Recent content by Harvo

Top bodgery today! Noticed when I stripped the bike down that there was a gear cable stop end on the lower part of the downtube to hold the outer guide of the front mech cable but nothing towards the derailleur meaning the cable guide was floating and at a weird angle.....so I decided to make...

It is a shame but it's too small for me to ride comfortably and it deserves to see the road again. I get a huge amount of enjoyment out of doing bikes up (only been doing it 4 years) as it's just me in my garage with my own thoughts. Actually sounds a bit dangerous when I say it like that!

Condition of the tubes as far as I can tell is good too. It's a worry buying a 50 year old bike blind but I think this one is a goodun.

Been a while since a post but I've been fitting a bit of tinker time in between work and family life. Anyhow, all the parts have now been cleaned as best I can (just the rear wheel to rebuild) and now it's reassembly time. Probably the best part of a build but it comes with a bit of sadness...

115 separate parts making up the rear hub and freewheel (left the sprocket as one). All cleaned and now to put it back together......actually lucky to have one of the pawl springs and rod when it fell on the floor! How does it go again?

The only marks on the cranks are these.

Thanks for the comments. I'm really enjoying the process so far. I shall take a picture tomorrow for you.

Hubs are Maillard Normandy and the rims are Rigida. The rims are stamped Chrolux Chromage Superieur....quite ironically.

Early morning spot the difference. Of course I did the easiest wheel first! Fully stripped and surprised at the condition of the hubs especially the bearings and cones. Fresh grease, re-laced and trued (first time for me) and this one is ready for possibly another 50 years? Maybe not.... On to...

Downshifter time. Pretty gummed up with crud and poor movement plus the obligatory surface rust. All stripped, cleaned with soap and fine wire wool. A small smear of oil on the friction surfaces sees this working like new. This may have been the cheaper components Campagnolo were turning out at...

Brakes cleaned up. Just to show I'm not going mad, there's no date on these. Only a stamp of the size and made in Switzerland. The hunt for a date stamp continues....

It's a nice steed with decent components. Very noble to donate to a charity and if you think your dad would approve then that's the way forward.

It was fine wire wool and had the effect of polishing the paint really. It was quite dull before I started and only a light wax aftewards brought it up quite pleasingly. I would say it's a fine line between taking the rust off and going through the upper paint layer though.....needs a gentle...

The wheels have been stripped down . Rigida rims with Maillard Normandy hubs and no dates! How can this bike have no dates! A good attack with the brass wheel is bringing them up to a decent enough finish.

Had a good day on the frame today. Gave it a good wash and then started on the rust with T -cut. Pardon the pun but that was not cutting it so I carefully applied Farclea G3 cutting compound with a gentle rub of wire wool. This removed the rust and has left me with a decent patina on the rest of...