biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
will see what is planed
Claud Butler Sierra
- Thread starter Drago
- Start date
-
- Tags
- claud butler
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
will see what is planed
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Today I'm planning for a shake down ride. I'll be heading a couple of villages along to bag another OS cut mark. Let's see how Colin performs.
Stonechat
Guru
- Location
- Staines, Middlesex
Well done on a good job
Pleased to see it is getting used
Pleased to see it is getting used
hopless500
Trundling along
- Location
- not-as-flat-as-you-think Norfolk
That looks lovely 
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
No problem, thank you. I plan to get another 40 years use out of Colin.
woodbutcher
Veteran
- Location
- S W France
You've made a star out of Colin and l feel like lm dragging my heels with Coppi , make mental note to drink less tea and get a move on 
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
10 mile shake down ride with Colin this morning. Took some essential tools in case of minor adjustments being required, but in the end precious few were needed. Middle gears slipped a bit, but altering the angle of dangle on the rear mech to bring more chain around the gears cured that. And some slight tweaking of the seat position. that was it.
Brakes were spot in, and he rolls beautifully, which he ought to with the care and effort I put into cleaning, lubing and adjusting the bearings and tyre selection. Very comfortable, one of those bikes that just rolls along gently at about 15MPH with minimal pedal input, followed by hundreds of metres of rolling.
Id forgotten how noisy freewheels were after a modern diet of freehubs! I may try and locate a 6 speed freewheel, but i'm not too fussed. I'd also forgotten the art of smooth downtube non indexed gear shifting. It's a real skill that every cyclist should have, and mine is ashamedly rusty.
If Mrs D is well enough to be left for a few hours I'm planning a longer ride for Colin, bag a few more OS marks and a trig.
Brakes were spot in, and he rolls beautifully, which he ought to with the care and effort I put into cleaning, lubing and adjusting the bearings and tyre selection. Very comfortable, one of those bikes that just rolls along gently at about 15MPH with minimal pedal input, followed by hundreds of metres of rolling.
Id forgotten how noisy freewheels were after a modern diet of freehubs! I may try and locate a 6 speed freewheel, but i'm not too fussed. I'd also forgotten the art of smooth downtube non indexed gear shifting. It's a real skill that every cyclist should have, and mine is ashamedly rusty.
If Mrs D is well enough to be left for a few hours I'm planning a longer ride for Colin, bag a few more OS marks and a trig.
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Dynamo fitted. Its a French Axa job with a lovely light action, and is almost silent. Next job is to wire up the bleeder.
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
woodbutcher
Veteran
- Location
- S W France
The Copi and I still haven't caught up with you, l thought l was there until l fitted the derailleurs and a new chain only to find serious alignment issues.
So now l've blown next weeks budget on a Park alignment tool. I just hope its as effective as they make out !
OP
OP
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
I've acquired a 6 speed freewheel. When I can be bothered I'll fit it.
Hi guys
I've just picked up a 1983 Sierra from the 'almost original' owner - he purchased it in 1985 and it sounds like it's spent most of it's life in a shed!
I'm really keen to do a sympathetic restoration and keep it as original as possible.
Seems mechanically ok ish, but I'll obviously strip down and rebuild. The main issue is surface rust - not too bad on the frame itself but the rims and spokes are caked in corrosion.
Is there any way to chemically remove the surface rust from the frame without damaging the paint and decals (too) much as I'd love to be able to keep the original patina?
Are the wheels worth the effort of overhauling? I'm happy to rebuild with new spokes if you think it's worth it, or is there a miracle chemical option that I could try? (eg give them a bath in white wine vinegar, oxalic acid, oven cleaner etc)?
Thanks for your help
(PS it cost £199.95 in 1984! (equivalent of £650 today - bargain!)
W
I've just picked up a 1983 Sierra from the 'almost original' owner - he purchased it in 1985 and it sounds like it's spent most of it's life in a shed!
I'm really keen to do a sympathetic restoration and keep it as original as possible.
Seems mechanically ok ish, but I'll obviously strip down and rebuild. The main issue is surface rust - not too bad on the frame itself but the rims and spokes are caked in corrosion.
Is there any way to chemically remove the surface rust from the frame without damaging the paint and decals (too) much as I'd love to be able to keep the original patina?
Are the wheels worth the effort of overhauling? I'm happy to rebuild with new spokes if you think it's worth it, or is there a miracle chemical option that I could try? (eg give them a bath in white wine vinegar, oxalic acid, oven cleaner etc)?
Thanks for your help
(PS it cost £199.95 in 1984! (equivalent of £650 today - bargain!)
W
Attachments
Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
Hello and welcome to the forum wilf. Maybe you should have started a dedicated thread for your restoration, perhaps mods could sort that.
Great find. It will restore into a very usable and comfortable bike. I’d suggest you replace all cable inner and outer, the chain, tyres and tubes will likely replacement too.
You could take a similar approach to this “rustoration” by MonkeyShred on the frame. The corrosion on the alloy parts should clean off as you suggest:
View: https://youtu.be/ZevADI6Bx7w
Great find. It will restore into a very usable and comfortable bike. I’d suggest you replace all cable inner and outer, the chain, tyres and tubes will likely replacement too.
You could take a similar approach to this “rustoration” by MonkeyShred on the frame. The corrosion on the alloy parts should clean off as you suggest:
View: https://youtu.be/ZevADI6Bx7w
