Pashley Picador 1983 - Does and don'ts

[Phillip_S]

Hello...

I was given a Pashley Picador over the weekend and decide to restore sympathetically, keeping the original colour on the frame and not changing too much.

Plus points.
- Both front brakes work well; hub and caliper .... the frontwheel lock mechanism (handbrake) ...doesn't, but I'm not overly concerned about that yet.
- The chrome is pitted, I don't think there is much I can do about that, but clean with T Cut (or similar) and then use a matt lacquer to protect it. I won't rechrome.
- The coating on the front basket is cracked all over, as is the very large rack on the back. (I'll simply strip and repaint)
- The rear wheels were barely spinning when I first tried riding it
- All the tyres are cracked, but I could pump them up....but will need replacing
- The Sturmey Archer gears don't work so well, the selector indexes, but it barely changes gear. I'm thinking this perhaps needs adjustment (unsure)
- The chain and Sturmey Archer Hub are more or less rust free
- The mud guards are quite badly rusted. I've removed them and will strip down to the bare metal and repaint
- I have the original ad for the bike plus the little white saddle bag (as new - never fitted) plus multitool and x1 allen key.

ISSUES
1. The freewheel axil bearing barely would barely spin, I drowned it in WD40... The free wheel runs easily now, but how do I remove the wheel ?
I thought after removing the large cap/nut it would simply be a question of pulling it off, but it's not.... I'm loath to give it a whack with a hammer and damage the
wheel

2. This may sound a bit of a daft question; how free should the drive wheel run/spin ? I haven't a clue... The drive bearing and the wheel I also drowned in WD40, it runs better, but I'm unsure how freely it should run. Say I turn the peddles to turn the drive wheel, when I stop peddling should the wheel keep turning easily or stop after 3 or 4 revolutions. The only comparison I have is my road bike, the rear wheel spins for an age after I stop turning the peddles ....but on this type of bike I'm unsure, I'm guessing it should spin for a good while, but I simply don't know. Perhaps the driveshaft bearing is rusted or the bearing in the wheel ? Again, I couldn't get the wheel off the driveshaft....

3. Any tip/tricks/do's and don't......Thoughts suggestions on how best to tackle the issues I have with the rear wheels would be much appreciated.....

This is bit of learning curve for me.

Big thanks .... Phil
I have attached some images of the bike.

 

[Cycleops]

You might find @raleighnut will be your mentor on this.

 

[classic33]

Tinfoil and clean the rims with it. The same will work on any chromed parts.
Wire brush will be to harsh.

Consider an industrial bearing supplier instead of Pashley for replacements, if required.

 

[classic33]

Have a gander at the Similar Threads at the bottom of this page.
They have similar threads which might have answers for your questions.

 

[raleighnut]

You might find @raleighnut will be your mentor on this.

Pump the tyres up and ride it, you may find you like it (or not) Trikes ain't for everyone'

2 bits of advice.

1) Never ever ever put your feet down unless getting off
2) Don't 'fight it' allow the Trike to move around under you.

 

[Paulus]

Pump the tyres up and ride it, you may find you like it (or not) Trikes ain't for everyone'

2 bits of advice.

1) Never ever ever put your feet down unless getting off
2) Don't 'fight it' allow the Trike to move around under you.

Don't you have to lean the wrong way when cornering. Ie.turning left at speed, lean to the right to stop the right wheel lifting off the ground.

 

[midlife]

 

[Phillip_S]

Dear All .... A very big thank you for all your comments...

This week, I finished prepping the mudguards, I took them back to the bare metal then sprayed them with x3 coats of primer. I'm unsure what colour they're going to end up , it's not my choice. My task is to get a good finish, which is really satifactory.

I tried the bakeofoil tip, that works really, really well. So far I've only used it on the handlebars, I plan to lacquer them, hopefully that will prolong the sheen and also protect them. The next job is the wheels, they don't look great....I did a short test on the rims of one wheel, again a good result.

Yes, you're absolultely right with the handling, I've more or less got the hang of it now, but every now and again, I get a surprise, I suspect that comes down to over confidence, but it's a lot of fun (I'm a road cyclist) ... First time around I was very surprised, in a shock horror kind of way, I made a very poor tricycle rider on day 1. Two comments; my neighbour who is an occassional rider, couldn't get the hand of it, my other half, Suzi, who the bike is for, took to it better that me at first, she hadn't ridden a bike for 25 years, so had no preconceived ideas of how the handling should be.

The Sturmey Archer... gears I adjusted courtesy of a couple of Youtube Videos, I can now select all three gears.... the difference between gear 1 and gear 2 is quite small... Anyway, happy to have them all working.

The drive hub and how much the wheel should spin is still a bit of a mystery, as suggested I'll contact the other guys who have the experience of working/restoring one of these bikes. I'm looking forward to that, it'll be interesting to compare notes, plus get some advice on how to remove the rear wheels, I had another go and failed miserably.

The big rack on the back, I've removed and started stripping the paint and rust, I should get that finished this week, again, what the final colour will be I can't say.

I'm toying with the idea of riding the bike into Chelmsford, which i about 2miles away, just to see how motorists will treat a tricycle rider, I expect to be given a good wide birth... but that's no guarantee....

For now, that's all I have to report. Over the coming weeks, I'll pass on my progress..... I'm excited to see what colours are finally chosen, certainly they will be bright, but the frame itself with remain the original beautiful red colour.

Big thanks again to you all .... Phil


ps... Darius your offer much appreciated .....

​

 

[classic33]

There's two bearings in each wheel hub, with one either end of the axle, on the point of attachment to the frame.
Any or all of which may slow down/reduce the amount of free spin in the drivetrain.

The nuts holding the wheels in place. Have a look for a locking Allen but inset into the but. Undo these, and removal of the nuts themselve should be easier.
Standard thread on both ends.

 

[Phillip_S]

Hello ... classic33 .... I had a bit of fun with the axil bearings, I removed the steel cage, that sits above the axil bearings, everything then was swinging in the air, or wagging in a small way like a dogs tail ...ie... the Sturmey Archer hub, chain and so on... I'd quite expect expect that ! it was a case of ohhh....why did you do that.... l didn't really discover too much, other than how to get to those bearings if I need to replace them. The good news it all back together quite easily.

As you suggest I'll take another, much closer look, at the wheel which connects to the drive chain, the free spin, at best = 3 turns, where as the other wheel spins very easily. The lovely big rounded nuts on both wheels are easy to remove. Ohh yes, I didn't know each wheel hub has x2 bearing, it's nice having that knowledge. I look at this over the next few days, time permitting.

The rust in odd places is pretty bad, the locking arm for the seat post was grim. As I already had a can of chrome spray paint, I thought I'd try it to see how it looks, to my surprise it came up really, really well, the other idea I had was to take everything back to the bare metal, polish it, then lacquer, the result I felt was good enough to leave. The finish of the "chrome spray" is more liquid metal, which made me think mercury like, against the shiny seat post, it didn't look out of place, stand out, or scream, look I've been painted.
After that bit of success with the chrome spray, I thought I try it on a small area of one wheel. All three wheels are riddled with agressive rust marks in places. The result, again, is a liquid silver look. The jury is still out about using this method, it looks ok, but it's definately not a chrome finish.... I'll take another look, after sleeping on it, and make a judgement this morning.

Big thanks again for the information on the drive wheel, plus what to look for when trying to remove the wheel.... I report back on that. I feel I'm making progress which is encouraging.

Best wishes ... Phil

 

[Phillip_S]

Hello Gents....

A little bit of an update.

I've more, or less, gone as far as I wanted to with the rework, there are odd bits outstanding, but nothing that I am too concerned about.
Completed
1. All paint work, essentially the mudguards, and the area around the rear rack where the paint was flaking off, got stripped down to the bare metal, primer x3 coats, top coat x3 then lacquered (gloss)
2. The chrome around the front, essentially the handle bars, was lightly rubbed back using the foil, (as suggested) then I applied x2 coats of lacquer
3. The SA gears I adjusted and now work well. It seems pretty good to spin in first gear.
4. The brakes work well, no adjustments necessary
5. The frontwheel parking tab, which locks the hub, works well, though a little fiddly to get the hang of.
6. All bearings greased.

Outstanding
1. Clean the chrome on the wheels, then prime and paint with "chrome paint" I tried it out earlier in a few small areas and it works well.... it's not perfect, but looks ok ....
2. Contact the names, as suggested, to find out how to remove the rear wheels, I've stopped fretting over that, but really need to investigate this.
3. Hunt down one of the funny washers with a tab, for one of the rear wheels. I believe one of the earlier posters said he might be able to help me out...so in advance a big thanks.

Anomolies
1. The funniest one; the drive shaft (axil) wasn't transferring drive to one of the rear wheels, it now does, but I'm unsure why, perhaps the big nut that holds the wheel to the axil, wasn't tight enough, but I could be totally wrong. Magically, it seems to run fine now.
2. I decided not to straighten and fiddle with the mudguards, they would need a good bit of bending and I didn't want to loosen the fixing rivets on the mudguard, they're not rubbing the tyres, so decided to leave them as is, also, Suzi liked the twisted skewy look.

Riding
I think is very much; ride and keep riding the bike to get to an understand the handling, changing gear and so on, it then doesn't feel so odd. As I said I'm a road cyclist, but Suzi isn't, she has no confidence on a bike with x2 wheels, but is really happy on x3 wheels, she's still a bit twitchy on the roads. I'd add a larger % of drivers seem to give her more time and space.... than those on a road bike, ie me.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures and thank you again for everyones input and support.

Best wishes.... Phil

 

[sortofbikeupcycler]

The funniest one; the drive shaft (axil) wasn't transferring drive to one of the rear wheels, it now does, but I'm unsure why, perhaps the big nut that holds the wheel to the axil, wasn't tight enough, but I could be totally wrong.
Hi Phil
I’m new on here but I’m just refurbing a pashly trike,Im certain one wheel should free wheel as it does on mine to compensate going round corners as a differential does on cars to stop crabbing and tyre wear.
Al

 

[Phillip_S]

Hi Al .... That's an interesting point, as I recall when I first got the bike.....one rear wheel did freewheel... at the time I didn't know if that was correct, I could make a case either way.... When I was putting the axil back...I did it several times, after my tinkering I found there was drive to both rear wheels, in other words, if I lifted the rear end of the bike, neither wheels would spin. I couldn't notice any difference with the handling either way, what you say makes total sense....though....ummm

Perhaps someone here can give us the definitive answer.....and also how to remove a wheel.... that still remians a mystery.

 

[sortofbikeupcycler]

Hi Al .... That's an interesting point, as I recall when I first got the bike.....one rear wheel did freewheel... at the time I didn't know if that was correct, I could make a case either way.... When I was putting the axil back...I did it several times, after my tinkering I found there was drive to both rear wheels, in other words, if I lifted the rear end of the bike, neither wheels would spin. I couldn't notice any difference with the handling either way, what you say makes total sense....though....ummm

Perhaps someone here can give us the definitive answer.....and also how to remove a wheel.... that still remians a mystery.

Hi Phil
I’m changing the rear wheels on mine so I’ve just had to machine new bearings and left one of them running free Just loosen the nut a fraction on the one that was free running.

 

[raleighnut]

Hi Al .... That's an interesting point, as I recall when I first got the bike.....one rear wheel did freewheel... at the time I didn't know if that was correct, I could make a case either way.... When I was putting the axil back...I did it several times, after my tinkering I found there was drive to both rear wheels, in other words, if I lifted the rear end of the bike, neither wheels would spin. I couldn't notice any difference with the handling either way, what you say makes total sense....though....ummm

Perhaps someone here can give us the definitive answer.....and also how to remove a wheel.... that still remians a mystery.

Yep one wheel should be driven the other not in order to go around corners as @sortofbikeupcycler says unless you have a diff type rear axle (a couple of grand just for the axle I seem to remember) That's why I fitted a front Electric wheel to my Kentex rather than a 'mid drive'