Yes! whenever bicycles are broken, or menaced by international communism, Bicycle Repair Man is ready!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Done: Kuwahara Mesa

After many new part purchases, I have finished the Kuwahara Mesa:



This bike got the royal treatment, including touch up paint (Princess Auto style), rebuilt wheels, bottom brackets, new bearings all around.  Plus, the drivetrain is all brand new.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

El cóndor regresa

A few years back I broke the seat rail on my favorite saddle, a Selle Italia Condor.

After seeing this photo on this page:


...I figured it wouldn't be too hard to replace the rails.  I happened to have a made-in-Italy Vetta saddle with chrome rails that looked to match the Italia.  The Vetta was okay but had some cuts in the vinyl cover.

I foolishly did not photograph the process, so I will use diagrams to demonstrate what I did.

WARNING: Don't hurt yourself if you try this.

The first step is to remove the old rails out of both saddles.  This is tricky because there isn't much metal to grab, and the saddle is designed to keep the rails in.

First I clamped the nose of the saddle to a hardwood board.  A small wooden insert was used to stop the C-clamp marring the inside of the saddle.

Then, I clamped some plywood blocks onto the rearward end of the rails and popped them out at the nose end.  This is the most difficult / scary part of the operation, as the rails will come out with some force.

To reinsert the rails, I used a large screwdriver like a prybar to pull the nose back over the new rails.  Pop!


Sunday, April 14, 2013

Apollo SR-5, Raleigh Transit

Today I went to an autojumble to try to score some parts for my sports car.  Ended up with a set of hub caps for $60 and an Apollo SR-5 bike for five bucks.

Good thing we have a station wagon!

The SR-5 is a midrange bike, made by Kuwahara for Apollo out of hi-tensile tubing.  Should make for a comfy ride.

I pulled the Raleigh Transit down from the attic, polished up the chrome and put it on the block:

Buy me!
Next big job is to overhaul the late 80s Kuwahara MTB and make it into a commuter.