Hi all
I'm Barney, from Kent. Just posted my hello message a moment ago.
I'm an almost complete beginner to bikes, and I've decided to take on an old Falcon as a project, half for fun and half to get myself something to ride. I would welcome any comments anyone might have for me!
I wanted to start cycling more due to lockdown, and my Dad's hybrid is pretty awful, so I decided to go for a road bike. I was thinking new and cheap, but I saw a rusty old bike for £30 which I could collect that day, and I couldn't resist. It's a Falcon something - seems like it might be 70s according to the searches I've done. I can only find one other bike with the same logo online, and the owner thought it was from '73. I think it's a city bike but it also looks like a road bike to me.
I've relatively little experience with bikes, although I did used to ride a lot as a kid. I've been being a bit more active in doing minor car repairs etc lately, and I get mechanics fairly well. I've got a Haynes bike book at my disposal and most normal tools plus a few bike tools.
It's in seemingly good condition. Some surface rust, nothing bad, and apart from the bearings all being knackered, everything else is in working order - albeit much older gear than I've ever used or even seen. The frame looks like it's in alignment.
I have a few vague ideas for what I want to do with the bike. Obviously, a clean and de-rust are needed - the rust is all surface and not really bad at all, except on the wheel rims. It did have panniers and a dynamo rear light, however I think I'll keep those off as I don't need them or the weight.
Starting with the easy bits, the handlebars are fine, will just need a sand and taping up. I've got a seat to replace the ball crusher which it had, and the post came out fine. Brakes are straddle wire cantilevers - wires need replacing but the calipers and pads seem ok.
It's a 5-speed bike, and I think the bottom bracket and hub bearings will need replacing (I'll probably replace all the bearings I can) - but I'm thinking of getting rid of any or all of the freewheel, hub or indeed whole wheel(s) and/or crankset, to upgrade it to a cheap modern drivetrain. I did look briefly and found a full groupset online with drivetrain and brakes for £200ish. I'm guessing compatibility will be a hurdle here though? No idea!
As I say, the wheel rims are pretty rusty on the braking surfaces. I'm sure they're probably miles out of true too, although they look ok to me. Spokes don't look in bad shape but then again my eye is very much untrained. Dad reckons I might be best getting new wheels, but I'd at least like to see what can be done. What else... oh, the gear lever is on the down tube - just a little 2in lever. Never seen anything like it before - Dad assures me they all used to come like that. The derailleur (rear only) is a *Shimano Tourney** edit - it's a Huret, the brakes are Shimano Tourney*, and looks pretty rusty at the moment. It seems to move ok.
The brake levers are the metal kind, with two levers each side so they can be operated from the horizontal or vertical parts of the bullhorn handlebars. I like the dual-lever feature, but not the metal especially. The groupset I looked at included both derailleurs as well as brake and shift levers, so I was thinking I might go that way.
So, there you have it. Not 100% sure what to do with it - I would love to hear any ideas, suggestions or comments. I have no idea if it might be old enough to be worth something? Not a clue about the retro bikes market. I gather Falcon is somewhat downmarket but who knows. Mainly, I just need a functional bike ASAP to get riding. If it's fast and rides well that would be good, if it looks great that would be a bonus, and I guess if there's reason to, I would actually enjoy restoring the old parts properly.
I wonder, however, if I might bump into issues I hadn't considered? Could sizings and spacings be a problem, especially if I decide to install a groupset? Are there modifications that I could make with relative ease to make stuff fit?
And lastly, I didn't consider this at the time, but would be interested if anyone knows anything about the history of this bike, what model and/or year it could be? Does the Falcon brand mean something for anyone reading this? It seems quite old-styley, and has a bit of charm to it. The dynamo is interesting, I've not seen one on a bike before although I know they exist. Will be sure to add pics shortly!
If it sounds like I don't know what I'm talking about, I probably don't - please correct me![Big Grin :D :D](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
**Edit** - Here are the images, hosted on my cricket club's website as a gallery: http://cowdreycc.co.uk/barneys-falcon/
I'm an almost complete beginner to bikes, and I've decided to take on an old Falcon as a project, half for fun and half to get myself something to ride. I would welcome any comments anyone might have for me!
I wanted to start cycling more due to lockdown, and my Dad's hybrid is pretty awful, so I decided to go for a road bike. I was thinking new and cheap, but I saw a rusty old bike for £30 which I could collect that day, and I couldn't resist. It's a Falcon something - seems like it might be 70s according to the searches I've done. I can only find one other bike with the same logo online, and the owner thought it was from '73. I think it's a city bike but it also looks like a road bike to me.
I've relatively little experience with bikes, although I did used to ride a lot as a kid. I've been being a bit more active in doing minor car repairs etc lately, and I get mechanics fairly well. I've got a Haynes bike book at my disposal and most normal tools plus a few bike tools.
It's in seemingly good condition. Some surface rust, nothing bad, and apart from the bearings all being knackered, everything else is in working order - albeit much older gear than I've ever used or even seen. The frame looks like it's in alignment.
I have a few vague ideas for what I want to do with the bike. Obviously, a clean and de-rust are needed - the rust is all surface and not really bad at all, except on the wheel rims. It did have panniers and a dynamo rear light, however I think I'll keep those off as I don't need them or the weight.
Starting with the easy bits, the handlebars are fine, will just need a sand and taping up. I've got a seat to replace the ball crusher which it had, and the post came out fine. Brakes are straddle wire cantilevers - wires need replacing but the calipers and pads seem ok.
It's a 5-speed bike, and I think the bottom bracket and hub bearings will need replacing (I'll probably replace all the bearings I can) - but I'm thinking of getting rid of any or all of the freewheel, hub or indeed whole wheel(s) and/or crankset, to upgrade it to a cheap modern drivetrain. I did look briefly and found a full groupset online with drivetrain and brakes for £200ish. I'm guessing compatibility will be a hurdle here though? No idea!
As I say, the wheel rims are pretty rusty on the braking surfaces. I'm sure they're probably miles out of true too, although they look ok to me. Spokes don't look in bad shape but then again my eye is very much untrained. Dad reckons I might be best getting new wheels, but I'd at least like to see what can be done. What else... oh, the gear lever is on the down tube - just a little 2in lever. Never seen anything like it before - Dad assures me they all used to come like that. The derailleur (rear only) is a *Shimano Tourney** edit - it's a Huret, the brakes are Shimano Tourney*, and looks pretty rusty at the moment. It seems to move ok.
The brake levers are the metal kind, with two levers each side so they can be operated from the horizontal or vertical parts of the bullhorn handlebars. I like the dual-lever feature, but not the metal especially. The groupset I looked at included both derailleurs as well as brake and shift levers, so I was thinking I might go that way.
So, there you have it. Not 100% sure what to do with it - I would love to hear any ideas, suggestions or comments. I have no idea if it might be old enough to be worth something? Not a clue about the retro bikes market. I gather Falcon is somewhat downmarket but who knows. Mainly, I just need a functional bike ASAP to get riding. If it's fast and rides well that would be good, if it looks great that would be a bonus, and I guess if there's reason to, I would actually enjoy restoring the old parts properly.
I wonder, however, if I might bump into issues I hadn't considered? Could sizings and spacings be a problem, especially if I decide to install a groupset? Are there modifications that I could make with relative ease to make stuff fit?
And lastly, I didn't consider this at the time, but would be interested if anyone knows anything about the history of this bike, what model and/or year it could be? Does the Falcon brand mean something for anyone reading this? It seems quite old-styley, and has a bit of charm to it. The dynamo is interesting, I've not seen one on a bike before although I know they exist. Will be sure to add pics shortly!
If it sounds like I don't know what I'm talking about, I probably don't - please correct me
**Edit** - Here are the images, hosted on my cricket club's website as a gallery: http://cowdreycc.co.uk/barneys-falcon/