Can't pull them all

The Nishiki Regal frame looked to have close to zero use. The rims were barely touched, knobbies still on the tires... what a find!

But... the seat post was beyond stuck. I suspect it had done some sort of chemical bond. No amount of bashing, twisting, or careful cutting would free it.

I finally tried pounding a squared-off long chisel made out of a broken fencing foil down the cut that had been made, but to no avail. I ended up punching a hole in the seat tube instead of neatly slicing out the seat post.

Fortunately, it was not a priceless handmade bike, so I stripped as much off as I could and snagged a donor Sekine frame (in my size!) that is now being built up with some of the Nishiki parts and some of its original. It has a Dura-Ace brake lever! Probably from around 1974.

Pillar to Post

The Univega bike had (surprise surprise) a stuck seat post.

Tonight I pulled it out, with a combination of heat, penetrating oil, and violence.

Tomorrow I will get a replacement, and some new cable housing, and this bike will be back in action.

After some deliberation I decided to sell the Raleigh Superbe as-is. The ad lasted about 20 minutes before it was sold. Another happy customer!

The Stack

It's a constant struggle to be rid of the bikes I'm always acquiring.  The current (and long running) projects is a neat old Raleigh Superbe.  However, it is very close to being finished, which will be worthwhile!

Then, it's back to the fabrication shop to build some sort of contraption that will bash out stuck seatposts.

Old 10-speed buyer's guide

I figure this is handy knowledge to have around, whether or not anyone finds it.

Let's say you're standing in front of a bike.  It's so shiny!  Or dusty.  Or greasy.  The seller may or may not know its value.  (Hint: it's as worth as much as someone will pay for it; no more.)  How do you decide if it's "good"?  Here are some tips!

• Weight.   Pick up the bike.  Do you think "wow, light!" or "wow, heavy!"?  Lighter is better.  Also consider yourself.  If you're a big person, don't get a featherweight bike.  It could break.
• Tubing.  Check for a tubing sticker on the frame - right below the saddle.  No sticker means a cheap bike or a clever previous owner.  Good things to see are "Tange", "Reynolds" or "Columbus".   Bad things are "Hi-ten" or "all brazed steel".   Flick the tubes with your finger, if they ring, it's nice steel.  If they thunk, it's not nice steel.  This test doesn't work for aluminum or carbon fiber.
• Lugwork / welds.  Nicer bikes tend to have more interesting lugs.  If it looks like plumbing, it's probably just a utility bike - great for a beater but will never be as nice as something made with better tubes and lugs.   Also inspect the soldering jobs, sloppy work means a weak joint.
• Dropouts.  They can be stamped, forged, or machined.   Look for a manufacturer's name on the dropout.  Don't trust the fork, it could be a replacement (although factor this in, and consider a replacement fork could have meant a crash)
• Shifters.  Cheap bikes have the shifters up high on the stem.  Nicer ones have them on the downtube, or on the bar ends, or integrated into the brake levers.
• Brakes.  Cheap bikes have "cheater levers" that you can pull when riding upright.  Maybe you want these, maybe not.  Don't let the brake levers or shifters dictate what you buy, if the frame is super light you can always change the brakes to suit yourself later.
• Cranks.  Less important unless you're keen on upgrading.  Know the differences between one-piece, three-piece, and cottered cranks.  Consider the origin of the bike if you plan on swapping out the drivetrain, some French and Italian bikes use different threads in the components which can make upgrading more of a chore.
• Wheels.  Aluminum is better than steel, hands down.  If you disagree, wait until it rains.

An easy rule of thumb is to add $10 for every "good" thing you can think of and subtract $10 for every "bad" thing.  Generally, a nice bike in poor condition is worth about $100.  A crummy bike in great condition is also worth $100.  Tires, pedals, attachments (water bottle holder!  yay!), handgrips and saddles should rarely factor into the value of the bike, unless they are unique or desirable.  And that's more for personal preference.

The consumables to give a bike a tune-up cost at least $25.  More if the chain, saddle, or cable housing needs to be replaced.

Until next time...

Hooray for Drummond

The big old Heidemann bike (the Vainqueur) never worked out for me - so I've been prepping it for sale.  However, because I foolishly went ahead without reading the internet, tightening the nuts on the cotter pins broke the non-drive cotter.  Horrors!

So this evening was spent in the machine shop, fabricating a new cotter pin.  I used a chunk of steel from a kick-stand and the Drummond Round-Bed Metal Lathe to do the deed.

Normally one does not go to such efforts to make the bits & pieces, but this was more convenient (and fun!) than trying to find the right sized one in a shop.  The Vainqueur uses such a variety of parts that I figured it would be a difficult job finding a new cotter!  

Folder is as folder does

My dad got this Raleigh Folder from the St. Vincent De Paul. I bought it off him for $40, cleaned it up, sorted out the brakes and bearings, and flipped it to Bicycle-itis for $75. They'll sell it for $150. Everybody wins!

In and Out like a Supercycle Storm

A while back my brother bought a 15-speed Supercycle from the thrift store for $15.  He didn't ride it much, so it wound up in my care.  I swapped out the 6-speed freewheel for a 5, straightened it out, and sent it on its way for $40.

Other accomplishments: built up the Innova with mostly-used parts; grand total $200.  Finished off the dropouts for the Chariot - had to start again as there were too many weird problems with trying to copy the original design.  Went with an "all new" design inspired by the modern Chariot joggers, and lo it works again.

The current build is a 3-speed CCM Elan.  I've rebuilt the wheels with 700c rims, for superior braking and tire choices.  Going to try to lace up the rear wheel tonight, but the only 700c rim I have left is warped so it might not work out.

They cometh, and they goeth away

I got an old Giant Innova for $30 the other day. It's got 700c wheels and a lightweight cromoly frame - it will become a commuter for a co-worker (to replace his "iron-side" hybrid that weighs more than him)

Sold the 5-speed Raleigh, and the Fiori, in a flurry of activity today. I'm glad to see the Fiori go, even though it was a nice bike and a decent conversation piece.

I am negotiating another trade deal - a comfortable hybrid/MTB for a Gardin racer. Hope it works out for all involved; my offerings are either a built-up complete bike using the Sasquatch frame, or the readymade Kuwahara my sister-in-law-to-be-probably was riding. She's gone back to Australia (with my brother-in-law-for-real), and doesn't need the bike any more.

Also on the go right now - rigging new dropouts for an old Chariot trailer. It's more difficult than first expected! More on that later, once it's done...

New Bike: Nishiki Regal

This bike was free - it has a stuck seatpost.  Otherwise it's in really nice condition, hardly any mileage.  Midweight frame (Tange 5), stamped dropouts, 27" wheels.

I will probably make a device up to ram the seatpost out from underneath, using the slide hammer.  There are a few bikes that need this treatment, so now is the time to come up with a clever way to do it.

I sold the old Mountaineer and finished up a 5-speed Raleigh Campus - it just needs the rear brakes dressed and a bit more tweaking / oiling / polishing and it will be done.  It's either becoming a mother-in-law bike or going to a family friend.

Back with the Saddle

In a stroke of good luck I snagged a Brooks B66 saddle today off UsedVictoria.  The seller was close enough for me to ride over there (unfortunately, they lived over a steep hill, but I managed)

The B66 is one of Brooks' most popular saddles - this is a good example of an old worn-in one.  It has proper big springs and is suitable for an upright (comfortable!) riding position.

I will need to get some Proofide for it before pressing it into service - as original - on the Raleigh Superbe hanging in the garage.

Bike Built: Norco Mountaineer

This bike was already built and sold once - it came back in a mercy deal; I'd sold a pair of bikes to a visiting couple; hers was crummy and his frame broke (!).  So I bought them back.

The combined bikes make this one - a 1980s Norco Mountaineer.  12 speed, mixte frame, rattlecan paint job, and steel wheels.  Not a great bike, but I think it's worth the $40.

Next in the queue is a Raleigh Campus 5-speed.

New Tool: Park AWS-1

I've been meaning to find an excuse to buy one of these things, but now I don't have to!  Found it on the road when riding home after work last night.  

Today I am doing cleanup work- painted over the rust on the Fiori's fork, stripped the spokes and hub out of a donor wheel, and am re-assembling a Norco Mountaineer for resale.

I also took some photos of the Vainqueur's rear derailleur:

Huret Allvit!  Sounds like a brand of bottled water.

New Bike: Heidemann Vainqueur

A $20 find!  (The seller was asking $17.00 but I talked him up to a 20).

This is a very rare bike, if only because it was originally very cheap.  It's not very light, and not really that good, but I will fix it up and ride it myself.  We'll start with an overhaul and see what else needs attention thereafter - I'm thinking this will make a nice single-speed conversion.

There's not much info out there about Vainqueur / Heidemann - just that they were low-end bike boom bikes from Europe.  Looks like this is a German frame with French components and an Italian saddle.

In other news, the Fiori San Remo is finished (aside from some paint touch-ups) and I am now overhauling a tank-like Norco Mountaineer.  Also from 1985, the Mountaineer is the other end of Norco's lineup, and it shows.

Update: Fiori San Remo

The Fiori MTB is coming along nicely. It's now on the home stretch - just needs the cables replaced and the final adjustments made.

I elected to swap out the very pretty, yet very pitted chrome forks in favor of some pearl-white ones. Also managed to score an XT headset (although I only used the bottom on this bike)

I think the next big investment is going to be some bulk ball-bearings and cable housing. Ebay seems to be the best source of ball-bearings, even after shipping - but tomorrow I might call the local industrial suppliers and see if I can't get a good price on 1/4 and 5/32 BBs somehow.

The Flat Spot Tool

I made this tool ages ago for a different wheel, but it's nice to get a photo of it and document the process.

It's dreadfully simple.  When you get a flat spot on your rim, you need one of these to punch it back out again.  It's welded out of bike bits and some threaded rod.  Do up the nut to push the rim away from the hub (until it expands more than it was flattened) and let it sit for a while.

You can also do it with a rubber mallet and a good eye, but this is simpler and tends to work better.

Cheapest Bike Rack Evar

I made this today, as we had been leaning our bikes up against furniture and walls and they were generally in the way.

We needed a use for some worn-out rims that I had kicking around - I've been scavenging wheels (for spokes and hubs) out of the scrap metal pile at Recyclistas.  One's a Sun Rhyno-Lite and the other's an old Araya.   Both were too worn & warped to be rescued.

The wooden frame is a single 8-foot 2x3: $1.45 (plus tax) from Home Depot.  

It seems to do the trick!

Work has also begun on the Fiori San Remo - the handlebar (a lovely Nitto riser) was bent, and the rear axle bearings long gone.  I have relaced the rim and got some crummy steel cruiser bars - it's making good progress.

Bike Built: Nakamura Grinder

Picked up a cheap SIS front derailleur and some off-brand vee brakes, and this bike is done. It's going up for $120.

Also upcoming are two old bikes that I sold to a fellow who seems to have convinced himself that I want them back. One's got a busted frame, so I expect I can basically build one out of two and get rid of them... again!

Nakamawhah?

The Nakamura Grinder is almost done now.  I'm just short a set of decent V-brakes and a front derailleur.

Ended up with 24 speeds, as advertised on the frame, and fairly nice components.  Mostly LX level stuff, with a few corners cut here and there (original nutted bottom bracket).

The Mountaineer and the sweater have sold- both in the same day - next in the queue is a battered old CCM Elan, which needs a ton of work, and the Fiori, which doesn't.  The race is on!

Bike Built: Century Challenger

OK, so nobody knows what a Century Challenger is. This bike was built out of leftover pieces - the frame got left on the sidewalk outside and was getting sadder and sadder (wheels, saddle stolen... rusting)

I grabbed it and had it hanging in the shed for a while. Put a set of steel wheels on it - Holland quality! Canadian style! Added an Italian (!) saddle and made it rideable again.

I think it's from Sears, it has a North Country head badge on it. I'm pretty sure I had a North Country sweater at some point, long ago. Probably made in Quebec by the Procycle factory.

Up for sale for $40!

I have a problem

I got another bike today. Also $10, this time it is a Raleigh Transit - made in Canada, very low-end (but still pretty). Single speed, coaster brake, imitation Brooks sprung saddle. It has proper 26 x 1-3/8 tires, too, befitting a roadster or city bike.

It will take some cleaning up, so I'm keeping it inside until I have time to put on WD-40 on anything that could get rusty (or rustier).

I also finally finished off the Norco Mountaineer - lots of new parts, hoping to get $160 for it. I'll probably have to drop the price, though, because...

Next bike in the queue: a Nakamura "Grinder" hardtail MTB. I'm aiming to sell this one for $100, so nothing fancy on it- vee brakes, lots of used parts, 24 speeds.

New bike: Univega Alpina

Snagged this gem for $10 yesterday. It's a mid-90s Univega Alpina 501. It's got grip shifts, bar ends, 21 speeds and an impressive amount of rust.

Looks to be in fairly good shape, though. Will need a new headset, saddle and chain (and all new cables) - will give it a full tuneup once it comes up for repair.

For now it will get some PB blaster on the seat post (please, please don't be stuck...). And the chain too.

Tonight's task is to finish up a front wheel for a bike that I found on the sidewalk outside - pics shortly!

My dad picked up a few bikes in his travels. One of them is a beat-up BRC, which has been through the recycler shop at least once - a good example of the state of the art in the early 90s, with U-brakes and flashy brand names (Exage! Hyper-drive!) but nothing really special.

The other bike IS something special - a pre-Kona era Kona. It's a Cascade Fire Mountain, designed by Joe Murray, made in Taiwan - with some cromoly tubes and bottom-of-the-barrel components.

But, it's a Fire Mountain, and we are going to restore it (using guts from the BRC) out of respect for its stolen brethren.

Theft and Recovery (of sorts)

On Jan 19, thieves "broke" into our unlocked shed and covered garage and made off with two mountain bikes - both 21" Kona Fire Mountains, on aluminum and one steel.

Neither one was extremely valuable, the aluminum one was my "personal" bike and the steel one I had been rebuilding to sell. But it still sucks. As of today they are still missing.

In my grief I immediately scavenged two more bikes - an '80s Raleigh Campus and a little Wal*Mart special:



This bike is only noteworthy because I swopped it recently for a much nicer early 90s Fiori MTB (pictures soon)

Although this was satisfying, I still do not have a mountain bike for myself. Today I have taken action, and obtained this:


Now all I need are all the rest of the parts!

Radial Off-By-One Error

Built a wheel tonight.  32-spoke, front hub - seems that the spokes aren't quite right.  Half seem too long and half seem too short.

I'll take another look at it tomorrow night, to check the spokes.  I bet that something isn't quite right about it.