Scrodzilla

I've removed shifter mounts and braze ons without incident. Then again, I also grew up working in my Dad's auto body shop.

OP - don't even attempt it unless you know all about what you're doing.

Brian

Liar. I don't believe you grew up.

Six jours

Of course. And if you ruin one you can find one just like it on every street corner. Lugged, carousel brazed frames made in Taiwan of midrange steel are a dime-a-dozen.

I don't really see the point of grinding stuff off perfectly serviceable frames, but this ain't exactly Fausto's Bianchi either.

kringle

around every street corner? not around here. if there is one, it will be wayyy overpriced.

Scrodzilla

Yeah, I suppose you're right. I should have worded that differently.

Six jours

Well, you're in San Fran. You want sanity, move.

Meanwhile, a quick perusal of Ebay shows up numerous midrange lugged Taiwanese bikes in the $100-$300 range.

John_Roger

I'm not doing anything for the fashion actually. I'm doing it because i enjoy ridding my bikes without tons to gears. I'm sorry i offended you.

p.s- you're a ***.

John_Roger

I have more than enough "skill" to do it correctly. I was curious if there was a hole underneath them or not. I have a miller welder, and oxy acetylene torches in my garage. I've restored two hot rods. I can handle two braze ons.

Metzinger

it's gonna look wicked

bbattle

What color are you going to paint the bike?

Brian

That Miller sounds like an arc welder, and the gas welder is going to ruin your paint and possibly the head tube joint. I'd use a wire feed, just not on this. It's just such a bad (and pointless) idea.

NinetiesKid

post pix

Retro Grouch 

That's what I'd do.

The real question is: "What's going to become of this frame if you don't modify it?" The most common answer is to hang unused in somebody's garage until it eventually finds it's way into the dumpster. If you own it, do whatever you think will make you happy. Even if you ruin it you will have learned through the process so it won't be a total loss.

There are lots of folks who don't like fixed gear road bike conversions. That's OK with me, they don't have to build or ride one. I, on the other hand, kind of enjoy the process and see nothing whatever wrong with doing it.

Young Version

My recommendation.

John_Roger

It's just a basic miller 110 wire feed welder.. I decided to leave them on, the frame is off to be powder coated bright white. I'm a tad nervous because i've never really been a fan of white bikes, cars etc. I just felt it was right for this build. It should be rather nice when i'm finished with her.

I will post pictures when the bike is complete. Waiting on parts right now.

John_Roger

This is my first resto/conversion by the way. I rode it all last summer as a single speed. I used the original wheels, rattle can paint job, and a bunch of junk parts laying around. I really like the way the frame fits me, and rides. I can justify spending money on my old schwinn because i enjoy it. I'm sorry to all you insecure pricks who look down on anybody who rides a "junk" Schwinn. Good luck finding a condom to fit that little guy.

Six jours

I think you may have mistaken "It doesn't really matter if you screw it up because it's really common and easily replaced" for "I think you're a bad person for riding a common bike and also I have a small penis".

Easy mistake to make, I suppose.

jodphoto

I'm responding to a 4 year old thread, I know. Hope all are well.

I've seen something done in tubing that may be relevant. In removing a part brazed on, create a heat sink from a short section of copper tubing to wrap partly around the main tube, to draw heat away from the thin, fragile tube. The paint will have been removed in this spot so the heat will transfer efficiently and you can see what is going on. It would have a hole where the offending braze on protrudes. With a very focused flame, (a little hissy, lots of oxygen or air) heat only the braze on. This minimizes the possibility of damage to the tubing.

The other thing is this. Finding an old beat up bike, wrenching on it for a while, then riding your creation is a very complete process. Find, visualize, create, play. It's a very joyful and (dare I say it) Zen-ful undertaking. Even my very cool LBS guy will ask me why I bother with some of my projects. I explain, he nods. My fixie projects are the hot rod I never got to build. I relish the process as much as the ride. Actually, it's all part of the ride.

Whipping out an AMEX card can circumvent some of these steps (joys). When I see the condescending smirks from some of the high end bike riders I encounter, I wish I could share my joy with them. They are just going too damned fast. Also there are advantages to having compact genitals. They fit more neatly into the holes in the saddles and are lighter and more aero (or so I'm told).

Peace to you all.

Six jours

So I wonder what the OP's bike looks like at this point? The fad for fixie conversations seems to be winding down. Are these bikes hanging from the rafters now, or headed to the junk yard? Hard to imagine very many folks acquiring these things and trying to restore them back to their original (i.e. actually useful) condition...

FWIW, I recently found a 40s or 50s Italian racing frame originally set up for Cambio Corsa shifters, but "updated" some time in the seventies or eighties for derailleurs. In restoring it, the DT shifter bosses needed to come off, and I ignored my own advice on how to do it. I simply heated the bosses themselves to bright red, bringing them up as quickly as possible, and then whacking them with a wrench handle to knock them off the frame. The tubing itself never even got hot enough to remelt the brass, and the heat-affected zone on the tubing is smaller than the one formed when attaching cable guides and such. A few moments with the file to remove the brass adhering to the tubing, and all done.

jodphoto

It makes sense that keeping the braze on perpendicular and striking it parallel to the tube would work and avoid distorting the tube itself. Good idea. Thanks.

The fixie conversion craze is subsiding but will stay on the map. There's a forum called Fixed Gear Gallery that is global. Lots of bike art is fiixed gear. It's still fun to take a beater and build something personal. Restoring a mundane bike is a waste of money and time but ratting one out is a blast. Iconoclasm never goes out of style, does it? lt's like the early days of hot rodding when you'd "run what ya' brung". I'm doing a 74 Raleigh Grand Prix as a fixie now and going with as many original parts as possible including a nasty leather seat. The paint sucks so it's going to be bare steel waxed or oiled. This bike was in the trash and I " picked" it. Not worth restoring and not a great bike to begin with, just a fun ride.

Thanks for the tip.

JohnDThompson 

You shouldn't even need to strike it with anything. Position the frame with the boss down, so it can just drop off the tube on its own when the brass or silver holding it in place melts. Clamp a vice-grip on the boss to add some mass to help this happen. Keep the flame focused on the boss,not on the tube. Enough heat will conduct through the boss to melt the brazing material. Position a bucket of water below to catch the hot boss and vice-grip (if used) when it falls off.

That said, I would still discourage this practice, particularly on frames with thin, light weight butted tubing. The lever bosses are often attached beyond the end of the butt, meaning that they are on the thinnest section of the most highly stressed tube on the frame. It's already been compromised once with heat, when the bosses were first attached. Why double the heat damage by removing them?

RaleighSport

Umm if it's an 88 or 89 Prelude I ask please please please to flip it or whatever into cash for a different frame to chop up. I've got a hipsterized Viscount Aerospace Pro in 58-59 that no one would care if you chopped up.. LMK.

jodphoto

I'm going with your advice. This frame is real light and sounds tinny when tapped with a screwdriver. The steel spec is 20XX (rest of label gone). There are only a few cable guides to deal with, no shifter bosses. Hacksaw and file it is. I'm playing this safe.

Thanks for the tips.

Robofunc

Better than decent, actually. Don't maim that frame.

JohnDThompson 

Just don't let the saw blade bite into the tube, or file past the brazing material.

What's wrong with leaving them in place?