Parabolous

I didn't even think about the crank bolts being an odd size. The crank threads are standard so I won't have a problem there but I should check on the bolts.

Parabolous

Awesome! Are you able to to request which choice you want if you get the Aerospace Pro decal set, sku #821 ?

JRrestore

Yes, you will find the choice under the Band colors option.

JR.
VeloCals.com

vtchuck

Lamberts and some early Viscounts had a square, non-tapered spindle. Later models had a standard square taper ISO spindle. Spindle bolts were chrome plated w/ a 14mm bolt head. Mine has 5/16" x 22 TPI
threads, but other variations were used. Careful with the bolts.... they have a reputation for stripping and breaking. As a precaution, I purchased an extra set of correctly sized bolts and used them to tighten down
the cranks and then threaded in the O.E. bolts

noglider 

Why not use the extra bolts? Are you going for all original equipment?

My Viscount has those weird 5/16" bolts. My left arm came loose, and I thought, oh no. Since tightening it, nothing bad has happened, but I'm a little nervous. Oh well, it will work until it doesn't, I guess.

SteveSGP

Living dangerously with the stock fork eh? Do you know which version it is? Just an FYI, The brand new cro-mo fork I installed on my sons is substantially lighter than the aluminum death fork.

-Steve

noglider 

Can you post a link to that? I like the aluminum fork, but if I can get a lighter one and reduce my risk of death, I might be interested. I have the 2nd version with the steel dowel.

JohnDThompson 

I found my "death fork" weighed about 50gm more than a Reynolds 531 fork/investment cast crown with the same length steer tube.

vtchuck

I recently purchased a Cannondale with a Kinesis 6061 aluminum fork that would make a nice replacement for a Viscount fork. Looks very similar.

I have a 76 Aerospace Pro w/ 3rd generation fork:



I'll also mention Home | Viscount & Lambert Bikes Great source for all things Viscount / Lambert

rgver

Its the third version of the aluminum fork, interested which fork you used too

noglider 

@rgver, which is the third version? Is it considered safe? I have one with the steel dowel, so that's second or third.



I rode it in to work today.

rgver

@noglider
1 2 and 3

vtchuck

If you look at the underside of the fork at the top where it meets the steerer and its a smooth surface, its likely a generation 1 or 2. If you can see a circular plug, and a magnet sticks to
the plug, its a generation 3. This version was used by the Viscount Team in road and cyclo-cross races in the 70's.

Its worth noting that even the early Lambert/Viscount "death forks" mostly failed because of impact with a curb or something solid. Also, the recall was only in the US.... mainly because
of the CPSC, which brought you such silly, useless items as spoke, pedal and brake mounted reflectors, rear wheel "pie plates" and front fork "lawyer clips".

noglider 

I don't like lawyer lips but I acknowledge that they may prevent some accidents, since so many don't know how to use a skewer properly. Pie plates are ugly but perform a function. Pedal reflectors are unquestionably a good thing. CPSC definitely has required some dumb things, but I don't think these things were all that dumb. I ground the lawyer lips off my wife's bike.

Thanks for the info on the forks. I'll try not to hit any curbs.

PBC peugeot

I remember when these came out, a friends Schwinn Le Tour got stolen and he replaced it with one of these
I think it was the first nice road bike I ever saw, (a couple years later I was ordering Campy brakes from an ad in bicycling magazine)
I still have an old death fork in my parts pile, but it came on a used Jim Redcay frame I acquired, how it wound up on that I have no idea
the steer tube appears to be solid a couple inches above the fork crown, and it has a pin crosswise through the steer tube above the crown, would this be a 3rd gen then? I have ridden on this fork off and on with no problems, but decided to retire it as it made me nervous to use,

vtchuck

Maybe I overstated the CPSC items, they may have a place on your department store Huffy, but reflectors are a poor replacement for proper lighting..... possibly making riders assume they are safe
riding at night without lighting, pie plates are not a substitute for a properly adjusted derailleur.... all give an illusion of safety, but likely don't address the real issues of bike safety.

IMHO, the CPSC could have done much more to promote bike safety by pushing for universal use of bike helmets, and things like mirrors, rather than a band-aid approach.

noglider 

@vtchuck, I can't believe I'm defending the CPSC, but ...

Reflectors are a good thing. They supplement good lighting. It's best when a bike has both (in my view).

Derailleur hangers get bent very, very often. I've worked as a bike mechanic. It is very common for bikes to get slammed in self-closing doors or get smacked by bikes or just be put down on their drive sides. Then the bikes ride fine until the rider shifts. And the riders think it's a spontaneous thing, but it's not. The only solution that works half well is that giant guard around the derailleur I've seen on BSO's. Ugly but effective. I don't think they should be required, but the rear derailleur is a very vulnerable thing, and maintaining it right is not a complete solution, knowing how badly people understand their own bikes.

Reflectors may have given people a false sense of complete security, but that doesn't make them useless.

vtchuck

I live in a very rural area and night-time cycling is simply not an option. Were I to ride at night, I would be lit up like a Christmas tree,
with a combination of reflectors, LED lights, flashers, etc. If the safest (if not cheapest) route to nighttime riding safety is lights AND
reflectors, then all bikes should be sold with both.... and in my ideal world, if you bought a bike at Wally World, you would get a helmet
as well along with a mirror and a bell.... just like when you buy a car, you get seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes, a horn, headlights, etc.

The whole CPSC bicycle thing strikes me as a minimal cost, liability ass-covering rather than any sincere attempt to meaningfully address bike
safety. Its like covering my ladder with stickers that tell me that I could fall if I do something stupid. Well, duh.

PBC peugeot

BAH! no reflectors, spoke protectors, bells, horns, mirrors, or other junk on my bikes,
and no one needs to but a helmet with every bike, one is more than enough
(helmet that is, one bike is never enough)

vtchuck

I agree totally.... I just think that if you are going to require all bikes to be equipped with safety items, they ought to be
useful, appropriate and actually provide some safety. And I always wear a helmet and mirror...
and have since the old white Bell versions replaced hair-nets

PBC peugeot

I have a head light on my GP (general purpose) bike
and one on my mountain bike, (because trees and rocks and things)
and I take a clip on red blinking light with me on long rides in the event of darkness
gloves shoes helmet jersey blinky light all go with me, they are not part of any bike

SteveSGP

My sons Viscount had the third generation fork on it, I decided I liked his face more than I liked the way the fork looked so I replaced it. I honestly can't recall the brand but it was ordered out of the catalog at County Cycles in Roseville, Mn.

Nothing exotic, works like a charm though.

dddd

Flat pedal's reflectors are huge eye-catchers to head-on or overtaking motorists, and should remain de-riguer.

But for clipless pedals, the retrofitted reflectors some shops bolt on as a CYA measure are ridiculously fragile and awkward.

Why hasn't the CPSC simply mandated that a large panel of durable reflective tape or fabric be part of every cycling shoe sold?

I've commuted and done errands in dark conditions and would guess that wheel reflectors have probably saved my hide at least once.
Cars that start to pull out and then stop just in time are probably seeing the wheel reflectors first because they are bright and fast-moving, and cant be mistaken for some road reflector or other light off in the distance!

Paulpolakoff

Do you still have the Aerospace pro you bought?

cb400bill

Paulpolakoff, we frown on buying and selling offers in the regular forums. We have a Marketplace for that. You do need to be a paid member to post in there.

https://www.bikeforums.net/payments.php