Ladies' Favorit 1981

[dimrub]

I ended up using a nut as a die, thus fixing the cotter pin, and as for the missing dust cap on one of the pedals...

I visited the local bicycle museum today. I happen to know the owner a bit. The owner I said? Well, aside from owning it, he's the one organizing the exhibitions, fixing and tidying up the bikes, cleaning the place, in short - it's a one man show. I can - and probably will - write a separate post or a dozen about this place and this man, because they are amazing. The exhibition consists of probably over 300 bicycles, starting with the draisine, through the bone shaker, the penny-farthings (he has two, a full size and a kids version), and all the way to the present day racing machines, touching along the way every conceivable direction the bicycle industry took. Among other bikes there was a ladies favorit, very similar to mine, but in a pristine condition. The story is something about the husband buying it for his wife back in the 80s, but she ended up never riding it, or something along these lines. So this one was a single speed too! And it had a sticker of one of the Israel's largest bicycle store chains, which perhaps means that they were imported at some point, back in the 80s.

Anyway, that was quite the detour. The relevant part is that the owner has a huge workshop, filled with hundreds more of bikes, either overflow from the exhibition, or things that he picked up, or got donated, and never got around to fixing. He said he has all the possible parts, and to talk to him if I need anything. I asked him for that dust cap, but if not, perhaps I can 3d-print it. I definitely don't want the bearings showing.

I cleaned most of the parts today, reassembled the front hub, and threw away all the old (caged) bearings - the balls have arrived from China, so I'm doing this one properly. Got the handlebar and the wheel rims to finish, will perhaps touch up the paint on the stem, and then it will be prepping the frame for repainting. My wife hasn't picked up the color yet, and I'm getting a feeling this will become the showstopper at some point.

 

[dimrub]

I tried figuring out the length of the rear wheel spokes today. According to my measurements, the rim thickness is 2mm, the internal diameter is 620mm, number of spokes is 36, number of crossings either side is 3. According to the hub specs, the diameter is 56.6mm both sides, and the axle protrusion is 22mm (gear side) and 24mm (non-gear side) - I'm not at all sure about these. I then plug all of this into this calculator, and the answer I get back is 301mm. This doesn't make sense! The front wheel has the same lacing pattern and a smaller hub, yet its spokes are 300mm long. I'm confused.

Also, I tried prepping the fork for paining. Removal of paint is hard work. I tried sanding it off, that didn't work well. I then tried eccentric sander, I'm not sure I have the right discs for the job, and anyway it's not a blast either. I think I'll try chemistry, given that physics didn't work all that well.

 

[Chris S]

I think the 56.6 value is wrong. The distance between opposing holes on my AW hub is about 70mm, measured with a ruler. Perhaps you should be using the Pitch Circle Diameter? It's defined as, "The diameter of the circle which passes through the centre of all the studs, wheel bolts or wheel rim holes." According to the spec it's 65mm, which is much nearer to what I estimated.

 

[Chris S]

I think there is quite a lot of BS involved in spoke length calculations. From what I remember there is at least a 5mm tolerance in spoke length. I rebuilt a scrap wheel using a 2-cross lacing pattern. It originally had a 3-cross lacing pattern and the same spokes still fitted.

I didn't bother with interlacing either. It wasn't used on British bikes until the late 1960s and it still isn't used on Bromptons.

 

[dimrub]

I think there is quite a lot of BS involved in spoke length calculations. From what I remember there is at least a 5mm tolerance in spoke length.

This is great news. All this talk about sub-millimeter measurements stressed me out a little bit.

 

[dimrub]

Started prepping the frame for repainting by smearing paint remover on the fork, then waiting half an hour. Either the stuff, or the waiting time were not sufficient: some of the paint went off afterwards, but most of it remained, even after some vigorous work with a steel brush. Another attempt tomorrow.

 

[dimrub]

An important milestone was reached today: my wife has chosen the new color. I've removed the decals using a heat gun and took a whack at removing the paint. I think I didn't give the paint remover enough time, so I put on another layer now and will leave it overnight. I already have the primer, the paint and the clear coat, so everything is ready for the painting process.

 

[dimrub]

Removed today the paint from the fork, it's ready to receive the primer, if the rain stops for long enough.

 

[dimrub]

Painted the fork.

Doesn't look all that smooth from close up. Mitigation: not to look at it from close up. Also, I don't have a tool (yet) for crown removal, so had to paint with the crown on.

 

[Chris S]

Painted the fork.

View attachment 721961

View attachment 721962

Doesn't look all that smooth from close up. Mitigation: not to look at it from close up. Also, I don't have a tool (yet) for crown removal, so had to paint with the crown on.

Did you use spray cans?

 

[dimrub]

Did you use spray cans?

Yep. 2 layers of primer, 2 of finish coat and 2 of clear coat.

 

[dimrub]

So I have this nagging concern about the proper way of stripping the paint. I tried paint remover first, and it produced some very modest results. I reapplied it, but it was a case of quickly vanishing marginal gains. I then tried sandpaper, both dry and wet, and it was an exercise in futility. Finally, I used an orbital polisher, which removed the paint from the fork in a few minutes, no drama involved. Seems like a clear winner, except I'm worried this is somehow wrong - simply on the basis of this method not being mentioned on the Sheldon Brown's site. I also need to buy a proper mask, probably protective glasses too, since despite the polisher being supplied with a kind of integrated hoover, the smell of paint could be felt distinctively, which means paint particles in the air. In short, any advice on this is most appreciated.

 

[Chris S]

The two most popular options here seem to be 'oily rag' restorations or powder coating. Having said that @Rooster1 has some experience of spraying bikes.

 

[dimrub]

I went ahead and removed most of the paint with the eccentric:

Not bad, I say! Another 10 minutes with the damn thing, and an hour with the sandpaper for the nooks and cranies, and we're done. Also, most of the parts arrived. Only the hub (duh!) and the chain guard are still en-route. Once the painting is done, at the very least I can reconnect the fork and start rebuilding the front wheel - by then perhaps the hub will be here as well, to allow the rear wheel to proceed too. Progress is being made!

 

[dimrub]

Did the second layer of primer today. The paint ran out in the middle of it. I must be doing something wrong - or/and there must be a better way of doing this. Buying larger cans? Buying liquid paint and using a spraying machine, like in most of the restoration videos? Spraying more sparingly? Just making peace with the fact that I'm going to run through 3 cans of paint (primer final and clear) for every bicycle I do?