What have you been wrenching on lately?
03-21-23, 04:48 PM
#6051
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Originally Posted by capnjonny
Today I started work on the 1958 Follis
.
When I found it in the back room of the Bike Exchange it was just a frame and fork. It had been repainted at some time and the paint, except for some nicks and scratches, was pretty good. I origionally intended to strip it to bare metal and repaint but I wasn't really looking forward to all the work having just finished a 1958 Lenton and a 1875 Pinarello.
When I first brought it home I had fitted it out with all the age appropriate hardware I wanted to use on it to make sure I had everything I needed so today I stripped it back down and catalogued all the shiny bits, to be polished later. I wiped down the frame with mineral spirits to remove any grease and used white polishing compound to deep clean the paint. The more I put my hands on it the more certain I was that I could save the existing paint. I got out my stash of half used Rustoleum rattle cans and using navy blue and white was able to mix a seemingly perfect color match to the existing paint. Tomorrow I will treat all the rust spots with naval jelly and a dremel tool to clean off the rust and do the touch ups. The bike is painted a solid blue which is a shame because the Steer tube has a beutiful raised logo on it. I will paint the back ground white to show off the Raised letters. A final coat of Rustoleum automotive clear and it should look like new.
Just as VeloCals was closing its shop I ordered a full decal set for it. A few days later I got an e mail saying they were refunding my money. When I called to find out why they told me they were giving me the decals Gratis. Good on you Velocals.
.
When I found it in the back room of the Bike Exchange it was just a frame and fork. It had been repainted at some time and the paint, except for some nicks and scratches, was pretty good. I origionally intended to strip it to bare metal and repaint but I wasn't really looking forward to all the work having just finished a 1958 Lenton and a 1875 Pinarello.
When I first brought it home I had fitted it out with all the age appropriate hardware I wanted to use on it to make sure I had everything I needed so today I stripped it back down and catalogued all the shiny bits, to be polished later. I wiped down the frame with mineral spirits to remove any grease and used white polishing compound to deep clean the paint. The more I put my hands on it the more certain I was that I could save the existing paint. I got out my stash of half used Rustoleum rattle cans and using navy blue and white was able to mix a seemingly perfect color match to the existing paint. Tomorrow I will treat all the rust spots with naval jelly and a dremel tool to clean off the rust and do the touch ups. The bike is painted a solid blue which is a shame because the Steer tube has a beutiful raised logo on it. I will paint the back ground white to show off the Raised letters. A final coat of Rustoleum automotive clear and it should look like new.
Just as VeloCals was closing its shop I ordered a full decal set for it. A few days later I got an e mail saying they were refunding my money. When I called to find out why they told me they were giving me the decals Gratis. Good on you Velocals.
One of the reasons I like Motobecane so much is because their paints are magic.Though navy blue looks alright and the frame looks great. I'm tempted to make a trip to Lyon sometime and start looking around for Follis frames I could work on
03-21-23, 05:31 PM
#6052
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I tried doing a full "harlequin" bar wrap in 2019. It's one of those things that you do out of curiosity, just to see if you can do it. It wasn't great, but also not terrible.
I wasn't prepared for the difficulty of getting around the corners, so I didn't go too much past the curves.
Well, that was in 2019, and the tape has seen a lot of miles since then The orange was faded and the edges of the tape were starting to fray.
I decided to redo it, but with black and brown tape instead of black and orange. Mostly, it was to avoid having an orange tape that clashed with the burnt orange paint.
I also decided to try "squeezing" the tape together a bit to be able to manage the shorter distance on the inside of the curves.
It didn't turn out perfect, but the concept is fairly good. My technique could still use some refinement, though.
Steve in Peoria
I wasn't prepared for the difficulty of getting around the corners, so I didn't go too much past the curves.
Well, that was in 2019, and the tape has seen a lot of miles since then The orange was faded and the edges of the tape were starting to fray.
I decided to redo it, but with black and brown tape instead of black and orange. Mostly, it was to avoid having an orange tape that clashed with the burnt orange paint.
I also decided to try "squeezing" the tape together a bit to be able to manage the shorter distance on the inside of the curves.
It didn't turn out perfect, but the concept is fairly good. My technique could still use some refinement, though.
Steve in Peoria
03-22-23, 11:35 AM
#6053
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Reassembled the ‘72. Putting them together is always so much faster! I still have to clean up the rims and hubs and polish a few other bits, and the RD coiled housing is tried is too short and will revert to black. I’m really happy with how well it cleaned up, hope to take it out for a spin soon.
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1987 Mercian Pro, 1985 Shogun 500, 197? Falcon San Remo, 1972 Peugeot PX-10, 1972 Schwinn Paramount P13-9, 1971 Peugeot PX-10, 1971 Raleigh International, 1970 Raleigh Professional Mark I
Curator/Team Mechanic: 2016 Dawes Streetfighter, 1984 Lotus Eclair, 1975 Motobecane Jubile Mixte, 1974 Raleigh Sports, 1973 Free Spirit Ted Williams, 1972 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Philips Sport
1987 Mercian Pro, 1985 Shogun 500, 197? Falcon San Remo, 1972 Peugeot PX-10, 1972 Schwinn Paramount P13-9, 1971 Peugeot PX-10, 1971 Raleigh International, 1970 Raleigh Professional Mark I
Curator/Team Mechanic: 2016 Dawes Streetfighter, 1984 Lotus Eclair, 1975 Motobecane Jubile Mixte, 1974 Raleigh Sports, 1973 Free Spirit Ted Williams, 1972 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Philips Sport
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03-22-23, 03:04 PM
#6054
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Originally Posted by ascherer
Reassembled the ‘72. Putting them together is always so much faster! I still have to clean up the rims and hubs and polish a few other bits, and the RD coiled housing is tried is too short and will revert to black. I’m really happy with how well it cleaned up, hope to take it out for a spin soon.
03-22-23, 03:21 PM
#6055
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Another day, another problem to solve. The missing adjuster for the Superbe brakes arrived in post today, which is great. It also looks like the adjuster ring and cable holder / bolt are pretty much fused. Not so great. And it's not something you can just pop in to your LBS for and buy. I've seen a genuine Superbe one for something like $35 (plus shipping which would be another $20 for me) on fleabay, which I think is a bit excessive (even before the shipping cost). So that will be out of the question. Thankfully, compatible adjusters are fairly easily obtainable (for like 1/3rd the price of the original). The only problem is all I've seen have black O-rings, other than that, they look exactly the same.
For now I decided that the bit to save here is the brown / orange O ring. That came off easily enough helped by soaking in some warm water. This way, if I destroy other pieces whilst trying to free them, at least I can use the O ring on a replacement adjuster. I grabbed both parts with pliers through pieces of fabric and tried to pry this thing open, to no avail. I'll see if I can heat up the whole bit and cool down a few times, maybe that will help. I expect that at some point the thread between both parts got mangled, so I'm not raising my hopes high. I'm guessing eventually I will have to drill the cable tunnel / bolt out of the adjuster ring. This way I can re-tap the remaining adjuster ring and use it with another bolt, should there be any compatibility issues.
For now I decided that the bit to save here is the brown / orange O ring. That came off easily enough helped by soaking in some warm water. This way, if I destroy other pieces whilst trying to free them, at least I can use the O ring on a replacement adjuster. I grabbed both parts with pliers through pieces of fabric and tried to pry this thing open, to no avail. I'll see if I can heat up the whole bit and cool down a few times, maybe that will help. I expect that at some point the thread between both parts got mangled, so I'm not raising my hopes high. I'm guessing eventually I will have to drill the cable tunnel / bolt out of the adjuster ring. This way I can re-tap the remaining adjuster ring and use it with another bolt, should there be any compatibility issues.
03-22-23, 03:29 PM
#6056
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Originally Posted by VintageSteelEU
Another day, another problem to solve. The missing adjuster for the Superbe brakes arrived in post today, which is great. It also looks like the adjuster ring and cable holder / bolt are pretty much fused. Not so great. And it's not something you can just pop in to your LBS for and buy. I've seen a genuine Superbe one for something like $35 (plus shipping which would be another $20 for me) on fleabay, which I think is a bit excessive (even before the shipping cost). So that will be out of the question. Thankfully, compatible adjusters are fairly easily obtainable (for like 1/3rd the price of the original). The only problem is all I've seen have black O-rings, other than that, they look exactly the same.
For now I decided that the bit to save here is the brown / orange O ring. That came off easily enough helped by soaking in some warm water. This way, if I destroy other pieces whilst trying to free them, at least I can use the O ring on a replacement adjuster. I grabbed both parts with pliers through pieces of fabric and tried to pry this thing open, to no avail. I'll see if I can heat up the whole bit and cool down a few times, maybe that will help. I expect that at some point the thread between both parts got mangled, so I'm not raising my hopes high. I'm guessing eventually I will have to drill the cable tunnel / bolt out of the adjuster ring. This way I can re-tap the remaining adjuster ring and use it with another bolt, should there be any compatibility issues.
For now I decided that the bit to save here is the brown / orange O ring. That came off easily enough helped by soaking in some warm water. This way, if I destroy other pieces whilst trying to free them, at least I can use the O ring on a replacement adjuster. I grabbed both parts with pliers through pieces of fabric and tried to pry this thing open, to no avail. I'll see if I can heat up the whole bit and cool down a few times, maybe that will help. I expect that at some point the thread between both parts got mangled, so I'm not raising my hopes high. I'm guessing eventually I will have to drill the cable tunnel / bolt out of the adjuster ring. This way I can re-tap the remaining adjuster ring and use it with another bolt, should there be any compatibility issues.
Sometimes 2-3 days but have never had one that didn't comply.
I massage rubber bits sparingly with Vaseline to help preserve them.
03-22-23, 03:38 PM
#6057
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Originally Posted by Positron400
That frame looks like a NOS! Wow! Very nice!
__________________
1987 Mercian Pro, 1985 Shogun 500, 197? Falcon San Remo, 1972 Peugeot PX-10, 1972 Schwinn Paramount P13-9, 1971 Peugeot PX-10, 1971 Raleigh International, 1970 Raleigh Professional Mark I
Curator/Team Mechanic: 2016 Dawes Streetfighter, 1984 Lotus Eclair, 1975 Motobecane Jubile Mixte, 1974 Raleigh Sports, 1973 Free Spirit Ted Williams, 1972 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Philips Sport
1987 Mercian Pro, 1985 Shogun 500, 197? Falcon San Remo, 1972 Peugeot PX-10, 1972 Schwinn Paramount P13-9, 1971 Peugeot PX-10, 1971 Raleigh International, 1970 Raleigh Professional Mark I
Curator/Team Mechanic: 2016 Dawes Streetfighter, 1984 Lotus Eclair, 1975 Motobecane Jubile Mixte, 1974 Raleigh Sports, 1973 Free Spirit Ted Williams, 1972 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Philips Sport
03-22-23, 04:44 PM
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Originally Posted by merziac
Soak metal bits with PBlaster overnight at least then clean with solvent or brake clean and dump in evaporust for however long it takes.
Sometimes 2-3 days but have never had one that didn't comply.
I massage rubber bits sparingly with Vaseline to help preserve them.
Sometimes 2-3 days but have never had one that didn't comply.
I massage rubber bits sparingly with Vaseline to help preserve them.
I'll try soaking this piece for a while, I'm not in a hurry. Would Evaporust work on aluminium though?
For now I adapted an old cable adjuster I had knocking about in my assorted small parts box, of the knurled variety, but the length was correct. I used a standard hex nut as the adjuster ring, so if I can re-use the Suntour one, that would be totally ok for now and fully functional (it's not like I will put the bicycle back together over the next week or two). There are plenty of cable adjusters available for newer, Tektro brakes, but these would be a bit short. I found several companies in Poland which sell apparently NOS adjusters for Campagnolo. Well, these are knock-offs, their understanding of the term NOS might be a bit liberal, but look well made. Around $35 for two with shipping, so the price isn't too tragic either. I had my Stronglight / TA crank puller from one of these companies before and the quality was very good.
03-22-23, 06:14 PM
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Originally Posted by VintageSteelEU
Just tried heating up and cooling down, no go. I believe the root problem is both pieces becoming cross threaded. They sure feel like one solid piece of metal.
I'll try soaking this piece for a while, I'm not in a hurry. Would Evaporust work on aluminium though?
For now I adapted an old cable adjuster I had knocking about in my assorted small parts box, of the knurled variety, but the length was correct. I used a standard hex nut as the adjuster ring, so if I can re-use the Suntour one, that would be totally ok for now and fully functional (it's not like I will put the bicycle back together over the next week or two). There are plenty of cable adjusters available for newer, Tektro brakes, but these would be a bit short. I found several companies in Poland which sell apparently NOS adjusters for Campagnolo. Well, these are knock-offs, their understanding of the term NOS might be a bit liberal, but look well made. Around $35 for two with shipping, so the price isn't too tragic either. I had my Stronglight / TA crank puller from one of these companies before and the quality was very good.
I'll try soaking this piece for a while, I'm not in a hurry. Would Evaporust work on aluminium though?
For now I adapted an old cable adjuster I had knocking about in my assorted small parts box, of the knurled variety, but the length was correct. I used a standard hex nut as the adjuster ring, so if I can re-use the Suntour one, that would be totally ok for now and fully functional (it's not like I will put the bicycle back together over the next week or two). There are plenty of cable adjusters available for newer, Tektro brakes, but these would be a bit short. I found several companies in Poland which sell apparently NOS adjusters for Campagnolo. Well, these are knock-offs, their understanding of the term NOS might be a bit liberal, but look well made. Around $35 for two with shipping, so the price isn't too tragic either. I had my Stronglight / TA crank puller from one of these companies before and the quality was very good.
03-22-23, 07:11 PM
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Those threads on the Superbe adjusters look pretty distorted. I would try running a die on the un-mangle threads that are still there and then move the adjuster onto the cleaned threads. I think it is just a bit of mangled aluminum that has the adjuster stuck. Smiles, MH
Last edited by Mad Honk; 03-24-23 at 04:08 PM.
03-22-23, 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by VintageSteelEU
Just tried heating up and cooling down, no go. I believe the root problem is both pieces becoming cross threaded. They sure feel like one solid piece of metal.
I'll try soaking this piece for a while, I'm not in a hurry. Would Evaporust work on aluminium though?
For now I adapted an old cable adjuster I had knocking about in my assorted small parts box, of the knurled variety, but the length was correct. I used a standard hex nut as the adjuster ring, so if I can re-use the Suntour one, that would be totally ok for now and fully functional (it's not like I will put the bicycle back together over the next week or two). There are plenty of cable adjusters available for newer, Tektro brakes, but these would be a bit short. I found several companies in Poland which sell apparently NOS adjusters for Campagnolo. Well, these are knock-offs, their understanding of the term NOS might be a bit liberal, but look well made. Around $35 for two with shipping, so the price isn't too tragic either. I had my Stronglight / TA crank puller from one of these companies before and the quality was very good.
I'll try soaking this piece for a while, I'm not in a hurry. Would Evaporust work on aluminium though?
For now I adapted an old cable adjuster I had knocking about in my assorted small parts box, of the knurled variety, but the length was correct. I used a standard hex nut as the adjuster ring, so if I can re-use the Suntour one, that would be totally ok for now and fully functional (it's not like I will put the bicycle back together over the next week or two). There are plenty of cable adjusters available for newer, Tektro brakes, but these would be a bit short. I found several companies in Poland which sell apparently NOS adjusters for Campagnolo. Well, these are knock-offs, their understanding of the term NOS might be a bit liberal, but look well made. Around $35 for two with shipping, so the price isn't too tragic either. I had my Stronglight / TA crank puller from one of these companies before and the quality was very good.
03-22-23, 09:27 PM
#6062
blahblahblah chrome moly
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Originally Posted by capnjonny
Today I started work on the 1958 Follis
Those frames were really well made. Dunno if yours has it, but mine has extra fillet brazing over the lugs, done just to make the transitions swoopier. A lot of skilled labor just to make it look nicer. The seatstay tops at the seat cluster, the curved bridges, the internal routing for the rear brake, all very fancy. It's a keeper!
Mine came with Campy dropouts. Is that a Huret I see on yours? Ironically mine came drewed, with a Huret mech mounted via claw adapter. Which I could choose to be upset about, but the mech it came with was the rare 1st-gen Allvit, that I think was only made in '58 or maybe a bit longer before the more modern-looking Allvit variant came out. I sold the Allvit and the wheels (Maxicar/SuperChamp) to a nice fella in Japan for over a grand, I think it might have been $1500, though that was long enough ago I don't remember for sure. Anyway since I got the whole bike for $200, I can't complain too much about the drewed dropout. I brazed a new Campy hanger on it, converted it to 650b, and it rides really great. I just have to decide on whether to repaint it. I don't hate the paint, though the PO started to sand it off for repainting before he realized that was too much work, so he sold it. But I want to do a couple more braze-ons, including brake pivots, and then it'll have too many burnt-paint spots to ignore.
Anyway keep us posted on your Follis journey. Oh and let me know if you want a head badge for it, I might have a surplus one of the right vintage. NOS, or probably a repro. The PO sourced one somewhere and gave it to me with the bike, but the one on the bike is pretty good too. The original and the replacement match, and I don't know which one I prefer. If I repaint, I might go with the repro, then my original might be for sale. It would have to be cut down to fit between the lugs on yours though.
Mark B
03-24-23, 03:10 AM
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Spring clean for my Nikor, new shifter and gear cables, brake pads, chain, cassette, tyres, bar tape and saddle.
I put over 4000 miles on this bike last year and it was subjected to more crap weather riding than all my other bikes, so it was due some TLC, and its scrubbed up rather nicely.
I put over 4000 miles on this bike last year and it was subjected to more crap weather riding than all my other bikes, so it was due some TLC, and its scrubbed up rather nicely.
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03-24-23, 05:08 AM
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Not wrenching right now, but have some new chainrings (38 & 50 w/ 130 bcd) incoming to swap the 42/52 for some slightly improved gearing on my "new" Puch Royal Force. Also, imma try my hands on tubulars for the first time -which should be interesting..
03-24-23, 05:54 AM
#6065
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I put some FSA Adventure bars on my 520. I like them. They are flatish on the top, shallow drop, and 12 degree of kickout. I went with 46, wider than the stock bars.
03-24-23, 07:55 AM
#6066
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Changed a pulley on a Huret derailleur and didn't anticipate 15 microscopic ball bearings. This along with refurbishing the hubs, BB, etc. and hunting down parts to restore a '74 Continental, Just needs the bar tape
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03-24-23, 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by bulgie
Sweet! I have one also, which I think is right around the same year. I've been saying it's a '58, but it's a guess. Do we have a way to know, serial decoder maybe?
Those frames were really well made. Dunno if yours has it, but mine has extra fillet brazing over the lugs, done just to make the transitions swoopier. A lot of skilled labor just to make it look nicer. The seatstay tops at the seat cluster, the curved bridges, the internal routing for the rear brake, all very fancy. It's a keeper!
Mine came with Campy dropouts. Is that a Huret I see on yours? Ironically mine came drewed, with a Huret mech mounted via claw adapter. Which I could choose to be upset about, but the mech it came with was the rare 1st-gen Allvit, that I think was only made in '58 or maybe a bit longer before the more modern-looking Allvit variant came out. I sold the Allvit and the wheels (Maxicar/SuperChamp) to a nice fella in Japan for over a grand, I think it might have been $1500, though that was long enough ago I don't remember for sure. Anyway since I got the whole bike for $200, I can't complain too much about the drewed dropout. I brazed a new Campy hanger on it, converted it to 650b, and it rides really great. I just have to decide on whether to repaint it. I don't hate the paint, though the PO started to sand it off for repainting before he realized that was too much work, so he sold it. But I want to do a couple more braze-ons, including brake pivots, and then it'll have too many burnt-paint spots to ignore.
Anyway keep us posted on your Follis journey. Oh and let me know if you want a head badge for it, I might have a surplus one of the right vintage. NOS, or probably a repro. The PO sourced one somewhere and gave it to me with the bike, but the one on the bike is pretty good too. The original and the replacement match, and I don't know which one I prefer. If I repaint, I might go with the repro, then my original might be for sale. It would have to be cut down to fit between the lugs on yours though.
Mark B
Those frames were really well made. Dunno if yours has it, but mine has extra fillet brazing over the lugs, done just to make the transitions swoopier. A lot of skilled labor just to make it look nicer. The seatstay tops at the seat cluster, the curved bridges, the internal routing for the rear brake, all very fancy. It's a keeper!
Mine came with Campy dropouts. Is that a Huret I see on yours? Ironically mine came drewed, with a Huret mech mounted via claw adapter. Which I could choose to be upset about, but the mech it came with was the rare 1st-gen Allvit, that I think was only made in '58 or maybe a bit longer before the more modern-looking Allvit variant came out. I sold the Allvit and the wheels (Maxicar/SuperChamp) to a nice fella in Japan for over a grand, I think it might have been $1500, though that was long enough ago I don't remember for sure. Anyway since I got the whole bike for $200, I can't complain too much about the drewed dropout. I brazed a new Campy hanger on it, converted it to 650b, and it rides really great. I just have to decide on whether to repaint it. I don't hate the paint, though the PO started to sand it off for repainting before he realized that was too much work, so he sold it. But I want to do a couple more braze-ons, including brake pivots, and then it'll have too many burnt-paint spots to ignore.
Anyway keep us posted on your Follis journey. Oh and let me know if you want a head badge for it, I might have a surplus one of the right vintage. NOS, or probably a repro. The PO sourced one somewhere and gave it to me with the bike, but the one on the bike is pretty good too. The original and the replacement match, and I don't know which one I prefer. If I repaint, I might go with the repro, then my original might be for sale. It would have to be cut down to fit between the lugs on yours though.
Mark B
I am basing the guess of 1958 from the 58 catalogue scan from https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Follis_58/ and from pictures of later models and the model, 309 Champione de France or 307, Tour de Europe from the fact that it had internal routing for the rear brake cable.
My goal at this point is to make it as presentable as I can. I touched up the blue paint and am painting the steer tube cut outs and script white. I have a decal set. I don't know if it is the correct one but I am going with it.
In the end the it will be a franken bike, with somewhat period correct parts. The Bike Exchange is a non proffit and I have to do the best I can, hence Mafac brakes, Stronglight crank, Alvit rear and probably Hurret front derailleurs, Simplex down tube shifters,AVA stem with CTA bars, and a pair of Rigida rims on Campi small flange hubs. At least most of the parts are French.
The decals came with a head badge decal but it doesn't fit in the small frame so I will probably trim it down to just the center emblem and go with that. I figure most people will never guess it isn't all original spec. Hell, If I hadn't spent hours tracking down catalogues and pictures I wouldn't either.
03-24-23, 03:13 PM
#6068
blahblahblah chrome moly
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Originally Posted by capnjonny
Don't really know the date of mfg for sure. I found the frame and fork in the back room at the Bike Exchange. Not sure who donated it. It had a tag on is reading 55-58? and a price tag of $599.
I am basing the guess of 1958 from the 58 catalogue scan from https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Follis_58/ and from pictures of later models and the model, 309 Champione de France or 307, Tour de Europe from the fact that it had internal routing for the rear brake cable.
My goal at this point is to make it as presentable as I can. I touched up the blue paint and am painting the steer tube cut outs and script white. I have a decal set. I don't know if it is the correct one but I am going with it.
In the end the it will be a franken bike, with somewhat period correct parts. The Bike Exchange is a non proffit and I have to do the best I can, hence Mafac brakes, Stronglight crank, Alvit rear and probably Hurret front derailleurs, Simplex down tube shifters,AVA stem with CTA bars, and a pair of Rigida rims on Campi small flange hubs. At least most of the parts are French.
The decals came with a head badge decal but it doesn't fit in the small frame so I will probably trim it down to just the center emblem and go with that. I figure most people will never guess it isn't all original spec. Hell, If I hadn't spent hours tracking down catalogues and pictures I wouldn't either.
I am basing the guess of 1958 from the 58 catalogue scan from https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Follis_58/ and from pictures of later models and the model, 309 Champione de France or 307, Tour de Europe from the fact that it had internal routing for the rear brake cable.
My goal at this point is to make it as presentable as I can. I touched up the blue paint and am painting the steer tube cut outs and script white. I have a decal set. I don't know if it is the correct one but I am going with it.
In the end the it will be a franken bike, with somewhat period correct parts. The Bike Exchange is a non proffit and I have to do the best I can, hence Mafac brakes, Stronglight crank, Alvit rear and probably Hurret front derailleurs, Simplex down tube shifters,AVA stem with CTA bars, and a pair of Rigida rims on Campi small flange hubs. At least most of the parts are French.
The decals came with a head badge decal but it doesn't fit in the small frame so I will probably trim it down to just the center emblem and go with that. I figure most people will never guess it isn't all original spec. Hell, If I hadn't spent hours tracking down catalogues and pictures I wouldn't either.
My Follis has parts from every decade from the '50s to today. It's never going to be PC (period-correct) but it's in a fairly retro style at least.
Say, can I ask you (or anyone reading this) a favor? Have you looked at the translation files at the site where you got the catalog scan? Peter Adler, who scanned the catalog, says the original text file I made displays the accented French characters wrong on his computer, so he made another version that displays correctly for him. But on my computer, the original displays the accented characters correctly, and his replacement file is the one that's screwed up. A Mac vsersus PC thing? Anyway, some more eyes on the problem might help. In the meantime, we just added more files that work on any computer, like the .PDF — I think it's only the TXT files that are the problem. Obviously this is not of great importance, I was just curious.
Mark B, "webmaster" (using the term very loosely) of bulgier.net, the most amateurish site on the whole web.
03-25-23, 11:02 AM
#6069
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Changed my chainrings from 52/42 to 50/38 to get "easier" (
) gearing. I feel the Miche rings look fitting on the bike. Also, put some new tubulars (a first for me) on the rims, since the old ones basically crumbled off. Not necessarily the width i am used to but oh well . Ah yea, also new seatpost and saddle. Next up, new bartape and hoods plus shortening the chain and try'n get a 14-28 freewheel.
Before:
Before
After
) gearing. I feel the Miche rings look fitting on the bike. Also, put some new tubulars (a first for me) on the rims, since the old ones basically crumbled off. Not necessarily the width i am used to but oh well . Ah yea, also new seatpost and saddle. Next up, new bartape and hoods plus shortening the chain and try'n get a 14-28 freewheel.Before:
Before
After
03-25-23, 02:13 PM
#6070
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Location: London, UK
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Bikes: yes, loads
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Just finished building up my first carbon bike, a XL Look lugged 585, which I think is from 2008/9. 20 speed Campag, 28 tyres, (just), and Zipp 302 wheels. I will be taking this to Italy at the end of June to ride up the Stelvio pass and other famous Giro climbs, and to say I'm excited about that is an understatement
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03-25-23, 02:19 PM
#6071
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Originally Posted by Positron400
Changed my chainrings from 52/42 to 50/38 to get "easier" () gearing. I feel the Miche rings look fitting on the bike. Also, put some new tubulars (a first for me) on the rims, since the old ones basically crumbled off. Not necessarily the width i am used to but oh well . Ah yea, also new seatpost and saddle. Next up, new bartape and hoods plus shortening the chain and try'n get a 14-28 freewheel.
Before:
Before
After
) gearing. I feel the Miche rings look fitting on the bike. Also, put some new tubulars (a first for me) on the rims, since the old ones basically crumbled off. Not necessarily the width i am used to but oh well . Ah yea, also new seatpost and saddle. Next up, new bartape and hoods plus shortening the chain and try'n get a 14-28 freewheel.Before:
Before
After
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03-26-23, 07:24 AM
#6072
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Near Pottstown, PA: 30 miles NW of Philadelphia
Posts: 2,062
Bikes: 2 Trek Mtn, Cannondale R600 road, 6 vintage road bikes
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I continue to ponder the idea of touring on the Erie Canal this spring. That includes any needed changes to the bike set up. One idea is to further stabilize the handle bar bag and even transfer some of its weight off the bars to the front rack and thus the forks. I had the bag and had made that black HB support frame back in 2019 prior to my trip on the GAP. The front rack is new since then so I realized I could make a brace to hold the support frame and bolt to the rack. Used a bit of light gauge aluminum channel and a length of aluminum plate (from an old road sign). Bent, drilled, strapped and bolted and it looks good. Going for test rides to see if it's stable. May not even be necessary but I made it cuz I could and because it weighted only grams.
As usual, I mocked this up with cardboard to get dimension "in the ball park" then proceeded to fab the aluminum. I'm posting it in case it solves someone else's problem or prompts a useful idea.
As usual, I mocked this up with cardboard to get dimension "in the ball park" then proceeded to fab the aluminum. I'm posting it in case it solves someone else's problem or prompts a useful idea.
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03-26-23, 01:58 PM
#6073
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 3,217
Bikes: 1984 Miyata 310, 1986 Schwinn Sierra, 2011 Jamis Quest, 1980 Peugeot TH8 Tandem, 1992 Performance Parabola, 1987 Ross Mt. Hood, 1988 Schwinn LeTour, 1988 Trek 400T, 1981 Fuji S12-S LTD, 197? FW Evans
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I got the F.W. Evans road worthy today. A lot of the parts that came on it were really bad, so I had to scrounge around to put it together. I'm not sure they were original to the bike anyway. Some things are just place holders until after I paint it. I rode a quick mile to check all the functions and so far, I am impressed. Even with the heavy wheels and pedals, it comes in at 23.2 pounds. I will be riding more as the weather allows, so I can figure out what I want for the final configuration. Then I'll tear everything apart and do paint and decals.
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03-26-23, 03:22 PM
#6074
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Since I'll be replacing the wheels on the Suntoured-up Grand Sprint I'm planning to sell at some point (got my daily commuter bike and two more projects in the pipeline and not enough space to store bicycles), I decided to make myself even more busy with bicycle mechanics. I'm left with two Mavic MA2 rims (right now laced to Maillard hubs), so I've made a decision I will at some point convert my daily commuter mystery Motobecane to mostly 600EX SIS group (it has RD6208, FD6207, FC6207 and I have BL6208 I'm not using on it now). Whilst I'm looking for 600EX hubs in a good price (and brakes) and do some research on Shimano 600EX freewheels (I need to check if I can find MF6207 or MF6208 in 12-24 range, preferably), I thought I might as well take off the current wheelset (Rigida DP18 on Exage RM50 hubs) and use the MA2 wheelset with a generic shimano freewheel I had knocking about. Of course, things never go according to plan. The freewheel I had seemed a bit gummed up, so I decided to open it and check what's going on. Looks like the last time I overhauled it, I packed way too much grease in there. I've cleaned it all up and put new grease in, this time much less of it. Seems to be working better now. So tomorrow I'm hoping to swap the wheels and adjust the derailleur and brakes. 14-28 is not exactly the range I want, but should be alright for now.
03-26-23, 04:41 PM
#6075
aka Tom Reingold
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Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
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Today, I changed the battery in the 2004 Honda Element. The car has nearly 300,000 miles on it. I used my bike tools and lubes to do the job. We literally use this SUV for sport and utility. Usually it's to haul big stuff, and sometimes it's to haul bikes.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
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