Carlton roadie

After four years of maturing, the Carlton is ready to go.

Ended up going with 700c wheels after all, the brakes do reach.  I had bought this wheelset ages ago, and it was nicer than the steel 27" wheels that came with the Carlton.  Those wheels got sold to a Peugeot enthusiast who wanted period correct over stopping in the rain.

Got a set of new tires and chains online.

I put on new levers and bar tape, replaced cable as necessary, and put on some nice pedals.

It's a smooth ride, but a little cramped for me, so off it goes!

Meet Nick

My wife's bike was built out of bits and pieces, a 2005 Kona Fire Mountain frame that was $20.  It had a severe dent in the downtube that the seller assured me was fine, and it was, for years.  Last week it cracked, though, so it was time to replace it.

Recyclistas had a similar vintage Brodie frame, same size, with disc tabs, so this weekend I swapped all the parts across.

Took the time to route the cables properly this time, so the steering won't bind, and replaced the saddle too.

We don't normally name our bikes, but this one is named Nick.

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.

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!

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.

Mystery Carlton

Carlton is generally known for their high quality, handmade road bike frames.  With ornate lugwork and lightweight tubing, they're very desirable.

While the head tube lugs are chrome, they're not what I would call ornate:

Otherwise, it's fairly light, but the dropouts are stamped, not forged.  I cannot find much information online about this specific bike.  The serial number on the dropout is 208464, leading me to date it between 1968 and 1972 (thanks to this page).

The tubing sticker:

Indicates that it's made with Tru-Wel 205 tubing.  High-tensile carbon steel; but a Tubing Industries (TI) product.

Thanks to this eBay listing, I am certain that this is a Carlton Criterium, but not sure what market it was intended for.  I'll be fitting a set of 27" wheels, rather than trying to stretch the brakes for 700c.

Mesa Toscana

Here is the Miele hybrid, a Toscana 300.  It is 24 speeds, and will go up for sale once I have replaced the cables and probably also the brake pads.  It squeaks.

I had to cut a U-lock off this bike and ground up my finger pretty bad in the process.  Stupid.

This is the Kuwahara Mesa.  It's from 1986-1988 due to the chainstay U-brake way down by the crank.    It has a Suntour drivetrain with indexed shifting, but the rear derailleur was half missing and the hanger was bent, so I will probably swap it out for a 7-speed shimano setup.  The six-speed Suntour indexing compatible derailleurs are hard to find.

The rear wheel is wrecked and needs a new rim, so I might as well pick up a good used wheel and be done with it.

Check out the sweet fade paint job and the bear trap pedals!

Back to basics

In 2012, we built a new workshop.

Now that I have the space to work... I've picked up some bikes to fix.  Right now, I have a 1989-or-so Kuwahara mountain bike, a Miele 700c hybrid commuter, and a lugged Carlton frame that needs a lot of work.

El Cóndor Pasa

When I heaved my bike out of the rack last Monday morning I noticed it seemed a lot more wobbly than normal.

I broke a seat rail!  Looks like metal fatigue.  It is a shame; I really liked the "Condor" (which is, sadly, rare now).

I replaced it with a garish black-and-yellow saddle that I would regret putting on a resale bike.

Bici II Hub Failure

After taking a few weeks off riding to work, I pushed a little too hard and broke my hub.  Luckily I still had the old wheel and hadn't yet switched to the STI shifters, so it was a quick fix to put the old one back on.

Today I pulled apart the 7 speed wheel and I assessed the damage.  It was incredibly hard to get the axle out - when the hub broke, it must have forced the bearings to really tighten.  So much so that it smashed the bearing race:

It's hard to see from the photo but there are also imprints from the ball bearings themselves.  Yikes.

This hub is toast - I've replaced it with an old Deore one and will avoid using nutted axles on this bike in the future.

Back to the 90s

The Tech Wild Thing is done! It's got better chainrings now, and I've gone over the drivetrain and tuned it up. It's a fast, light bike and will make a perfect commuter.

I decided to buy new chainrings for the Kona bike as the steel cranks I was using are bent and don't give much clearance between crank arm and frame. Also, the replacement rings cost about $30 after shipping, much better than the $80-90 it was going to cost for locally sourced (albeit high quality) parts.

Nunu Bibike

One of my longer-running projects is a 2000 Kona Nunu that I got for a song. The previous owner described it as "rode hard and put away wet" and he was very right.

It was basically a frame and wheels; everything else was broken or worn out. I finally hung a new old (repainted, heavy) steel crankset on it and it's now ready-ish.

I would have like to have got new chainwheels but that would add $100 to a $200 bike. I might still try to get a set of Alivio or entry-level Truvativ cranks, but if these ones work then we're good.

I also spent some quality time with Bici II, building up a new 7-speed solid axle rear wheel and swapping out the tiny SPDs for combo platform-SPD pedals. Now I can ride with boots, which will be nice for the cold weather.

Foul, and most Foreign

The Peugeot bike is ready for sale. It's not "done" but that would require many hours of work with the steel wool and touch-up paint, and even then it would not be worth much more money.

I got to use the rim un-denter a bunch of times on this bike; those old steel wheels could likely tell some tales (like "The Day I Fell Off a Truck" and "Why Did You Ride Over The Train Tracks So Fast")

This picture shows that in France, the bike would have been a PL 22, and I lack the necessary wardrobe to actually ride the thing.

Peugeot UE-08

Here is the Peugeot, well along the path to success.

Forgive the funny color, something's wrong with either the camera or iPhoto.

So far I have overhauled the rear axle (it was snapped!), replaced spokes on the rear wheel, tried to true it a little bit, and replaced one of the chainwheels on the Simplex rear derailleur.

I am going to "convert" it to drop bars (as the original brake levers, while quaint, are awful) - I have a spare set of Nitto bars and some nice Shimano levers from my Bianchi, so this will become a decent touring/commuting/city bike. It will be a 5-speed, with the front derailleur used just as a chain guide.

The return of... Bicycle Repair Man!

After a long hiatus I am back in the groove. Two days ago I got off my duff and finished rebuilding a 26" rear wheel, and yesterday I picked up a new old Peugeot city bike project.

The previous owner wanted it to be a fixie. Ha! It's not really a great hipster steed, the frame has lots of pits in the paint and the chrome is in rough shape. I'm going to give it a go with steel wool and WD-40 to see if it's still good. Might be a full resto, or I might just repair and sell "as is" for less.

Big Blue's Cousin

In a surprising coincidence, I snagged a freebie frame that appears to be identical to the large blue bike.

The brand name is "BUFFO", which unusual (to me) - Although it may have been custom made for this guy, although "branding his own bicycles" isn't on his long list of achievements.

Also, last week was the first bike swap meet for 2010, which was a cool event. Milenkovich puts it on, at the parking lot at Oak Bay Bikes, and it's a collection of the various backyard bikemen and weekend warriors.

I sold two bikes! That works for me.

Also - finished off the Rocky Mountain bike, after dropping $80 on final supplies (cables, pedals and drivetrain). It's still a little rough around the edges, it will take a few rides to get it dialed in.

I hastily built up two extra bikes for the swap meet, and had to redo them over the last few days. Now they are up on the block - the red Diamond Back (now with slicks and fenders) and a Triumph Laser, rebuilt and revived.

Photos of the RMB will be posted later...

The Arrival of Big Blue

The black Diamond Back did sell after all, although I had to swap the flat bar for risers. No biggie.

The red one is almost done now - I still have to replace the saddle and give it the final adjustments (cantilever brakes are miserable). I found a nice old Ritchey Mega Bite tire for the rear. A bit knobby for city use but very nice in the mud or gravel.

This bike also has odd 18-speed under bar STIs - with a single lever. I don't like them, they are hard to use and slow, but still seem to be pretty accurate.

Also picked up another freebie today - an absolutely gigantic frame. Not sure what's under that blue paint, but I suspect it might be an old Asama or Norco...?

Renewing Axle Cones

One of the side projects I do for bike builds is bearing overhauls.

Most folks consider cones and races to be disposable. Not here! They are only really disposable if you have a ready supply of new ones. I do not. Nor do I really want to fork over $7 for a new axle/cone set when a new hub is "only" $20.

Generally the races are good. So, it's just the cones that need replacing, right? But finding a matching new cone is troublesome too - so many combinations of sizes and depths!

Re-enter the venerable Drummond lathe. The process is simple - chuck a cone in the lathe, spin it, grind a new bearing surface on it, removing any pitting. I use the rotary tool (Dremel) to do the initial grinding.

The process also works for headset crown races and bottom bracket spindles. When I want an exceptionally nice job I will polish first with 600 grit wet/dry (and oil), then with Veritas green honing compound. Mirror finish, better than the original cast metal!

It's nice to make something pretty, even if it's going to get hidden.

None of the rotating parts on a bike go fast or hot enough to require anything more precise than a practiced hand. This isn't an perfect solution, either - the grinding will most certainly strip off any case-hardening; but, with regular maintenance further damage can be avoided.

Is it economical? Not hardly. It takes an hour or two to clean, align, grind and polish one cone or race. Even longer for races if regular cleanout is required. I've only ground out a hub once, and it was much more difficult than an axle cone.

These pictures are of a front axle cone, before (top) and after (below).

[Red] Diamond Back

Interest in the black Diamond Back has been underwhelming, so I think I'll put fenders on it and/or drop the price.

The red Diamond Back isn't nearly so much of a nice bike. Stamped horizontal dropouts and a heavier frame make me sure it's a later model, perhaps made by a holding company who bought the name. Oh well, it's not terrible, and the single-lever STI rapid fires are unusual.


I also collected another donor bike for overhaul, it's a low end Canadian Tire bike. "Falcon" components look like copies of Shimano's cheap stuff, or maybe it is produced under license? I don't know.


It has steel rims (ugh) but very little wear or rust. I will probably tune it up on the cheap and take it to the OBB swap meet.

Black Diamond [Back]

I sold the white Sekine today and finished up another bike, the black Diamondback.

Rigid fork, new headset, all tuned up. Have posted it for sale as a commuter... it's almost collectible, but I can't be bothered to find a rich collector. All the good stuff (frame, XT kit) is really too scratched up to be that collectible. Although perhaps there's someone who likes genuine "patina" ?