Ideas, what do you think?

[Longmate94]

Hello everyone, thank you for welcoming me into this forum, may i just add now that I am trained as a Motor Vehicle/Motorsport technician and so I am not too sure about the terminology of Bicycles. This means ill apologise in advance if my terminology is incorrect however hopefully you would be able to understand what im talking about by the way i describe it.

I have just recently moved to the Republic of Ireland from England, so sadly my beloved car has had to be put away into storage until my return in a few years time. This meant that i had to find a form of transport over here and seems that i couldnt bring my car due to how much it would have cost to bring it over and insure it ect... i decided to stay off of cars for the time being, therefore i bought an old International road bike, the bike has been stood for a long while and so the price of €30 isnt anything much to complain about.

As you can see it is an old looking bike, we dont know the exact age of the bike however the local bike shop say that it is about 30 years old, the bike looks different to that now as all the rear end of the bike has been finished, the rear wheel had been trued, new brakes and cable, new tyre and inner tube and the quaterpin has been refit as it loosened off on a ride i was going on which the pedal arm was slowly becoming slacker and slacker until it had fallen out, thankfully i was able to find the original quaterpin and managed to refit it, i just popped another nut on top until i can find another one to replace it with.

I have a plan for the bike and please bear with me, the bike at the moment as you can see is a metallic blue on a steel frame, the front wheel still needs replacing however I found out with the rear wheel because i have bought a bike of the 27" Wheel variety it is harder to find the wheels for it, and if i can find the wheel it is so expensive I might aswell change the both of them, however if i do find a 27" wheel i will fit it as this one is warped and there is a spoke missing. Also every time the front brakes are applied it feels like the front wheel is trying to fold under the bike so would this mean that the headset is on the way out also?

At home over in England there is the remains of a Vertigo Mountain Bike which is now only good for parts, there is the front suspension, the Disc Brake (which is brand new and has only been used 2 or 3 times) and the remainder of the frame. also there are two wheels which the front has a disc brake mount. my plan is mad but simple, to fit the front suspension forks from the Vertigo with the 26" wheels and tyres so i will also be able to use the bike in all weathers and not just when the sun is out. The rear wheel is also an 8 Speed instead of a 5 Speed.

Well if i can fit the suspension forks on the front of this bike so the bike would be able to handle the modern day roads and gravel paths as i would like a bike to do, this means fitting the tyres off the mountain bike also which i am sure they would fit if i manage to find narrower tyres, if the fork fits the frame then this means that i am able to use the bike for more things then just up and down roads, also the disc brake would be used which means that the bike would for once stop on demand, these caliper brakes aren't much use in the rain or when they are cold.

Now because the suspension forks are black i am wanting to paint the bike white to contrast with the black forks, im wanting to take the uncared for and unmaintained look from this bike, make it lose atleast 10 years off its age, the bike had been sat for a long time previously and was not maintained until i came along and bought it. The bike does however have some surface rust on the frame and this will need to be sorted before any painting can be even thought of, what would would people suggest to put over the rust to 'kill' it, i know i should do this before priming and flatting off ready for the top coat. The mudguards like i say need to be made look more modern and so im thinking of painting those and the luggage rack satin black. Also the bike is fitted with a dynamo, how can i reweld this back on to the suspension forks if the forks are aluminium or would it just be better to purchase a dynamo hub?

I hope your starting to get an image of the bike in your head, im wanting to keep the drop bars as for the long runs i like to be tucked away in a more areodynamic position, however im planning for black bar tape.

please if you have any suggestions on how to manage this and any tips this would be most welcomed.

Also any veiws on turning this old tired bike into a fully rebuilt cross over bike would be deeply appreciated

Thank you if you have read down to here because i know this would have been long winded

Matthew

 

[Jon George]

You don't say if your LBS (Local Bike Shop) trued the wheel, but it would be worthwhile asking their opinion on the state of the bike. Given your mechanical expertise, I'd settle for stripping down what you can and getting some grease where it needs it. And if you're planning on staying over there for some time, I'd also suggest saving a bit of money and buying something newer that would be less of a pain to source replacement bits for. Good luck!

 

[Longmate94]

You don't say if your LBS (Local Bike Shop) trued the wheel, but it would be worthwhile asking their opinion on the state of the bike. Given your mechanical expertise, I'd settle for stripping down what you can and getting some grease where it needs it. And if you're planning on staying over there for some time, I'd also suggest saving a bit of money and buying something newer that would be less of a pain to source replacement bits for. Good luck!

Yes Jon, sorry, it was my local bike shop that trued the wheel, i didnt have the tools and even if i did i wouldnt know how to do it, they say the bike is solid however they said that a few parts require changing, because the age of the bike they suggested to buy a doner bike (what they didnt know is i already had one) which is why the question was asked. Im hoping to find someone that has done this before and can give me a few tips

Thank you for your reply

Matthew

 

[Tim Hall]

Hello. I think you'll be very lucky if the front suspension forks from your MTB fit the bike in the picture, and if they do, the steering geometry will be all to cock. A swift google search suggests the donor MTB (Vertigo) is what is politely referred to as a BSO, or Bike Shaped Object, so the forks will be heavy and poorly made. I think that plan is best avoided.

A better plan might be to either get a new 27 inch wheel to replace the warped one (they are not so common but still available). Or change both to what is termed 700C. You'll have to move the brake blocks to cater for the slight change in diameter if you do. Getting the original trued up buy your LBS, as Jon says, is another option.

Painting can either be done with the application of elbow grease, suitable abrasive paper and a rattle can or strip it all down and drop it off at your local powder coater/industrial finisher.

Good luck (and it's cotter pin, not quater pin. At least it is this side of the water)

 

[Longmate94]

Hello. I think you'll be very lucky if the front suspension forks from your MTB fit the bike in the picture, and if they do, the steering geometry will be all to cock. A swift google search suggests the donor MTB (Vertigo) is what is politely referred to as a BSO, or Bike Shaped Object, so the forks will be heavy and poorly made. I think that plan is best avoided.

A better plan might be to either get a new 27 inch wheel to replace the warped one (they are not so common but still available). Or change both to what is termed 700C. You'll have to move the brake blocks to cater for the slight change in diameter if you do. Getting the original trued up buy your LBS, as Jon says, is another option.

Painting can either be done with the application of elbow grease, suitable abrasive paper and a rattle can or strip it all down and drop it off at your local powder coater/industrial finisher.

Good luck (and it's cotter pin, not quater pin. At least it is this side of the water)

Thank you tim, your right, maybe the added weight and the unproved reliability is something i need to think about, the sprung mass would be a lot more than i would have been thinking about when i was dreaming this mad plan up, ill have to have a little look in the bike shops how much it would cost for a set of 700c wheels to put on my bike would cost, hopefully not too much as im not exactly flush

Matthew

 

[raleighnut]

^^^^+1 on the forks but you may be lucky on 700c wheels fitting (more tyre choice) but 27" wheels ain't obsolete yet' Nice looking Mixte though.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Cotter pin over here as well. The 27" tire is still sold over here, as we were late to the party with 700c sizes. An American company like Bike Nashbar may have some. Limited suppliers and styles, but they are still sold.

 

[screenman]

I was told by Ken Ryall that the cotter pin goes in a certain way, trouble is it is so long since I had them I cannot remember which way.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I would restore with either 27" or modify to 700c wheels.
Keep it as original as possible but make the minimal changes to make it rideable/useable.

It looks a rather lovely "mixte" style frame. They are getting quite rare these days, but they are very elegant.

Nice!

 

[hopless500]

Interested to see what you do to it. I bought a mixte bike last night (well, paid for would be more accurate). Hopefully it'll be with me by the end of the week

 

[gbb]

There's two ways of looking at it.
Upgrade the wheels to 700Cs, buy long reach brake calipers (necessary because 700Cs are a smaller diameter than 27s).
Pros and cons...you can buy say some Shimano R501 wheels quite cheap, you'll then have reliability. But long drop brakes don't perform that well IME. Also you may struggle to make the 27 inch mudguards look ok over 700 wheels. You'll also need to cold set the rear triangle to accommodate modern wheels. You'll also need to think about an appropriate cassette, tyres and tubes.
Its not going to be cheap. Depends on what you want to spend, that JUST deals with the wheels.

Alternatively, as said you can still buy 27 inch wheels. Alloy rims give better braking, avoid chrome rims at all costs if you consider second hand, they're useless when braking.
Even new 27 wheels are (or at least were) modestly cheap. They're not the height of technology but can be quite reliable, I have some cheap alloy 700s on my knockaround. I paid £18 new for one (albeit some years ago). The hubs and bearings are basic and usually poorly adjusted when new. I stripped, greased and properly adjusted mine before even fitting them, they're still running true and good several years later.

If you get carried away, you can keep spending. Ive done it...an 80s 531 Raleigh, new wheels, calipers, cranks, gears, saddle, seatpost, etc etc. A mix of new and good second hand will still easily cost you a couple hundred quid. While I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, and its done many many winter miles hard commuting and is still perfectly good, but it wont go any faster than a well maintained, old looking old bike. New components wont generally make it any faster or more reliable. Keep an old bike well maintained, it'll still almost perform as well as a shiny new one.

Another alternative is just to upgrade as things do wear out, spread the cost.

 

[Longmate94]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, I have found a 27" wheel and tyre and it fits very nice, looks great too, however now the bike has run into a small problem, I'm unsure on what it is or what to do, my bike makes an annoying creaking noise when I'm riding it however is silent if I'm pushing it, I think its something to do with my headset? Could any of you explain on what to do with it?

 

[Longmate94]

I would restore with either 27" or modify to 700c wheels.
Keep it as original as possible but make the minimal changes to make it rideable/useable.

It looks a rather lovely "mixte" style frame. They are getting quite rare these days, but they are very elegant.

Nice!

Thank you, I'm starting to think I'll keep the bike original spec. I just need to find a place that can match this paint as the surface rust is starting to annoy me when I look at the bike, would it be a shame to change the colour?

 

[Longmate94]

For those who are interested in the originality of the bike, here she is when I collected her from the LBS earlier with the new wheel and tyre, she's starting to look loved again

 

[Fab Foodie]

Thank you, I'm starting to think I'll keep the bike original spec. I just need to find a place that can match this paint as the surface rust is starting to annoy me when I look at the bike, would it be a shame to change the colour?

On my old bikes I'm prepared to sacrifice some cosmetic rust for an original untouched finish. I think some apply a clear cure-rust, but I just wipe mine over with a greasy rag. It's much like the wear and patina on old furniture. When they get too shabby or have the cash and time I'd give them a full restore paint job. But that's just my preference.
If she's too shabby, get her a respray. At the end of the day it's keeping her going and having fun that counts!