Henristig's picture journal

LUBO78":n6hp3bhc said:

Quality. Do you get a stiff neck after a ride. lol

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Have a guess In all seriousness though, when riding it it's not the torture device it appears to be, although I'd be too busy to notice anyways as I hardly ever sit down to assume the "real" riding position when ripping through the streets of Helsinki at lightning speed :facepalm:

Hi guys!

Lately my beater clockwork has been driving me nuts. First the headset started acting up so I took it apart and yep, it was shot. Then I noticed the pedals had siezed. :facepalm: Took me two days, a blowtorch and liberal amounts of violence to get them off, but eventually they gave up - although the threads came off with them. Now that the cranks were pretty much ruined it was time to take them off, and the non-drive side one came out smooth and fine. Then disaster struck again as I managed to rip out the threads of the drive side crank, which held me up another two days. Sigh. But now it's finally over!!!!! Gone are the old Sugino cranks, and I've sourced a lovely pair of XT cranks to replace them.

I know some of you will hate me for this, but my plan is to SS the clockwork. I want to keep it as simple as I can - because to me the clockwork screams simplicity - and enjoy the life out of it. It's going to be my hooligan bike At the moment I'm on a hunt for a 1'' threaded headset to get me going, but from there on it should be smooth sailing.

I've stripped the bike to pretty much a bare frame, and I have to say I'm a bit tempted to paint it (or have it painted) and fix the ding on the top tube while I'm at it. What do you guys think? Is it tatty enough to deserve a repaint? And if so should I keep the original paintwork or go for something else?

Took a few crappy snaps of the frame, stripped but not cleaned.

Oh dear – this one looked fab in your collection of art shots. Would be a shame to lose the blue/silver fade/orange decals scheme. But close up, it certainly does show that it's seen action. What colour scheme are you considering?

I share your pain regarding the destructive removal process. After trying all the usual methods, I had no option but to resort to hacksawing through my old Sugino cranks down to the BB spindle to remove them before getting the frame restored – real shame.

I agree about simplicity – an SS Clockwork sounds good. Between May & October, I have a 1x8 set up on mine. It's currently 2 rings at front for winter mode. But I'm thinking of getting a Surly steel chainring for going SS next spring/summer.

Yes, from time to time I too get amazed at how good the silver/blue clockwork looks from afar Well my first thoughts were to have Bob Jacksons paint it in its original color or have them paint it orange/white. Although painting it orange/white might be a bit daft since I already have one in that color :facepalm: But repainting it at Bob Jacksons would cost me about 200 - 300 quid, which wouldn't really justify calling it my beater bike anymore.

Completely white with basic Orange decals (bit like this one download/file.php?id=142564) could also be a possibility. Or maybe british racing green & silver decals (bit like this http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/481 ... 8569_z.jpg) would suit it in single speed guise? I really have no idea. Might have to open photoshop and work some magic to see what fits If I get something done I'll post it up here.

BTW it would be lovely to see some of your clockworks too, groovy!

I reckon a bit of time with the t-cut and polish will lift it no end. If it's a beater/hooligan, I say keep it honest, scratches, dings and all .

Regards

Exeter Man":3ddggnyr said:

I reckon a bit of time with the t-cut and polish will lift it no end. If it's a beater/hooligan, I say keep it honest, scratches, dings and all .

Regards

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I wondered about doing the same with mine – preserving the patina of life's experiences – but the rust was getting out of hand.

henristig":3it0yrdr said:

Yes, from time to time I too get amazed at how good the silver/blue clockwork looks from afar Well my first thoughts were to have Bob Jacksons paint it in its original color or have them paint it orange/white. Although painting it orange/white might be a bit daft since I already have one in that color :facepalm: But repainting it at Bob Jacksons would cost me about 200 - 300 quid, which wouldn't really justify calling it my beater bike anymore.

Completely white with basic Orange decals (bit like this one download/file.php?id=142564) could also be a possibility. Or maybe british racing green & silver decals (bit like this http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/481 ... 8569_z.jpg) would suit it in single speed guise? I really have no idea. Might have to open photoshop and work some magic to see what fits If I get something done I'll post it up here.

BTW it would be lovely to see some of your clockworks too, groovy!

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If you're just planning to transform it to a beater bike, a full Bob Jackson type resto job may be over doing it. A cheaper one colour powder coat job could be good. There’s plenty of powder coaters about, but you need to source someone who can do bike frames with skill and care though – there’s a few RB threads on this matter.

I considered lots of places around the UK (Argos, Bob Jacksons, Mercian, Orange, etc), but as I live in North London and had limited funds at the time, I had my frame coated by Armourtex Ltd based in Hackney. Plain glossy colours were about £60 to £80 and more interesting finishes £100 plus. The whole process is done within 4 days. Any decals would then have to be applied after the coating process. These could be clear lacquered over or 3M clear paint protection film could used instead, may be. Gil_M’s repro decals are just fab.

The British racing green/silver decals looks good. I do like the classic Clockwork fades, but I’m also quite impressed with quite a few of the all white frames such as Brocklanders023’s Clockwork you linked to, plus a few C16Rs too:


DynaCol:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... p;start=20

Unit3:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... p;t=277131

Freshtripe Orange C16:
http://www.freshtripe.co.uk/Freshtripe/ ... 1168C.html

NeilM’s C16R
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... p;start=30

I quite liked Freshtripes’ outlandish Hobo Bushwhacker too:
http://www.freshtripe.co.uk/Freshtripe/ ... 567BF.html

Actually, there are some nice ideas in the C16R thread:
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... p;t=182168

I spent months deciding on my colour scheme, looking at RAL colours and used Photoshop with a zillion layers of frame options. In the end it was decided by the samples I saw in sunlight at the powder coaters.

I’m in the process of preparing a thread for my Clockwork but am not quite ready just yet, but here's an early shot of the frame…

Yea, I guess its battle scars are something to be proud of, really. Keeping the original paint would most certainly be the easiest way to go about it and I don't think the rust on mine has gotten out of control yet. The frame still needs to be overhauled in a couple of years if I don't do it now, but maybe I'll just wait a little longer 'till I have the proper funds for it. And SS should be cheap, shouldn't it?

Here's my to-do list:

Get some Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25s - done
Get SS chainring bolts - working on it
Get an SS kit - working on it
Get a tensioner. Maybe.
Get a new chain
Get some new brake levers, since the ones I have are integrated with the shifters :facepalm:

Should be a relatively quick conversion.

PS. That racing green looks STUNNING!
-H

Love the shots of the orange/white fade early in the thread.
You take a decent picture mate.

Groovy , the green looks fresh ! Hows the thread coming along ?

Thanks very much indeed chaps about the green paint scheme.

Armourtex called it "chameleon green/silver sparkle". It has fine copper and bronze sparkles in too so it looks different depending on the light. The colour changes from a zingy sparkling version of Orange's Apple Green, through to a mid-bronze green, then to a sparkling British Racing Green. Some days I love it, then I see the lovely photos of classic Orange fades and the all-whites and wonder. I'm organising photos at the moment and will try and take some that capture the effect better. I'll probably type it up through December and post a thread during Christmas. The bike will be having a rigorous maintenance rebuild over Christmas after commuting 165 miles per week during 2013.

Henristig:

Your plans for going SS sound very reasonable, and it should be pretty quick and cheap to do. Cuts out the hassle of constantly having to tune gear shifting too.

On-One, for example, are currently selling a converter for £12.99 that slips onto the existing freehub: http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/SKOOSSKK/on ... t_sprocket

You might need a tensioner, but I've read of people using their rear derailleur to do it on the cheap.

Check out the Surly stainless steel chain rings – these aren't ramped for easy shifting. The chain can fly off on normal ramped and pinned rings, as I've discovered :facepalm: These can cost between £30 to £50 depending on the teeth. http://surlybikes.com/parts/drivetrain/ ... chainrings If you use your existing ring, you may need a chain retainer device.