New arrival, in quite a poor condition so will have to be a full refurb, but hopefully an epic rescue eventually.
Currently taking stock of what to do and what can be kept etc
Never seen another one of these so exact original spec unknown, * think the crank set at very least was changed and am dating this as early 80s
Much trepidation here when it comes to removing seat post quill stem and bottom bracket , I will eat plenty of tins of spinach beforehand, so I have biceps like popeye
Much trepidation here when it comes to removing seat post quill stem and bottom bracket , I will eat plenty of tins of spinach beforehand, so I have biceps like popeye
Interesting configuration frame wise with big wheel clearence cantilever brake system mudguard eyes…..early form of gravel bike possibly Definitely an interesting build ahead.
Seat post didnt put up too much resistance but is not reusable (strong japan) as its top bolt has fused solid. Quill stem was a great deal harder to free up - 1/2 can of penetrating oil and a real workout of the handlebars - eventually freed it and is re-usable as are the handlebars.
Suntour downtube shifters were harder still to remove - needed lots of heat to release the lock screws which had to be cut off the shifter bosses - but came out eventually. Rear mech bolt also fused into the frame - again gas torch needed to heat up the dropout and a lot of brute force. which left just the BB to remove - which needed brute force and revealed quite a lot of water ingress in the shell - I never keep old BBs so this one has been jetisoned. I conclude that this bike was either dropped in a river or left outside int he rain for many years as much of the componentry had simply fused to wherever it was mounted so it was a battle to release everything.
Frame is ready to go off for dip, shot blast and powder coating - I am beginning to think it may be older than 1980 - due to the old style canti bosses with just one spring location hole - these are also angled inwards and have little room for modern style cantilever brakes so will have to be Mafac or original Weinmann if I can clean them up and the springs are salvageable.
The frame is pleasingly light once the junk was removed. it appears to be all butted tubes and also the forks are butted 531. the ugly mess all over it appears to be a sprit based outdoor wood preserver or similar the paint is still underneath but it is a right mess - no point in trying to restore the original paint.
no frame number at all on the BB shell so no way to identify the builder/year
I did find this picture online of a similar silver HH touring frameset
this one has the same strong japan seat post
the above pic appears to show the same frameset renovated and repainted - but with replacement drivetrain and modern shifters.
I will keep looking online to see if I can get a more exact date - but none of the HH tourers appear to have the 'romany' name
Definitely an interesting build ahead.
- a most excellent job with the excavation, both physical and informational - 
