This Old Puch
 

When I was a kid I absolutely hated bicycles.

It took me years longer than everybody else to learn how to ride them. I have terrible balance and would constantly fall off. I bent off several sets of training wheels by relying on them as a secondary wheel rather than a saving stabilizer, simultaneously ruining the parts and any chance of actually learning to ride.

Even worse, I was a fat kid. Not adorable fat like the catcher from Sandlot, obese like Cartman. Riding was hard. Hard to the point of never being fun. Besides the aches and pains, the very act became depressing and hateful. My weight problems only worsened through high school and my dad, probably at a total loss, began to force me to ride home long distances. This only stopped when the ugly, purple unisex WalMart monstrosity couldn't take the stress anymore. After cracking a few sets of gears and chains, even my dad gave up, and I finally didn't have to ride anymore.

But the way things were isn't the way they always will be.

I got the help I needed. After years of humiliating failures at medical weight loss, I finally was approved for surgical aid. It was agony, and the recovery is ongoing even to this day, but I lost the weight. After almost an entire life of physical inability, I could finally move. I could finally work up and sweat and feel good.

I graduated with my Master's this summer, and when I got home, something in me wanted to ride. I have absolutely no clue why, but bicycles finally appealed to me. I told my dad, and he refused to let me go buy one. Instead, he insisted I take his. After an entire decade, I rode again, and although it felt amazing, both the bicycle and myself need work.

I write all this so the importance of this project is clear. Rebuilding this bike isn't a weekend hobby or a future flip job. This is about coming to grips with my past, learning new skills, improving my health, and proving myself.

I'll be recording my both my rebuilding progress and my riding ability, and I hope I can get some help. I pride myself on my research abilities, but haven't been able to find any substantial information on the Puch. I've looked up how-tos and instructional videos, but haven't really done mechanical work before.

So I hope you'll be interested or entertained, and it would be great to have more expert eyes provide some guidance. Welcome to This Old Puch.

Here it is.
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My dad only remembers buying the Puch in Germany, and is hazy on the date of purchase. My mom figures it must have been in the early to mid 70s, through recollection of his owning it throughout their early relationship.

It has several different companies listed on the various components, but the frame is clearly marked PUCH in several locations, and MADE IN AUSTRIA underneath the saddle. The serial: F?968862 is etched into it, and 327? -72-6470? also etched onto the bottom of the hub where the pedals are (the question marks denote that I'm pretty sure those symbols are what I typed, but are worn enough for me to question myself). I have no idea what model it is.

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As you can see, its rough. My dad is an amputee, and before I rode it a few weeks ago, it had been "stored" hanging upside down in our unheated garage for about two decades. The tires are dryrotted, as is the handlebar padding. I ordered tires and wraps from BikeTiresDirect, which should arrive near the end of this week. I also bought a set of brake pads from a localish Performance Bikes and had intended to install them, but realized it would be easier to put them on at the same time as the new tires.

More worrisome is the surface rust along the wheels and other chromed parts, as well as beat-up paint on the frame itself. The brakes don't work, and the gear changes sound so funky I don't even do them, although that also has a bit to do with their odd placement (to a newbie only used to mountain bike gearshifts) which do not suit my shaky riding skills. The wiring for both of these systems is very loose and seems really poorly done.

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All I have done to this point is clean off the bicycle, oil the chains, oil and wipe down the metal, and fill up the tires. After taking these pictures I also removed the taillight, which is a British made Ever-Ready that takes oddly specific batteries.

My longest trip has been to a local volleyball court to play, and back. With no brakes i'm too anxious to take it on longer journeys. More usually I take it around the block, trying to do so at least once a day. Some days I'll go around several times throughout, because I like to ride when I get frustrated to calm down. I have fun and do alright, but I'm always sweaty and out of breath. I weigh about 265 pounds at the moment, and with shoes on stand a shade under 6 feet.

Welcome to the forum! I have a soft spot for Puchs, my first real bike was also a Puch of similar vintage to yours.

Since you've asked for advice, mine would be to find a bike co-op near you, or a shop that deals in old parts (hopefully one of the Chicago-area posters on this forum will see this post and chime in with specific recommendations) and get hold of a pair of bar-end shifters at the same time you get some assistance with adjusting brakes and shifters, and maybe also finding a pair of aluminum-rimmed wheels that will give much better braking performance than steel rims. Downtube shifters are tough to reach unless you're riding in a fairly aggressive position, one that requires core strength and a degree of flexibility, both of which that will take some time to develop along with your confidence.

Again, welcome, I look forward to seeing what you do with this Puch and hearing your success stories to come.

Buy a Bell Cable set for $8.00 on line and change all the cables, one at a time so you don't lose track of where they all go. You'll need a good quality set of diagonal cutters to cut the wire cable.

Rusted chrome can be cleaned with WD40 and 000 steel wool.
Rusted paint can be cleaned with Barkeepers Friend on a wet sponge.

At some point, the wheel hubs will need to be regreased. Look up procedures on youtube or sheldonbrown.com.

Good luck with improving your fitness and bike!

Good luck in this endeavor...while others will offer advice on fixing up the bike...my advice is more on the overall "project"...

STICK WITH IT! It will get frustrating from both physical and mechanical perspectives...but...as you and your bike gain fitness, the rewards are worth it! But...again...this will all depend on your "stick-to-it-tive-ness"...so stay with it!

Just make sure the Puch fits properly. You should be able to stand over the top tube comfortably and have 1-2" clearance. 2" at most, really.
If it doesn't really fit, it wont be as comfortable to ride.

I think its great you are fixing up your dad's old bike and that you have found an interest in the classics. My first full refurbish was a Puch that was heavy buy rode great. Loved that bike.
Have fun!

Welcome to the forums and the world of bicycles. We've been waiting for you. :)

Nice Puch. Thanx for sharing your story with us.

Great story, beautifully told. Your Masters wouldn't be an MFA in Writing, would it?

Welcome and stick with it. You may also want to visit Park tool where they give you guidance on maintenance. Once you get brakes and the drive train straightened out, you will discover freedom.

First off, sincere thanks to everyone for being so welcoming. I had been looking for advice on some other websites previously and the attitude was mostly "lern bettar stoopid."

I'm gonna respond to your posts quickly before I grab lunch, then post about last night's maintenance when I return.

I've been looking for shops, but no luck so far. My area of the Southside is still really spread out, so nobody commutes on bicycles yet, and the only shops I've been to around here are mostly for selling complete new rides, not parts and advice.

I'm doing the refurbish in stages, so wheels and gears are down the list a ways. I bought some nice Schwalbes that were on sale, so when they eventually wear out I'll look into getting new rims. As for gears, I don't know if I should tune up the current set or replace them. Honestly I was thinking about swapping them out for a less complicated set. Ten speeds are a nice option, but due to my weight and relative disinterest in shifting gears I was considering lowering down to five speeds or less. I feel this would be easier to use with the shifter (which I could move up the frame?) and would be more durable. Thoughts?


Plan on picking up a new cable set with my next online order. BikeTiresDirect gave me a bunch of reward points and so far have been really quick in getting out my order, so if I receive the package on time and its all nicely done, I'll probably stick with them.

The WD40 and steel wool combo has worked beautifully! Have yet to start with the Barkeepers, but I picked it up and will be giving it a try soon. Hub greasing will probably happen much, much later.


Right now when I stand in that position my groin sits a hair above the tube, depending on my stance. I assume the only way to lower the bicycle is the use of smaller wheels? If that's the case, I'll replace the 27" with something smaller when the new tires wear out, like I said above.


Aw shucks, thank you very much. *blushes*

Modern Third World History, actually, but that involved tons of writing and a need to develop a style that would make readers care about people living in entirely alien circumstances.


I've been using that site, its wonderful, thank you. Any recommendations on well-done informative YouTube guides?

Alright, gotta go grab my sushi. I'll be back with pictures and headaches soon!

I can relate to your story, in the sense that I was an uncoordinated, overweight child who could not figure out how to balance a bicycle until age 12. I got a used 2-speed Schwinn middleweight for my 12th birthday and a bottom-of-the-line Bianchi road bike a few months later, and have been hooked on cycling ever since.

I also have a taste for Austrian bicycles and own two from the 1960 era (see signature).

The Puch sounds as though it just fits you, so I would go ahead and replace the tires, tubes, rim strips, brake pads, and all cables and housings, then see how it rides. The next step, as others have mentioned, will be to regrease all of the bearings.

So. Initially I didn't plan on doing much. Re-inflated the tires again (old tubes don't seem to hold the air that well), and went for a nice ride. When I got home I brought the Puch inside, laid down a tarp in my bedroom and went to work.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=475010 http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=475024

This "rearview" mirror had proven entirely pointless to me. No matter what angle I put it at, it only gave me a nice view of my chest, face, or the sky. I think it's designed for the more aggressive racing stance. Regardless, it wouldn't even stay in position, so I decided to remove it. Perhaps I could jury rig some way to attach it to my helmet and save ten bucks.

Well, problems ensued. After several minutes of constant loosening, it became clear the mirror was attached to the brake lever in a far more complicated fashion than a simple nut/bolt combo. The cable wire runs though it, and there is an interior nut inside the lever itself.

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I have no idea how to remove it, apart from cutting the cable. I planned on doing that eventually anyway, but when I was examining the other brake lever to get a better idea of its workings, that cable, attached to the rear brake, snapped. As it stands then, the rearview side, which is attached to the front brake, is the only working cable. Although the brake does not currently work, the caliper mechanism does, and if simple replacement of the pads provides braking, I'd like to keep it that way before I get around to running new cables. I know front brakes are more difficult than rear brakes, since they can toss you, but they're better than my current brake of "foot to ground."

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Here is the removed lever from the cable that snapped. They seem to be in fine condition, but they were fairly wobbly when they were still attached. I presume that was just time and they could be attached again nicely. I cleaned surface rust off and have placed them aside for later. I also removed the side lever from the mirrorside, in an attempt to get a better look.

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Since the lever ended up getting removed, I went ahead and cut off the old foam pads, which hurt my hands in any case, loosened the handlebar, and cleaned off the rust. Thanks again to [MENTION=305894]oddjob2[/MENTION] for the WD40 and steel wool tip, it worked wonderfully. After this was done I angled the handlebar so it would be more comfortable for me and tightened it down.

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Motivated by how easy this cleaning was and how much good it did, I went ahead and removed this thing. I cleaned and replaced it. My question to all of you is what in tarnation is it?

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It attaches directly to the front fork, and I presume it must have some kind of function. Nothing was attached to it throughout the bicycle's garage residency, so I'm at a loss. Currently I plan on using it to mount a light, but if anybody has a better idea let me know.

Thanks for tuning in to This Old Puch. A parts shipment should be arriving tomorrow morning, so look forward to more confusion, consternation, and refurbishment.

Oh, and really quick, I found this:

EMBACHER/COLLECTION - PUCH Mistral Ultima

The Puch in this guy's collection is from 1982, but the pattern looks so similar that it makes me wonder. Is This Old Puch a Mistral? I have no idea how to figure out the model.

Yes that bracket was for a light. In the 70s you could buy cheap plastic ones, but this antique will give you the idea how it worked.

Moscaline: Raleigh Twenty Lamp