Restoration / Re-purposing - call it what you will :)

[KneesUp]

I started sanding the paint off this frame last night, being all environmentally friendly and that. I got half of the down tube and one chain stay done and my face was the same colour as the bike within about 10 minutes. I'm going to get some evil chemicals on the job for the rest of it.

I was intending to paint it turquoise using thinned rustoleum and a brush, but I found a dark blue and a white aerosol in 'the cupboard of forgotten mysteries' (the one under the stairs) last night, so I'm now thinking I could do a bit of a retro-thing with a white panel on the down tube for the makers name, and perhaps some two-tone forks and stays. There is only one tin of each though, so I'll need to work out how many coats that will give me.

I've so far acquired some second-hand drops with cross levers for it, but they're too fat for the stem I have because idiot here didn't check the measurements. Not sure yet if I will keep the bars and get a new stem, or swap/sell the bars. The straight bars that came off it were bent! I still need to sort out the forks and get the replacement parts.

 

[young Ed]

pics are required of course!
i say change the stem if the bars are nice and you like them
i like the idea of blue and white just make sure you do a proper job masking and spray it in the garden, please!
Cheers Ed

 

[KneesUp]

pics are required of course!
i say change the stem if the bars are nice and you like them
i like the idea of blue and white just make sure you do a proper job masking and spray it in the garden, please!
Cheers Ed

Not much to see - just metal where once there was paint

I had a bit of a mess around making up manufacturers names to go on it though - not sure what to go for yet. I'm thinking the second one.

 

[biggs682]

sounds like you are having fun

 

[KneesUp]

Quick tip I picked up today. If you've been wire brushing a bike and have paint dust on your leg, don't absent-mindedly brush it off with the wire brush. It stings.

 

[ufkacbln]

Here it is with today's experiment - acidic tomato sauce:

Restoration, re-purposing, call it what you like.......

With Tomato Ketchup, I suspect it will be called eating!

You are Monsieur Mangetout AICMFP

 

[KneesUp]

Frame is now bare metal, but I still haven't got the stem from the forks or managed to get the BB out.

I'm going to borrow a BB removal tool tomorrow hopefully, and am also going to cheekily ask my local car mechanic if I can borrow a bearing puller to have a go at getting the steerer out of the forks. I can get new forks for c. £30 off eBay so there seems no point paying anyone else to do it or buying special tools (although if I get new forks I suppose I might end up getting a new headset too)

The frame looks nice under the paint (as in not rusty and neatly welded. It's not secretly titanium or anything) so once it's fully stripped it will be on with the paint I've found under the stairs - some Hammerite anti rust primer (from when I owned a car with rust spots) and two tins of rust resistant spray paint from Aldi.

Then on with the build. I'm making notes here as to what I need:

Drop bars: either use the ones of a 1970's Peugeot (steel I presume) as they feet the stem I have. They are deep drop though, and probably heavy (they are still on the 70's Peugeot at the moment) or get a 31.8 stem and use the aluminium bars I bought for the cross levers attached to them.

Brake levers: Could use the Weinmann ones off the Peugeot, but they have 'suicide levers', are not aero and have bare metal hoods. It seems that for the price of some rubber hoods I can get some new Tektro levers, so will probably do that. RL520 - £12.49 @ Planet X

Gear changers: The frame has no bosses so it needs to be a bar mounted change system. I did briefly think about using the twist-grips that were on it on the ends of the drops, but I thought that might make for interesting steering at speed! They won't go around the bends to fit near the stem, although if they did I might go for that. So, I'm on the lookout for some cheap bar-end shifters.

Brakes: Needs a new cantilever for the front. The back one is ok, but may change them as a pair so they match. Seem to be plenty of cheap cantilevers out there e.g. Tektro CR520 £19.99 @ Planet X (front and rear inc.)

Crankset: I'd like to use the Deore LX crankset, but replacement rings seem to work out more than a new crankset - it needs a 48t and a 38t. So a cheap triple from either Decathlon (£34.99 - seems to be the same one as the Triban 3) or Parkers of Bolton (£29.99 - unknown brand but looks ok in the pictures) I could use the rings on the cranks it has I suppose.

Cassette: I'm going to keep it 8 speed for simplicity and reliability, so a cheap Shimano compatible cassette with a good range. It's hilly here. The one that came off was probably original judging by the wear. About a tenner.

Seatpost and saddle: It has an old fashioned seat post i.e. not micro adjust. As it needs a new saddle I might as well get a new seat post too. Charge spoon and seatpost (Seatpost £10 Decathlon, Charge Spoon £20)

Chain: basic 8Speed chain £10 Decathlon

Misc: New cables. New bearings for headset. A few spokes. Bar tape. c. £30

Use from the original: tyres, wheels, pedals, frame.

Total cost: £12.49 + bar ends + £19.99 + £34.99 + £10 + £10 + £20 + £10 + £30 = c. £150 + bar ends.

That seems like quite a lot for a free bike, but then it will have a totally new drivetrain and braking system plus new contact points (saddle and bar tape) for that.

 

[KneesUp]

Was outbid on some Microshift bar end shifters today.

Frame is now resplendent in Hammerite rust proof undercoat, and the forks are stem-free at last so I'll undercoat them at the weekend.

Then it's just top coat(s) and re-assembly.

 

[steveindenmark]

This is going to cost you a bomb.

You will need a bath full of cola to get the wheels in.

I like the idea of using tomato sauce on a bike. I use it to clean my copper cooking pans and they come up a treat.

Imagine what all this stuff is doing to our insides.

Steve

 

[KneesUp]

This is going to cost you a bomb.

You will need a bath full of cola to get the wheels in.

I like the idea of using tomato sauce on a bike. I use it to clean my copper cooking pans and they come up a treat.

Imagine what all this stuff is doing to our insides.

Steve

I didn't un-stick the stem with condiments in the end, which was a bit disappointing - perhaps pesto would have worked ...

I sort of unstuck it with beer, in that I took it to the place that services my car and he heated it up and belted it with a big hammer, and I'm going to take some beer in later

 

[KneesUp]

Not sure I'm in the right section really - the frame is 20 years old roughly. It's not vintage or classic though. Just old.

Anyway, a little update - I have bar end shifters. I have a really badly hand-painted frame (because the spray didn't go as far as I thought - under the turquoise rustoleum is two coats of white spray paint and thee coats of primer) I have some bars that fit my stem (liberated from an old Peugeot, complete with Weinmann brake levers) and, er, that's it. I don't want to spend any more on it because it occurred to me I haven't actually ridden it, and I may hate it. So I'm putting it all together with the missing bits being donated by my mountain bike (cranks, chain, a rear brake) - I will need to buy a cassette as the MTB has a freehub.

If I like it I'll chuck a bit more at it at some point - powder coating, aero brake levers and it's own crankset and brakes and a stem that will allow me to use the aluminium bars Oh, and it needs a micro adjust seat post really for aesthetic reasons, and so I can fit the thinner saddle I have for it.

Anyway, I started putting it back together:


as compared to

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