Fixing a Victorian

I did the 10 mile classic bicycle ride ride today with Vicky. 96 seats, or riders. The crank arm came loose right away like always. I might pound it in with a brass or rubber mallet, then tighten it again with the impact wrench. The seat moved around on the clamp because the rails are now undersized from the missing nickel plating and heavy rust. An aluminum shim will fix that. The crank is baffling. A little more work. It rode well otherwise. View attachment 652231View attachment 652232View attachment 652233View attachment 652234View attachment 652235
Looks like a good turnout there mate

Shame about the recurring issues for you, but at least it seems like it's still on the right track.

Your ride looks by far the nicest of the lot :)
 
Looks like a good turnout there mate

Shame about the recurring issues for you, but at least it seems like it's still on the right track.

Your ride looks by far the nicest of the lot :)
I can fix these problems. Problems crop up the longer and harder I ride it. It was heavily used an worn by the condition of the chain, cog and races. Plus it was rusty so parts got smaller from missing plating and pitting. Parts were badly stuck. Most parts were bent. Vintage fixed gear racing bicycles are almost always crashed and bent. I don‘t know anyone stupid enough to try and fix a bicycle this shot. I learned never to get another one. The nice thing all the original parts and fittings were there, which is why I bought it. You can’t really find the nuts and bolts and original components are worn and very expensive. The seller laughed all the way to the bank and is probably still chuckling. Life lesson for sure.
 
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Sounds like you are almost there.

I'm not familiar with these two piece cranks; why would the NDS keep falling off?

Is it the screw / lock-nut that just works it's way loose, or is it the crank arm that as lost it's tight fit with the axle taper?

Perhaps you could try removing the original bolt, putting on a beefy bolt, tightening the whole thing up to force the crank on enough, then swap out the beefy bolt with the original. It's an old trick when using soft alloy bolts on square tapers so you don't ruin them.
 
I can fix these problems. Problems crop up the longer and harder I ride it. It was heavily used an worn by the condition of the chain, cog and races. Plus it was rusty so parts got smaller from missing plating and pitting. Parts were badly stuck. Most parts were bent. Vintage fixed gear racing bicycles are almost always crashed and bent. I don‘t know anyone stupid enough to try and fix a bicycle this shot. I learned never to get another one. The nice thing all the original parts and fittings were there, which is why I bought it. You can’t really find the nuts and bolts and original components are worn and very expensive. The seller laughed all the way to the bank and is probably still chuckling. Life lesson for sure.
The seller can laugh all he likes nabeaquam! You got the bike, it now rides and it looks awesome 👍
I'm sure anyone of us that got dug up and pieced back together after 130 years would have a few creaks and groans 😆
Maybe a new custom made bolt might be worth the expense?
Gonna have to go back a few pages now to find the pics!
 
The seller can laugh all he likes nabeaquam! You got the bike, it now rides and it looks awesome 👍
I'm sure anyone of us that got dug up and pieced back together after 130 years would have a few creaks and groans 😆
Maybe a new custom made bolt might be worth the expense?
Gonna have to go back a few pages now to find the pics!
There was a young guy at the classic ride that owns a machine shop out in the county that is not too far away. He offered to make parts. He loves old bicycles and motorcycles and that is favorite thing to work on.
 
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Sounds like you are almost there.

I'm not familiar with these two piece cranks; why would the NDS keep falling off?

Is it the screw / lock-nut that just works it's way loose, or is it the crank arm that as lost it's tight fit with the axle taper?

Perhaps you could try removing the original bolt, putting on a beefy bolt, tightening the whole thing up to force the crank on enough, then swap out the beefy bolt with the original. It's an old trick when using soft alloy bolts on square tapers so you don't ruin them.
The threads are not standard on anything on this bike. I’ve been told their rolled instead of cut.
 
There was a young guy at the classic ride that owns a machine shop out in the county that is not too far away. He offered to make parts. He loves old bicycles and motorcycles and that is favorite thing to work on.
He might be able to make a bolt that "accounts" for a bit of wear....be a shame to lose the cranks!
Can't see it costing silly money 👍
 
@Nabeaquam , you mentioned this before about rolled vs. cut threads.

I always thought rolling was just a production technic to make stronger threads.

Isn't it more of a case of proprietary threads or just differing old standards.

Could it be something like a Whitworth thread 🤔
 
It's most likely that it's a case of them being a now uncommon standard. You can cut and roll threads to exactly the same pitch and diameter. It's not unusual now for companies to use exotic or unusual standards on parts - often just a few fixings mixed in with others that are industry standard - so I suspect the same happened way back in the past.
Take a look at i-phones, they use a mixture of pentalobe, cross-head and tri-lobe screws when there's really no reason for them to use anything other than cross-head throughout.
 
@Nabeaquam , you mentioned this before about rolled vs. cut threads.

I always thought rolling was just a production technic to make stronger threads.

Isn't it more of a case of proprietary threads or just differing old standards.

Could it be something like a Whitworth thread 🤔
You are right I think all modern threads are rolled but this process is somehow different. The threaded part is much larger than the stock the threads were put on. Your idea got me thinking, perhaps a washer would let the bolt dig in and seat the crank arm.
It's most likely that it's a case of them being a now uncommon standard. You can cut and roll threads to exactly the same pitch and diameter. It's not unusual now for companies to use exotic or unusual standards on parts - often just a few fixings mixed in with others that are industry standard - so I suspect the same happened way back in the past.
Take a look at i-phones, they use a mixture of pentalobe, cross-head and tri-lobe screws when there's really no reason for them to use anything other than cross-head throughout.
In 1966 I helped a friend make new manifold exhaust inserts for my Bonniville motorcycle out of navel brass stock. The factory steel ones kept snapping off, a common problem. I think the threading was 17 tip. Anyway, he made beautiful replacements that were exact copies of of original steel ones. They never broke. All my old (1920 and back) American bicycles have the same problem, nothing new fits. You don’t want to loose an axle nut. But I have found that axle nuts from one brand of old hub fit other old brands. I have to find an entire old hub with the nuts to replace a missing axle nut on an old bicycle. Crazy, I’ve done that.
 
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