A Shimano-less Overburys Rebuild
- Thread starter jazzibizznizz
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jazzibizznizz
Retro Guru
Right, first job was to sort the bottom bracket out. The original reason I stopped riding the bike 20 years ago was cos the b/b was wrecked, making horrible creaking and banging noises every time the pedals went round. It was a fairly basic model, not sealed or anything, and I had managed to remove it apart from a cup on the drive side. So the bike sat like that for years, and every now and then I'd have another go - maybe applying some heat, or trying penetrating oil, or just good old brute force.
It wasn't until my wife put the frame in the car one saturday because we were going out somewhere, and would be driving past a branch of Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative. I took the frame in, and presented it to the staff who were all stood around. And I've got to admit, it felt good to see their jaws drop - even though my bike was in a state, it was still a head-turner!
They got it out it for me, and through Ebay I got hold of a NOS Campagnolo Centaur bottom bracket. Sorted.
It wasn't until my wife put the frame in the car one saturday because we were going out somewhere, and would be driving past a branch of Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative. I took the frame in, and presented it to the staff who were all stood around. And I've got to admit, it felt good to see their jaws drop - even though my bike was in a state, it was still a head-turner!
They got it out it for me, and through Ebay I got hold of a NOS Campagnolo Centaur bottom bracket. Sorted.
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jazzibizznizz
Retro Guru
Next was the wheels.
The rims were the heavy-but-bombproof Mavic M5 built with 36 spokes onto Suntour XC hubs. I don't know the exact model of hubs (any info would be gratefully received), and looking through the Suntour pages at MOMBAT.com Suntour seem to be making them like that in 1985, but had stopped by 1989. They still have the remains of XC written on them, but can't tell if it is 9000, 7000 or Sport.
One of my earlier attempts at renovating my bike had seen me take the rear hub apart. It has a freewheel, rather than a cassette, so I had managed to get that off and undo the cones to remove the axle. Now, I must have put these things in a safe place but I have no idea where that safe place is. All I had left was an axle, the cone and nut to fit one side of it, and, as a result of me desperately trying to find the cones for the other side, a much tidier utility room . At least the wife was happy.
I got some new cones made up - thankfully Sheffield has no shortage of men with lathes in machine shops who can easily make stuff like this for you, so I found someone who could make what I needed. I also knocked out the old cartridge bearings and bought some new ones, as the bearings are a standard item which can be bought from any bearing supplier. Which makes me question why people go on about some hubs being nicer than others. Taking a hub apart, you see that it is just two flanges with holes in and a set of off-the-shelf bearings. So how does that make one set of hubs nicer and smoother than any other? Still, mine now have new bearings so are as good as new. And as good as any other hubs out there! (Though perhaps not as light or as brightly coloured)
The rims were the heavy-but-bombproof Mavic M5 built with 36 spokes onto Suntour XC hubs. I don't know the exact model of hubs (any info would be gratefully received), and looking through the Suntour pages at MOMBAT.com Suntour seem to be making them like that in 1985, but had stopped by 1989. They still have the remains of XC written on them, but can't tell if it is 9000, 7000 or Sport.
One of my earlier attempts at renovating my bike had seen me take the rear hub apart. It has a freewheel, rather than a cassette, so I had managed to get that off and undo the cones to remove the axle. Now, I must have put these things in a safe place but I have no idea where that safe place is. All I had left was an axle, the cone and nut to fit one side of it, and, as a result of me desperately trying to find the cones for the other side, a much tidier utility room . At least the wife was happy.
I got some new cones made up - thankfully Sheffield has no shortage of men with lathes in machine shops who can easily make stuff like this for you, so I found someone who could make what I needed. I also knocked out the old cartridge bearings and bought some new ones, as the bearings are a standard item which can be bought from any bearing supplier. Which makes me question why people go on about some hubs being nicer than others. Taking a hub apart, you see that it is just two flanges with holes in and a set of off-the-shelf bearings. So how does that make one set of hubs nicer and smoother than any other? Still, mine now have new bearings so are as good as new. And as good as any other hubs out there! (Though perhaps not as light or as brightly coloured)
Attachments
Those are the original XC hub. Pre Sport, 9000 etc. Those later hubs still had cassette bearings and fine adjust cone on the axle, but it was a more conventional size with a standard cone spanner fitting, rather than the original big black cone which required a special tool.
All the best,
jazzibizznizz
Retro Guru
Thanks Dan for the hub info - gratefully received. Good job Suntour ditched that design of cones - I have been on the look out on Ebay for the spanner to fit them for a while. If they do come up they tend to sell for more than I'm willing to pay!
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I wouldnt get tooo hung up on not using Shimano. Unfortunately post 1987, their stuff worked and rather well when compared directly against the offerings at the time. Pre 1987, its the mayhem of Uniglide and early Bio-pace, Deerhead XT and so on, none of which worked that well, especially in the mix & match builds.
jazzibizznizz
Retro Guru
Re:
I don't want to get too anal about the whole 'No Shimano' thing, but I do like to set myself parameters when starting a project. But you are right, they did always work better than their competitors. However, I was always impressed by the way you could take Campagnolo stuff apart completely. That appeals to someone who likes to fiddle and see how stuff works!
I don't want to get too anal about the whole 'No Shimano' thing, but I do like to set myself parameters when starting a project. But you are right, they did always work better than their competitors. However, I was always impressed by the way you could take Campagnolo stuff apart completely. That appeals to someone who likes to fiddle and see how stuff works!
