Tushingham B52 1988

[jimo746]

Re:

Plusgas for 3 days, put the seatpost in a bench vise and using the frame as the lever got the seatpost out, it was an alloy post, and has cleaned up nicely.

The uniglide cassette is staying as it is.

I'm considering having the frame repainted as the flouro Orange has faded away and the various rustspots have been touched up with white paint, which looks ok from a distance, but .......

Would it be sacrilige to refurbish the frame?
The only bit of non-faded Orange paint to colourmatch from is under the bottle cage bolts.

Hmmm......

 

[jimwise68]

Tough call on the refurb of frame. Do you want to keep it as a survivor to use or do you want to make it into a carpet pony?

Or restore to original and use it as a "new" bike.

 

[jimo746]

I was thinking more along the lines of "restore to original, and use as a "new" bike".
I don't have carpet ponies/garage queens, it's a bike, ride it as it was meant to be ridden, plus I barely have enough space for the bikes I own & ride... nevermind the ones I'd like to own and ogle every day!

 

[jimwise68]

Re:

haha, exactly. don't see the point of having them and not riding them.

Im all in for the full resto to new bike standard and then fully enjoy them.

Unless they are in good shape as a survivor then i leave them as they are and then use them.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Hmmm... I'll see how things look when it's all been cleaned and put back together.

Couple of parts arrived for it today.... new bottom bracket cups and a "bottom bracket protector sleeve" (never knew they existed until I looked, but seems like a good idea), brakepads, UG chain, and a Kalloy seat q/r which is an almost exact copy of the rusted old thing I removed from the bike.
I also sourced some used (but in better condition than the current ones) Exage Mountain brake levers/shifters.

And the wheel rim polishing is coming along nicely, it's taking some time, but the difference is noticable. I'll post some before/after pics in due course.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

The cleaning continues... and a few more parts are on their way (thanks Antstark ), rear mech, U-brake, and pedals, as the parts that were on this bike, whilst still functional, were in a bad way cosmetically, the pedals for instance were never going to clean up to even a half decent standard.

A few before & after pics...






There's not much more to do really, just a few parts to arrive in the post and be bolted on. I do need to find some plain black handlebar grips, the type with the ends moulded on as part of the grip, as the bars have crazy thick walls at the ends and bar end plugs won't fit in them.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Fitted some new tyres and took the old girl out for a spin today...







Rides just fine, MacRetro Baltic Bawbags ride tomorrow so we'll see how she gets on off-road

 

[Ollie]

Wow, looking good .

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Time for an update, the Macretro Baltic Bawbags ride was a success, and suitably Baltic!

Can't say I got much of a chance to really test out it's off-road abilities, but it sure was a lot of fun anyway :mrgreen:

 

[Max P]

Awesome pics and bike, clean it up, wax it well, keep the patina. I know many love restoring but I'm totally against; patina, originality and history is everything.

And the ride you've pictured is one lovely big chunk of history that stays with that frame.

Once you've stripped it, lost the decals and repainted it then it just becomes another freshly painted budget steel frame with some worthless old parts...