1992 Orange Clockwork purple/orange fade

Captain Stupido

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Recently treated myself to this lovely earlyish Clockwork in rare colours.

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Thanks to brocklanders who passed it on for a very reasonable price and did a great job packing it up safely. Here's how it arrived (at least once I'd put it back together):



It's mostly LX, which is fine by me, and very original. The details of the spec. were really appealing, as was the colour, it's pretty much what I'd choose myself for a sensible/rider build, aside from the Ram Rod bars which are actually really cool and make a nice change. The condition is generally nice, but not too good to use. I have ridden it a couple of times and it's great, just as I expected really, faster and more agile than my suspension fork equipped C16R. Less forgiving perhaps but loads of fun and a very similar vibe. Fast climber!



After the test ride I realised it needed a bit of love, and put it in the stand to check it out. While nothing's worn out as far as I can tell, it does need a good going over. So the plan is for a strip and rebuild. I'm just going to clean everything up as best as possible and put it back together with fresh grease and new cables. Then ride it lots.

Anyway I started stripping it down in the back garden today and the heavens opened. So far it's coming apart easily with no sign that anything's going to be too stubborn. It's in such nice nick that part of me wonders whether I should have just given it a basic service, but at 25 years old it probably deserves a good check over and some fresh grease here and there.

There are a few small bits I might change. The bottom bracket is currently loose... if it turns out to be worn/damaged I might pop in a new sealed unit for future low maintenance. The wheel QRs are later replacements in black alloy. And I'm not sure about the straddle wires/hangers which are Weinman ones which doesn't seem like an obvious choice. I fancy using link wires for a change as Shimano intended. Anyone know what Orange used?



Other than that though plan is to keep it original, the chain has quite a bit of life in it and the tyres look usable too. I'm even considering keeping the cable outers... they're all pretty good! Of course part of me is thinking about a third colour (or more Orange?) for the outers. I don't know, maybe it glows enough as-is. Welcome your thoughts!

I have cleaned up one bit so far. See below for before and after pics and hopefully you'll be able to tell how I'm going to approach this. Actually maybe it's hard to tell in the photos but it had a good clean and application of leather wax, and looks better. Sympathetic would be the aim for the bike in general. I don't want it to look new, just every bit as good as it is.
 

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Re:

Great work mate and really happy it's getting the love it deserves. Agree with the originality limiting what you want to change as I thought the same. Watching with interest. :cool:
 
Looks great, glad your keeping it original, good job on the saddle, sympathetic resto looks better IMO.
I wouldnt personally have orange outer cables, just stick to the traditional black.. its got enough orange on it (Understated loveliness) Anyway its lovely rare clockwork that :)
 
Had a good morning. Got the frame completely stripped. Had the bright idea to label the cables. Learned that the headset is almost as notchy as the thumbies. Haven't checked it out yet but it might benefit from replacement.

Filled up a box with bits of bike. In two minds re stripping the bars down - want to preserve the grips and slightly nervous about scratching them when I remove everything. Something to do with care, anyway.



Cleaned up the wheels & tyres. Need a true and hubs greasing. Thinking I might replace the original tyres with a pair of Smokes for the sake of having some fresh rubber under me.

Before:



After:





And gave the frame and forks a good wash:
 

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No messing about.. I would get some fresh rubber, good choice the smokes if decide to change the tyres. Reproduced smokes and dart are good. Definitely need to be careful not to scratch the ram bars, ives got some ram bars in the gold colour snd managedcto scratch mine a little when doing some changing. ahhh...
Anyway look forward to your build!
 
Re:

The headset came up really nicely after a good soak in white spirit and initially I couldn't work out why it felt notchy. On close inspection the top cup has some (fairly mild) brinelling as I've tried to photograph. The other cups look like new. I'm wondering if new loose balls will make enough of a difference or whether to bite the bullet and replace it.
 

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Bottom bracket is worn. Could probably get away with using it but I've got a practically brand new BB-UN55 in the right size so I think I'll use that instead. Not a great pic, but here you go.
 

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Love the colour of this, and its going to feel much better with everything freshend up.

You should be able to clean around everything on the bars just by moving things around a bit!?

mark
 
mkone":5lteabcd said:
You should be able to clean around everything on the bars just by moving things around a bit!?

I reckon so... :)

Have cleaned up all the drivetrain components and a few extra bits and bobs. There is some wear to the chainrings and minor damage to the rear mech but a good few miles left in all of it I'd say. Having ridden it first is reassuring at this stage and probably saving me money in terms of replacing stuff "to be safe". I did order a set of smokes off of Jon Smith. So that's pushed the budget up a little... but worth it, hopefully... plan to ride this lots...

Anyway, lots of shiny bits ready to go back on. Nice feeling.





Will have to see if I can find a better o-ring to go on that seatpost QR...
 

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