New to the forum - help required.

Hi, my name is Tom and this is my first post to allow me to post the following;

Hi there!

My name is Tom (as the username suggests), from Wakefield, and I am looking for help and assistance from you kind folks.

My partner was recently given a retro bike and, although she still hasn't ridden it yet, she already loves it.

The stickers suggest that it's a Puch, but to be fair I don't really know how original it is.

My partner dropped it off at my garage and asked if I could clean it for her - but as a suprise I am going to fully restore it so that it looks spanking new - then present it to her as her Christmas present.

Here is the only decent pic I have of the bike...



Here's a link to a larger image - http://www.flickr.com/photos/66316617@N ... hotostream

Now, I don't know what model it is, does anyone know?

I have seen a few bikes that it looks similar to;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36112884@N ... otostream/

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Germa ... 3f1e59627f

http://rolandtobiasch.ro.funpic.de/puch_total.jpg

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/ladie ... /112753982

Also, I am going to strip the bike, blast it and then have it re-painted and all of the chrome re-chromed. Do you guys reccommend anywhere in West Yorkshire?

How much does a frame respray usually cost?

How about the cost of chromework?

I am also in the market for some whitewall 26 x 1 1/4 32/597 tyres to sit on the new wheels. Does anyone know where I could get these?

I am used to working on motorcycles, and have owned motorbikes for a lot of years but I have never worked on a pushbike. It all looks fairly straightforward, but sourcing nackered parts looks like its going to be the biggest hurdle.

I will check back every opportunity I get, but I don't want the missus to get wind of what I'm doing.

Thank you in advance,

Tom

Hi, as you can see, I'm a Wakey lad so PM me and I can give you local info.

From what I can see on the photo its looks pretty good anyway, good paint and chrome.

If you really want to go with a respray a good job is going to cost £90-£120.
Plus you will lose all the decals, which if you want to put them back again will probably cost a further £20-£25.

Re-plating the chrome is expensive, I had some small parts done for cash at £40. A pair of handlebars will probably be around £50-£70.

Most of the parts can be cleaned and re-used if not to worn, but if there's anything specific you could request in the Items Wanted part of this forum. Ebay is a good source for chains and cables, and you might track down some white wall tyres on there.

The cottered chainset would suggest 70's early 80's

Be good to see more pics of the chainset and derailleurs

Hi, quick reply while she's out of the room

I have added the other pics I took of the bike to my photostream - http://www.flickr.com/photos/66316617@N03/

Ned, I'll PM you tomorrow when I have time mate.

Thank you guys!!!

Tom

BBC Tom":zqg8xn7o said:

I have added the other pics I took of the bike to my photostream - http://www.flickr.com/photos/66316617@N03/

Click to expand...

That looks almost as good as new to me

Best thing I find for removing rust speckles from the chrome is some good quality 0000 grade steel wool dipped in engine oil. You'll be amazed how well they will clean up. Some pics below, but this was only minor rust speckles, I've cleaned up far worse but didn't take pics :?

Same goes for the paintwork, WD40 will remove any tar or oil stains plus general crap, anything stubborn or rust staining will come off with the steel wool and oil. Then a good T.Cut and wax.

Toothbrush and WD40 for the derailleur and small parts then Autoglym for polishing all the alloy. You can strip the calipers and alloy parts and buff them with a mop on a drill if you want them like a mirror.

New chain, new gear and brake cables plus your tyres and all should be perfect. Oh and a bottle of champagne to christen it

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately the chrome on the wheels has pitted and flaked, the paintwork has flaked and rusted and the tyres have perished. Some pics of my hornet (motorbike) are in that album too and I have done all of the work on that myself - I just know these news rechroming. I could get the bits powdercoated up, but my fiance loves the classic look, so I don't want to spoil that.

Cheers, Tom

You can use kitchen aluminium foil + water to remove rust from chromed parts. I cleaned terrible rusted rims on my bike. I spend few hours on cleaning but it was worth it. After just swipe with oiled piece of cloth. I used wheels cleaned this way for about year on daily commuting (even during rainy days) and rust didn't reappear.

Rechroming is expensive and only reasonable if the part is valuable. I think it's better to find replacement or here on forum, or jumbles, or ebay.

About the tires for 26x1 1/4 (old EA1 standard) you can find them on ebay. There is veeeery slight chance that you find them in bike shop (In my LBS they had them buried somwhere deeply). There are Kenda and Raleigh of this size. I'm using Kenda with amber walls. You can also find tubes Continental or Schwalbe.

Here are pictures of my wheels during cleaning:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1005210978 ... directlink