Folding Bikes - Oh noes, what have I done?!?!?!

I'm picking up this rusty thing tomorrow:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/bik/1122591575.html

http://images.craigslist.org/3k73m23l6ZZZZZZZZZ94e50d3cdd3e59a10b3.jpg

and am planning on working on it over the summer. I'm not sure I will do it justice to it because I am a total n00b when it comes to more serious bike repairs, like...well, anything more than cleaning drivetrain, adjusting derailleur and brakes, fixing flats, etc.:eek: I'm also pretty sure that this project will take up all of my spare time and meager disposable income. Oh noes, what have I done?????:eek:

(I'm telling myself that it's not a money-sink--it's an investment, right? Once I repair it I can always ebay it to a Japanese collector for mega-profit...but I don't think I can bear to part with it once I have it in my grubby little paws.):o

You guys will have to walk me through this process. Any advice/help is welcome. You don't want me ruining a nice moulton frame, right?:twitchy:

nice find, good luck.

What a Lucky gal you are! Nice find indeed. Now, make sure to get there early before I beat you to it. :p

:thumb:

darn. i got my connection in la and been looking everyday at CL L.A. yet this one slipped my radar. you're so lucky. show us the step by step renovation.....

did you get it for the asking price ??? now i know why i missed this one. i will normally search by folder.....

darn. i got my connection in la and been looking everyday at CL L.A. yet this one slipped my radar. you're so lucky. show us the step by step renovation.....

did you get it for the asking price ??? now i know why i missed this one. i will normally search by folder.....

I just happened upon it, pure luck. I went on CL on 4/14, saw this on the very first page near the top, and immediately emailed the seller.

I think you guys have to walk me through the step by step renovations...:lol: I know how to get rid of the rust, and can probably do a reasonably good job or spray painting (or maybe I should actually spend the money to get it powdercoated, in UCLA blue and gold, of course). But the rest will be relying on park tools, that bike repair book I just got, sheldon brown, C&V threads, and the combined internet wisdom of all of you guys who restored moultons before me.

Very nice! Most bike repair is really not hard; ask questions here and in the bike mechanics forum, refer to Sheldon often, and get the right tools. There's no great mystery beyond that, and you'll do fine.

congrats! I check our auctions/used bikes sites often, and you're right - we Japanese are pay'n waay too much for our Moulton's!

Have fun w/the restoration!

OMG! - $150!!! what I just said above - times 10! : O

Dont meanta steer to far off topic, but ..
Mega-profit ideer:

http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k116034469

1 day left, 12 bids, and roughly 4,200usd!

Looking forward to seeing your updates on it! :)

Thanks for the ebay link! Over $4000 :eek: That is what I will show my parents when they start to get mad at me for yet another n+1 bike. Being Chinese, my mom will respond well to profit, and my dad will like helping with the tinkering to get to that profit. I will tell them I'll flip it and I will, eventually! I'll just not tell them when (and that when will probably be when they can pry it from my cold, dead hands). :lol:

the trick in revonation is - take your time. don't rush nor panic. everything can be repaired/replace with a delicate hands....good luck.....

vic

OMG! - $150!!! what I just said above - times 10! : O

Dont meanta steer to far off topic, but ..
Mega-profit ideer:

http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k116034469

1 day left, 12 bids, and roughly 4,200usd!

AM 18... a very valuable bike.

I would love to one day own a Moulten... or three.

You guys will have to walk me through this process. Any advice/help is welcome. You don't want me ruining a nice moulton frame, right?:twitchy:

Oh boy!! ... Nice project!! Excellent find!! you are going to have a lot of sleepless nights contemplating the 'what ifs'.. :lol: ... way to go!

Are you restoring it or improving it? Sounds fun and it'll be a great learning experience.

Are you restoring it or improving it? Sounds fun and it'll be a great learning experience.

Hmm...still deciding between restoring or hot-rodding. When I get a full list of the bike's specs I'll figure it out.

:thumb:

My guess is: it's not going to be a money sink.

Nice find - you will have a lot of fun fixing it up. Old Moultons have a devoted following so there are lots of resources, both on- and off-line, to help you. Searching through the archives of the Moulton Yahoo group might be a good place to start. I have a Mk3 that I am restoring and a query in the Yahoo archive for "Mk3 bottom bracket" returned over 200 hits.

My vote would be for hot-rodding in a way that allows any changes to be put back to original (in case the next owner is more concerned about originality). Save all the old parts, no matter how bad they might look.

Nice find - you will have a lot of fun fixing it up. Old Moultons have a devoted following so there are lots of resources, both on- and off-line, to help you. Searching through the archives of the Moulton Yahoo group might be a good place to start. I have a Mk3 that I am restoring and a query in the Yahoo archive for "Mk3 bottom bracket" returned over 200 hits.

My vote would be for hot-rodding in a way that allows any changes to be put back to original (in case the next owner is more concerned about originality). Save all the old parts, no matter how bad they might look.

There will be no next owner!!! It's gonna be my preciousssssssss :notamused:










(Barring death, dismemberment, or serious financial problems on my part anyway :p:lol:)

Thanks for the info; I will definitely search through the moulton ygroups also!

It doesn't look too bad. I would find someone who knows about bike frame painting and have it sandblasted and then power coated. Over the years I have stripped and painted several and I now let someone else do it. Properly applied powercoat finishes are much better than anything you can safely apply yourself.

I think the challenge will be finding replacement suspension parts, but with the internet as a resource you should be able to find them. I would guess that anything rubber should be replaced including suspension stuff, tires, tubes and brake pads. New brake and shifter cables are probably a good idea as well.

I would replace the chain and consider other drivetrain replacements as seem necessary. I'm assuming it has some Sturmey Archer 3 or 4 speed hub which should be fine after adding some oil to it. They last a very long time if treated even half decently. Take apart anything (except the rear hub) that has ball bearings, re-grease and put it all back together and you should be good-to-go!

I would guess that the whole restoration could be done for between $200-400 depending on how crazy you go on replacement parts.

You're one lucky bicyclist!

hey, nekohime - did you get it yet. how's the condition ?

I got it!

Vendetta greets her older relative: this taken right outside the house of the seller

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7P-H0hDrI/AAAAAAAACFI/dW8RaLDDgyc/s800/100_0295.JPG

I have no car, so I had to do strap Vendetta to the back of the Moulton and wheel the moulton 3 blocks to the Metro with its threadbare tires. OMG rim damage! :twitchy: But the rims will probably be replaced with lighter ones anyway.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7QPqe9_1I/AAAAAAAACFQ/pFeb9PebwJ4/s800/100_0297.JPG

When I got to the part of my commute where I take the bus, the Moulton went on the front rack and Vendetta came inside with me. Ugh, what a hassle to wrangle two bikes.

Here she is finally home at teh bf's place--wheeled from the bus stop on the bad tires, of course. At least this time the wheeling was only one block.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7Q3ZCxYzI/AAAAAAAACFo/iQkvEojsOq4/s800/100_0302.JPG

Rear view. The Moulton has the most ridiculous kickstand EVER. Vendetta scoffs at the rusty, ugly, ridiculous kickstand.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7SPae--DI/AAAAAAAACGg/5NwJULrpDhA/s800/100_0316.JPG

Just in case there was any doubt about what this is...:lol:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7RKpQrBeI/AAAAAAAACF4/lNub551H5qk/s800/100_0305.JPG

The name of the original owner. I have no idea what those numbers mean.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7RZqTWakI/AAAAAAAACGA/Cq-G1J63tMQ/s800/100_0306.JPG

Beverly Hills Bike License. I'd like to keep it on, but of course, it will be removed by the sandblasting. :( Is there any way to save it?

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7RqCWwN_I/AAAAAAAACGI/5R2qZm17tW0/s800/100_0310.JPG

More pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/nekohime/MyMoulton

It might be easier to reproduce the bike license than to save it.

She's got the bug... the folderitis! :)

--sam

The Moulton has the most ridiculous kickstand EVER.
Ridiculous, maybe... but cool and original! So far, so good! If you have any temptation to get rid of it, I want it. Really, I do! But my unsolicited advice is to keep it.



The name of the original owner. I have no idea what those numbers mean.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SdF0uuk3iUc/Se7RZqTWakI/AAAAAAAACGA/Cq-G1J63tMQ/s800/100_0306.JPG
Those are his phone numbers; ever wonder why the numbers on the phone have letters on them? In the old days phone numbers were four numbers. Then they introduced exchanges that were the name of the town followed by one digit, like an early pre-zip postal code; Joe presumably lived in Beverly Hills 7, so his phone number at that time might have been 7-0970. A little later, when area codes were introduced, the exchange system was adapted to two letters, abbreviating a word that supposedly made the whole thangie easier to remember. These numbers translate to 277-0970 and 837-3804.


Beverly Hills Bike License. I'd like to keep it on, but of course, it will be removed by the sandblasting. :( Is there any way to save it?)]

You might be able to get it off with the combination of solvent and a razor blade... any museum conservator worth his salt could do it, no problem. But... you might consider not sandblasting the bike at all... match the original color as well as possible, clean off the rust, repaint parts as necessary. Post this bike over at Classic and Vintage, see what they tell you there! It's really nice, by the way. Really nice. You go, girl.

________
edit:

The four speed hub has a date code on it. Something like " 65 4 ", for example (April 1965). The bike was presumably made within a few months after that date code. Of course the hub could be a later replacement, but the odds are good that it's original.

wow. such a jewel. i see the envy look of your vendetta.....as i look deeper at your pics i can see how advanced the design of moulton is, to think that it is a 30+ year old bike. it's like finding a rolls royce car in a barn. good luck on your renovation and show us pics as you go along......

vic

Rhm, the white color is a "do not want," so sandblasting and repainting is in her future. White just doesn't float my boat unfortunately, although I do admit it looks very classy and clean. I'm thinking of doing a UCLA color scheme (kinda like Sesame Crunch's moulton but with slightly lighter blue), pale gold, or BRG, like Vendetta. Or maybe I'll flip through a moulton catalog and pick an original color I like.

Rhm, the white color is a "do not want," so sandblasting and repainting is in her future. White just doesn't float my boat....

I hear you. When I got my touring frame (a brand new Trek 720) back in 1983 I thought the color (metallic dung with burgundy panels, I think) was so nasty I almost weakened and got a racing frame (the store had a Trek 760, in a beautiful deep blue with silver panels, for the same price). I got the touring frame, but promised myself I'd repaint it one day. By the time I got around to a respray, the 720 had become a collector's item and repainting it probably reduced it's value. Of course I didn't care about that; I'm not going to be selling it.

woo hop! Congrats on a great bike find. Let us know when you start the work on it and we'll try to help.

The phone numbers in Los Angeles were 7 digits for this bike's vintage. The first two numbers were expressed as alpha characters. The CR would be dialed as 2 7, the VE would be 8 3. Our old number was DA, 3 and 2. People would say Davis 7-6492 for 327-6492. This was back in the 60's and 70's.

those were the days huh?!
you find a bike in hollywood, and call the dymo-ed owner!
a beauty of a bike
regards
jon