VintageSteelEU

I think I'm addicted to derailleurs these days. On one Moto I've replaced Huret Success Titane with Suntour Cyclone, which of course needed cleaning (and still needs some fine tuning) and since I couldn't find Suntour Cyclone front derailleur (MK 1), I got Suntour Blue Line which will go on the bicycle soon.
For my other Moto, which currently has Shimano 600EX SIS RD and FD, I got Compe V for the front and Suntour VX-S for the back. Compe V is NOS, so won't require much work. The VX-S was of course filthy when I got it, so I had to disassemble it, clean it properly, give it a bit of light polishing, load it with grease, oil the pivot bolts and put the whole thing together. Luckily, the pulley wheels are in acceptable shape. Busings a bit mangled, as usual in old derailleurs, but I've seen worse. Overall, a very nice derailleur. I'm quite impressed how sturdy this thing feels after well over 40 years! OK, at 215g it's heftier than Cyclone, but I think I actually prefer it over Cyclone when it comes to the way it looks as well. VX-S has a sort of Art-Deco feel to it. Of course, all the nice grooves I like are going to attract grime like nobody's business, but I guess it's not too difficult to clean with a small brush if need be. Love the cage, it seems I will be able to get the chain on without the need for opening the quick link.
Tomorrow I think I'm going find a moment to put it on the bicycle and see whether I can get it working with indexed Shimano shifters.


Nice and clean

Perhaps one day I will find time to give it mirror polish, but for now this should suffice

VintageSteelEU

I'm with a SurferRosa on this one. Rim labels facing non-drive side just look weird. I've rebuilt wheels which didn't even have labels, but had barely visible numbers stamped on the wrong side
As for hub labels / markings, that might vary. I have a wheelset with Ultegra Tricolor hubs where hub labels are facing NDS for some inexplicable reason. Seriously considering getting new decals and getting this right

P!N20

Yeah I just thought given the front wheel is symmetrical it can just be rotated, but then the hub label would be upside down...or the right way up...depending on your preference.

RCMoeur

(stands, gestures with open arms to the far horizon, soundtrack cues in)

"In those days of legend, it was the way of our people. But such wisdom has vanished from these lands."

SurferRosa

You coulda saved me like 45 minutes!

As far as the front wheel is concerned ... I did end up taping together the front spokes and then just flipping the rim around and reassembling it. This was a first. I used masking tape, and I guess I used way too much, because it took quite a while to get the tape off.

Had the rim label been one of those newish ones like on Sun rims where you can easily peel it off and then reapply it, I would have just done it that way.
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RustyJames 

Rim labels facing the wrong way? I’m thrilled with freshly greased bearings and the rim running true.

jamesdak 

Starting to sort this out today. Campagnolo 10 speed but came with a Sram/Shimano 10 speed cassette and wheels. Luckily I had these Campagnolo wheels around to use for now on it. Other than that she's got honest wear on the frame but seem really solid. My first Merckx ever!

JacobLee 

I was riding along on my trusty Super Course when something started to feel loose. A quick check revealed that the cartridge BB was loose. I had ridden it for two years with a 110 wide UN-71 and a 170mm double with no problems. I recently installed a 122.5 UN-52 and a 175mm triple. That was maybe 100 miles ago.

I had noticed that the BB shell had a small protrusion on the drive side, but again, not a problem for two years. I'm thinking I need to have this faced.

VintageSteelEU

It's a known fact that wheels are spinning easier when the rim labels are readable from the drive side. It has to do with weight distribution of the rim and aerodynamics

Jokes aside, I remember one of the rim manufacturers using rim stickers to counterbalance the weight of the tube valve or something. Didn't pay enough attention to remember which one. For the vintage rims I use (Mavic MA2 on one bicycle), I bought new decals, but on the modern rims I have I just removed them straight away. They tend to look rubbish and dirty pretty quickly otherwise and I tend to clean the rims (and brake pads) regularly, especially after riding in the rain.

obrentharris 

@jamesdak beautiful Merckx!
What's the name of that color scheme?
Brent

merziac

That's normal Raleigh QC lad, dress it a bit with good file, lean on that cup with a stout wrench and be on your way!

P!N20

Are you thinking of Ambrosio rim weights?



I believe they are intended to counterweight the sleeved joint opposite.

jamesdak 

Domo-Farm Frites Team paint scheme. Bike has Wendy De Vos name on it. They did run a female team in 2001 but I can't find any real info.

DesmoDog

The 1956 Schwinn racer I just rebuilt has 36h 4-cross wheels. I discovered that after I tore down the rear wheel and measured the spokes to get replacements, and wondered why they were so long. So I measured them again. Then checked the front wheel.

SurferRosa

Same here, I checked the front wheel to confirm. And I should have known something was abnormal when I was looking for spokes in my bin, and they were all waaay shorter. Can you even buy spokes online these days over 300mm?

VintageSteelEU

Could be that, but I also remember a seller / manufacturer / reviewer description of rims where the manufacturer used some sort of heavier, "special" sticker / decal on the joint to counterweight the valve
Which to me reads: "our rims are pretty much the same as any other rims in this class / price range, but we decided to invent another piece of marketing mumbo jumbo hoping they will sell slightly better".
As for the direction of decals on the rims and hubs, Sheldon Brown mentions that in the wheel building senction of the website. Out there in the wild, you will of course see any and every option

Yes. My usual supplier has at least Sapim Leader up to 310mm. Not sure about other manufacturers / models, just did a quick check. As for butted spokes, they have Sapim D-Light up to 300mm. DT Swiss Competition (plain gauge, black) go up to only 265mm. It's UK, but I'm sure all over the world you will have some options as well.

BTinNYC

Hub bearing repack, I had a coordination attack at the crucial moment and half the bearings went into the black hole. I have a good selection of bearings, but not 15/64".
Perverted old bikes.

ascherer 

Now that Ted's done, next up is modding the Motobecane Jubile mixte I got last year to my wife's preferences. She loves the way the frame feels and rides but not so much the original drivetrain and its big jumps between cogs. The basic plan is to move the 3x9 Tiagra and wheels/lights from her Lotus. I considered triplizing the Stronglight crankset but for now I'm going to put a Sugino triple on it (XP I think) and a set of Tektro 559s to replace the long-reach Weinmanns. It's in pretty good shape but needs a good scrubbing, and I have to respace the front and rear dropouts and fashion an adapter for the Huret dropout. I hope to keep the headset and bottom bracket, I suspect they're in decent shape inside. I have a French VO sealed BB on hand if I need it. Here's how she sits pre-transplant:

ascherer 

That chair, though....

SurferRosa

^ Cool Huret cable guide at the bb on your mixte.

ascherer 

Isn't it though? I think I have another on one of my Peugeots. Has that Gallic flair...

RCMoeur

I bought that chair at a bike swap in Prescott nearly 20 years ago. It's made of tacoed and straight used 26" and 700C rims. The armrests are 700C Campy rims. I've had to re-string the backrest and seat with Dacron cord once already due to the merciless Arizona sun. It also has a matching side table made of 26" rims (not in photo).

VintageSteelEU

Lovely frame. Good luck with the Huret RD hanger. I was quite lucky all the Moto frames I got have the campy standard one. When I was looking into buying a frame with Huret dropout (which in the end I didn't), I was thinking about making a custom washer, thin over the RD bolt hole and with a chunky bit to fill in the gap. Something along the lines of Surly Monkey Nuts V3, but made / adapted for the derailleur hanger.
If the current brakes are Weinmann Vainqueur, they are better than Tektro 559 and probably have enough clearance for any wheelset combo. Though 559s are very good anyway and I suppose one might prefer the feeling of them.
In case you found the frame has Swiss BB threading, IRD makes very good ones with Swiss cups. They use JIS taper.

jdawginsc 

Tough to find those clamped cable guides.

What kind of Lotus?

ascherer 

It's an Eclair, picture is before the dynamo hub and lights were added. Figuring out what to do with that will be the followup to the Moto. She wants to keep it in the lineup but she hasn't ridden it since we got the Moto.