Claud Butler Olympic Super Coureur Project

[Gunk]

Day off today, but managed to pop down to Decathlon to buy all the inner and outer cables, I also bought these off eBay which should work well (I’m a big Sun Tour fan, the quality is exceptional) they’re from the 1970’s but will still suit the bike. I also found a brand new correct seat post in my box of bits which I bought in error for another project which was nice little bonus.

 

[Gunk]

I popped into my LBS Warlands this morning to buy the ball bearings for the headset and BB. They also managed to find a sliding and fixed bridge to repair the original Bluemels “Lightweight” mudguards.

I firstly cleaned them up, drilled out the rivets for the broken fixed bridge and drilled a couple of additional holes in the new bridge.

I riveted the new bridge on and fitted the replacement sliding bridge, I also fitted a Brompton mudflap I had spare, polished them up with “back to black” polish and for 60 year old mudguards they look really good, especially as I was going to chuck them away. Total costs £3.00!

 

[Gunk]

I made some good progress this morning, for some reason stripping and rebuilding the brakes is always one of my favourite jobs, the results are just so rewarding.

Firstly I stripped and cleaned the levers

They were covered in glue, I’m guessing this was to attach the hoods which crumbled away. One lever was tight and the other was super loose, I adjusted the width of the lever pivot point and now both work nice and smoothly with minimal play. I’ve ordered some new hoods but I may just fit them without.

I then moved on to the calipers which were in a shocking state, I doubt in 60 years they’ve ever been apart.

I stripped and cleaned them up with wire wool and WD40, I also polished the arms with Autosol.

Each lever took about half an hour and each caliper took about an hour and half but it was well worth the effort. These early Weinmann brakes are beautiful.

I had to do a cheeky trial fit, the polished ally looks fantastic against the metallic orange paintwork.

Next job is to start building the frameset up. The costs are rising rapidly, this is a labour of love as the end bill will be far more than its worth, but I’ve been after a vintage road bike for about a year now and this one is so nice it deserves to be done right.

 

[Teamfixed]

That's nice. My first bike was a CB, 531 forks, five speed, Weinmann centre pulls, Simplex gears probably.

 

[avecReynolds531]

Thanks for the thread - great work and a lovely old bike.

 

[Gunk]

Thanks for the thread - great work and a lovely old bike.

Pleasure, I hope you enjoyed all the rebuilds, I've loved doing them and it's kept me sane whilst on furlough, however I've decided this will be last one this year (I'm back to work in July)

 

[Drago]

Fandabbidozi! I'm partial to the old CB stuff, and prices are starting to rise so you got on board at the right time. That's going to be a gem when it's done.

Coincidentally, mine is now undergoing a full restoration. I've finally given in and decided that the paint is so badly damaged that it's stepped well beyond the threshold of mere patina and well into "simply knackered" territory, so it's being redone. I'm keeping it under wraps until its done, mainly because I forgot to take any photos as I went along 🤦

 

[Gunk]

The Sun Tour VX rear mech arrived today, it was what I was expected for only a tenner. These can fetch up to £40 in good condition and most are missing the mech hanger which I need, so an hour and half restoring it wasn’t the end of the world. I’ve used these VX mechs before, and they are typical Japanese Engineering, beautifully made and robust, and not silly money.

 

[EltonFrog]

Ain't you finished that yet?

 

[Gunk]

Ain't you finished that yet?

I’m a bit slow with this one Carl, I still need a wheelset so it’ll be a couple of weeks.

 

[Gunk]

This has just arrived, for once it’s ready to bolt on without any work.

 

[avecReynolds531]

The Sun Tour VX rear mech arrived today, it was what I was expected for only a tenner. These can fetch up to £40 in good condition and most are missing the mech hanger which I need, so an hour and half restoring it wasn’t the end of the world. I’ve used these VX mechs before, and they are typical Japanese Engineering, beautifully made and robust, and not silly money.

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+1
Totally agree. That VX looks beautiful.

I'm a big fan of the Suntour V and Cyclone series. Frank Berto wrote: 'From 1970 to about 1984, buyers could select from hundreds of derailleurs. SunTour's rear derailleurs were the best shifting and the best value on the market.'

 

[Gunk]

Now all the hard work and elbow greasing has finished, my favourite part, the rebuild.

So this morning I built up the headset and BB with ball bearings, both spin beautifully with no play. The hoods arrived so I fitted the bars, I also fitted the seat ,stem, crankset, rear mech and lever plus fitted the gear cable. It's now looking like a bike!

 

[EltonFrog]

Now all the hard work and elbow greasing has finished, my favourite part, the rebuild.

So this morning I built up the headset and BB with ball bearings, both spin beautifully with no play. The hoods arrived so I fitted the bars, I also fitted the seat ,stem, crankset, rear mech and lever plus fitted the gear cable. It's now looking like a bike!

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Looking FAB, the saddle looks lovely.

 

[Gunk]

Looking FAB, the saddle looks lovely.

It was originally for my Brompton, but it looks perfect on the CB, just the right amount of patina.