Carrera frame project

[Kempstonian]

The Townsend would make tidy fixed without too much work, it looks like its got forward facing dropouts, but its too big for me.

Same here Dave - its a 23" frame. Once I'm on it I can ride it but its a bit uncomfortable when I stop and have to straddle the crossbar!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

If it had been a better frame I might have put my new wheels on it and sold it but I don't think it would be worth doing that now. Maybe one of my neighbours could do with a really cheap bike - I need the space!

If I bought a new Shimano UN55 bottom bracket, what chainset would I need to get? It was so much simpler in the old days when everything seemed to fit!

If you take two bikes with identical geometry, but one is hi-tensile gas pipe and the other is, say Reynolds 501 or 531, you will find very very little difference in perceived ride quality. I have lugged & brazed Raleigh Pioneers in 23 1/2" size, one made with 18-23 Hi-tensile the other with 501, so I can compare the exact same designs back to back. Both ride nice, the 501 is marginally lighter so could possibly be perceived as more "lively", but in pure comfort terms I don't think there is anything much in it. Your Townsend might be worth more used if it had a "quality" lightweight frame, but I doubt it would feel much different in the saddle.

I haven't encountered much in the way of component compatibility issues. All mine apart from my 3-speed are square taper BB axles, and I have been happily mixing and matching cranksets from donor MTB's and hybrids between bikes. So long as the axle is long enough for the inner sprocket not to foul the chainstay, I have been able to fit pretty much which bits I wanted. Generally I have found a like-for-like swap to be fine; if a triple came off, a different triple will go on instead.
The only mismatch I had was finding out a 40/48 double wouldn't fit where a 28/38/48 triple came off as it needed a longer axle so the 40T didn't touch the frame.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Same here Dave - its a 23" frame. Once I'm on it I can ride it but its a bit uncomfortable when I stop and have to straddle the crossbar!

The Verenti I have on the turbo is a little like that, when I stop and put a foot down I have to make sure things are either side of the top tube

 

[Kempstonian]

If you take two bikes with identical geometry, but one is hi-tensile gas pipe and the other is, say Reynolds 501 or 531, you will find very very little difference in perceived ride quality. I have lugged & brazed Raleigh Pioneers in 23 1/2" size, one made with 18-23 Hi-tensile the other with 501, so I can compare the exact same designs back to back. Both ride nice, the 501 is marginally lighter so could possibly be perceived as more "lively", but in pure comfort terms I don't think there is anything much in it. Your Townsend might be worth more used if it had a "quality" lightweight frame, but I doubt it would feel much different in the saddle.

I haven't encountered much in the way of component compatibility issues. All mine apart from my 3-speed are square taper BB axles, and I have been happily mixing and matching cranksets from donor MTB's and hybrids between bikes. So long as the axle is long enough for the inner sprocket not to foul the chainstay, I have been able to fit pretty much which bits I wanted. Generally I have found a like-for-like swap to be fine; if a triple came off, a different triple will go on instead.
The only mismatch I had was finding out a 40/48 double wouldn't fit where a 28/38/48 triple came off as it needed a longer axle so the 40T didn't touch the frame.

Thanks for the info, I'll do some measuring up and try to figure out what length of axle I need to get. It would have been so much easier if the seller had left the axle in. They left one of the end cups in for some reason... and it wasn't seized, so they could have kept it. Why they kept the axle and other end cap beats me.

 

[wonderdog]

I'll try that too... but there's not a lot to grip on. It might have been better if it was not so smooth. Worth a try though.

Shakespeare knew all about bicycle mechanics ... from Troilus and Cressida ...

Have I not tarried?
Ay, the grinding; but you must tarry the bolting.
Have I not tarried?
Ay, the bolting, but you must tarry the leavening.

Admittedly it was to do with baking bread but haven't we all tarried and ground over the likes of wedged-in stems and seat posts?

 

[Kempstonian]

Today I went to see a scrap merchant who lives a couple of streets away. I pass his house when I go to town on the bus and it looks like Steptoe's yard! I've noticed that he often has bikes and bits of bike piled up in his driveway, so as I had a couple of things to dispose of I called in to see if he wanted thme... and to check out his bike stuff. He has a lot of MTB, ranging from frames to almost complete bikes, and recently I've spotted a couple of old style racing bikes.

However today he told me he's sold two that he had and was left with just one. I asked how much he wanted for it and he said (or rather he mouthed, as he's dumb)... £5! I'm actually not sure if he's deaf but if he is he reads lips well, because he understood what I was telling him. I'm going to drop in every time I see another road bike from now on.

My £5 bike is almost complete but as you might expect its far from pristine! It is a Sears and Roebuck 'Free Spirit' Ten Speed. Very much like this one:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOfCbGAzRac
except its red with half chromed forks. Its a very unusual bike (I'll put up some pics later) but a very low end one. It does however have Weinmann centre pull brakes and the wheels have alloy rims. I believe they are 700 size but its hard to make out as the tyres are quite perished on the sidewalls.

 

[Kempstonian]

The bike shown here is identical to how mine would have been when new:

 

[biggs682]

@Kempstonian you are getting as bad as me

 

[Kempstonian]

@Kempstonian you are getting as bad as me

I know... I don't do things by halves, do I?

*Makes mental note to check the price of larger sheds... *

 

[Kempstonian]

Tell you what though, my fiver has got me Shimano shifter levers, derailleur (Shimano Eagle) and front changer (Shimano Thunderbird), a five sprocket cassette, useable brake levers and some Dia-Compe centre pull brakes. Also the wheels might be useable too. The handlebars are ok but steel, so I'll use the alloy ones I already have.

The chainset is a weird one though and I can't see how to remove it at the moment. I think one crank is bent anyway, so I'll be changing that (the chainset I mean, not just the crank).

The frame is heavy and quite unusual. The top tube actually gets thinner near the seat tube, going from 26mm to 21.5mm. You can see it on the above catalogue page. Top of the seat stays is a style I've never seen before too.

 

[Kempstonian]

The 'fiver' bike is completely stripped down now and all useable bits have been cleaned and degreased, etc. The bare frame weighs a ton! I will be returning that to the scrap dealer...

The wheels are useable (or will be). They are 700c with alloy rims (marked ETRTO 622 x 17 and ALESA ALLOY 217-700c but no manufacturer's name). The front one is true but the rear has a wobble which I think can be trued up. The cassette has Shimano on it and the front wheel has a Sachs hub. I can't see any markings on the rear hub but is likely to be the same I would think.

I got the crankset off but its unuseable. The bottom bracket had 5/16" bearings - they look huge! There was no actual spindle, the left and right cranks were one continuous piece of metal. The two end cups just pulled out, they weren't threaded at all. Once they (and the ballraces) were removed the cranks were removed by twisting them around and feeding the left crank through the BB. (Sounds more complicated than it was)

 

[biggs682]

How is the Carrera progressing ?
ALESA is the makers name of the rims
Ha the old 1 piece cranks that weigh an awful lot

 

[Kempstonian]

How is the Carrera progressing ?
ALESA is the makers name of the rims
Ha the old 1 piece cranks that weigh an awful lot

Well its coming along, now I have parts to put on it! I had to spend quite a long time cleaning during this last week or so. Once I get the back wheel trued up and have sourced a chainset and BB I'll have almost everything I need to build it up.

 

[Kempstonian]

Just been to Halfords to pick up my cable sets. They weren't supposed to be ready until Thursday.

Oh yeah... and I dropped off the 'fiver bike' frame to the scrap dealer. He was quite surprised to see it again!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

the old 1 piece cranks that weigh an awful lot

They seemed to be commonly fitted to some Halfords Apollo MTB's of a certain era, such bikes often also had steel rims! Heavy yes, but also tough as old boots and able to withstand abuse & collisions.