Help With Vintage Road Bike

[uphillstruggler]

Hello.Dave

Don't throw the saddle just yet, your alternative would be to have it recovered.


A mate of mine owns an upholstery company and will be recovering an old saddle from an old falcon road bike I have been given.

He is based in somerset so I can let you have details if required.

Whatever, you decide, well done for your hard work and I hope you enjoy the fruits.

Best of luck with the rest of the revamp

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

The rear mech in the picture looks like the super record I bought s/h and fitted to my bike in the 80s. Very precise and smooth used then with friction DT shifter, and will work well with a wider range freewheel block than the one shown if required.

+1. I have one too. Amazing piece of kit.

Examination of its pivots and springs with this info may also help the OP get closer to the date of the bike's build.

 

[Dave W]

Cheers for that, I've put some boot oil/polish on the saddle and it's not looking that bad. It's not the original saddle by the look of it anyway so I don't mind changing it eventually.

I'll probably change it for a white one along with the tyres cos they are 28's and I want something skinnier.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

put the pedals in classifieds, or on the bay. one man's trash and all that…

 

[jugglingphil]

There are a couple of restored/immaculate GIOS Torino's on ebay at the moment if you want some inspiration.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1977-GIOS...528?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2318a5e4b0

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gios-Tori...0684389623?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item20c1716cf7

There are also various GIOS bits; chain ring, crank set, seatpost, decals, shift levers, forks, etc.

Great thread, great project, can't wait to see how you finish it.

 

[raindog]

The first of those ebay examples is perfection, the second is, er.......

 

[Dave W]

I wasn't initially going to bother with the decals etc, just paint the frame but it would be a real shame not to so I found a US supplier for the decals and ordered a set.

It will be interesting to see if that ebay monstrosity actually sells.

 

[uphillstruggler]

I have to agree with raindog that first bike is a thing of beauty

The second looks like huggy bear finished it off.

 

[Ian H]

Turbo saddles were once ubiquitous. I think I have a couple lurking in the shed. Nothing special, though.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

I dream of finding something like that in a shed, or someone saying "take this ol' thing off my hands".

Looks like you've left the non-drive side bottom bracket cup in place.

Did you spray it with a "rattlecan" or have you got a gun?

A decent "period" (and highly regarded) saddle would be a Selle San Marco Rolls. You can get them off Ebay for £40/£50 both new and second hand and I've seen them in white.

I wouldn't junk the pedals: judging by the rest of the kit I would think they'd be a good pair, depends whether they're servicable or not. At least give them away.

Keep posting I've really enjoyed following your progress.

PS The second Ebay bike: there is so much you could say about it (and the owner) but for me, the bell sums it up...

 

[Dave W]

Yep the bottom bracket drive side cup has had to stay, I've got the correct tool to remove it, have tried penetrating oil etc and am still rounding off the holes by trying to remove it. The last resort would have been heating it or using grips, both of which could damage the frame so I left it in.

I sprayed it with a can, not ideal but if you're patient the finish isn't bad. Very thin coats are the key but I only get 2 from a can so it's not cheap. i've decided to try and get a closer match for the original colour as the blue I have is too light. I've looked in to the correct colour and it's an absolute nightmare apparently as it's a 2 stage process involving some red primer then blowing the blue over the top. Colour varies with age etc anyway so as long as it's very close I'm not fussed.

I've been oiling the saddle and it's not looking too bad at all now so will do for a while.

If anyone has a use for the pedals then by all means let me know and you can have them for nowt.

Only thing left now is to spray the frame and forks again then rebuild. I'm aiming to finish the painting on saturday then give it a couple of days to go off before starting to slowly put it all back together from the beginning of next week.

My wife's happy now anyway cos I finished cleaning the old stuff tonight and the stench of white spirit can finally go away. I spent an hour doing the shifters which involved a tooth brush, white spirit and a needle. Still not happy with them but short of shot blasting them it's the best I can do.

 

[Ian H]

To remove the right-hand cup, if it's Italian threaded: large bolt through from the inside, lock washer and nut on the outside, tighten, then engage the bolt head with a socket, extension and long wrench bar.

 

[Dave W]

To remove the right-hand cup, if it's Italian threaded: large bolt through from the inside, lock washer and nut on the outside, tighten, then engage the bolt head with a socket, extension and long wrench bar.

Good idea but as I don't have to remove it I'd rather just leave it in, I have visions of the bottom bracket housing detaching itself from the frame and me crying for a week.

 

[raindog]

The second looks like huggy bear finished it off.

It's true, that blue isn't quite the Gios blue but it sure looks pretty. Think I'd leave it. Anyroad, you're making a nice job of it Dave.

Have you had a look at the wheel bearings yet?

 

[uphillstruggler]

Have you had a look at the wheel bearings yet?

just when yoiu thought you were getting somewhere - someone comes along with another 'issue'