in Abingdon, cheaper than online.

Its nice to hear that a "real" bike shop were price competitive
 

biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
@CarlP see it does work , ok they are not astounding .
Try rubbing some t-cut or cutting paste on the paint and then letting it go dry before trying next bit and see if that makes any difference just avoid the decals
 
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EltonFrog

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
Daft question this, cos I should have checked before I threw the old tyres away. Are they 27x 1.1/4?
 
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EltonFrog

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
34003488-386A-4C35-83BC-07B9F46C7EDB.jpeg
Handlebars have come up nicely, the rest of the chrome is soaking in Oxalic acid at the moment.

The rest of the bike is in bits in varying states of refurb, new bearings have been bought for the BB.

I'm trying to decide what to with the frame, whether to clean and tidy and put it back together, or have it repainted. It's not worth it financially, but by gosh it would look nice if it was.

The chrome on the wheels is in a bit of a state, not sure what to with those atm. I have a pair of spare Bontrager wheels that are bout 6 years old. can you get a 5 speed cassette, that would fit those?
 
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biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
Daft question this, cos I should have checked before I threw the old tyres away. Are they 27x 1.1/4?
Yes should be and go to sjs https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres/gumwall-schwalbe-hs159-tyre-27-x-1-14-inch-2832630/ these are good i think and i have used quite a few pr's of them .

If your bontrager wheels are the newer style hub then afraid not unless you buy individual single speed cogs and then space them out to suit , but be careful as i wouldn't expect them to fit in the rear drop outs very easily .

I would forget the chromed steel rims and have a look at these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27-x-1-1...224371&hash=item3aab01a6e8:g:wyUAAOSwiYlaAnoN
 
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EltonFrog

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
Yes should be and go to sjs https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres/gumwall-schwalbe-hs159-tyre-27-x-1-14-inch-2832630/ these are good i think and i have used quite a few pr's of them .

If your bontrager wheels are the newer style hub then afraid not unless you buy individual single speed cogs and then space them out to suit , but be careful as i wouldn't expect them to fit in the rear drop outs very easily .

I would forget the chromed steel rims and have a look at these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27-x-1-1...224371&hash=item3aab01a6e8:g:wyUAAOSwiYlaAnoN

Thanks for the reply and info. The wheels look interesting, and buying those would save me a lot of faffing about.
 
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