brandenjs

Nice job--BBM (like you would do anything less..), I love any old steel frame with modern shifting abilities. Did you put the in-line brake levers on there? And how do they work. My wife still won't let me take her suicide levers off of her Schwinn, but I may be able to sell her on those..

bigbossman 

The in-line levers are a must-have for children and others with small hands - IMO. The brake levers are hard to reach and operate with short fingers, whether it is a "classic" lever or modern.

I've built a few small bikes for youths, and they all really appreciate the in-lines. Tell your wife they work a lot better than the old suicide levers. Plus, they are really easy to install, and actually stop the bike when used.

brandenjs

Yep, maybe I'll print your reply so I can tell her it's popular opinion..She won't listen to me... Well when it comes to bikes she usually does..She took her first ride with STI's the other day and she hated it. I guess I'll just have to keep her stem mounted indexers tuned so she will still ride with me.Thanks so much..

Bikedued

The 520 is done, just in time for the vintage ride tomorrow morning. I didn't do a shake down ride, but I did compress the housings and made sure everything was adjusted. I robbed the tires off of my Club Fuji, since I felt this bike was a bit more worthy of red striped Michelins. Not a big deal, it got a nice used set of Continental Sport 1000's,,,,BD

BEFORE



AFTER!

gr23932

Sadly, this one is not mine. I just finished building it a few hours ago. I got my friend into riding and he came up on both the frame set and Dura Ace group. He has no experience with wrenching and so asked me to build it for him. Luckly, my LBS has allowed me to go to the shop to help them out which has allowed me to learn how to work on the modern stuff. The rims clash but that's what I was given to work with.

Before:


After:

luker

meh. the red rims (heliums?) look fine. Vaguely patriotic. Nice bike, too. You don't often see Somecs...

bigbossman 

Here's another - a 1974'ish Lygie that just went to a happy recipient:

PlatyPius

https://www.usbiketrader.com/

raverson

I picked up an Azuki f/f from a fellow BF member, kpug505, last spring. With all the horrible weather we've been having around here lately I've had some time to get it put together. Based on the info in the Nishiki database thread, the serial # makes this a 1980 Gran Sport 12. At some point I would like to redo the decals in black to match the Azuki Gran Sport I had in 1979.

kpug505

^^^Looks awesome! The frame was destined to be fixie fodder.....I'm so glad you got it put it back together the way it was meant to be. Fantastic build!

raverson

Thanks Kelly. I always chuckle aloud when someone posts that no kittens were harmed...

delver

This Morning



Tonight



a little better picture, before I got the seat and stem adjusted to fit



Alloy wheels from an old sports tourer(cracked frame) and alluminum bars and stem, everything else is steel. I have a Schwinn approved light set for it. New tires as soon as I can get them.
Painted it with epoxy enamel appliance paint from ace, baked the frame in a kiln at 250 for four hours and then put it together. This way the paint will take a good bit of abuse. My new beater bike. It rides so smooth, a lot like my old ford Galaxy. As I tell all my carbon fibre friends, its good to have a bike you can beat a mugger to death with then ride home on.

viscount

Here is a radical before and after.
Didn't quite think it was worth saving....
But I tried.
Before:

Another:

Doesn't look promising.
But this morning this is how it looks now. The Afters:



Nothing replaced except the original saddle temporarily.
Just had a good clean and anti-rust treatment and paint.

I think it is now a stylish period machine and ready for another 50 years.
Has 3 speed AW hub dated 1955.
Front dyno similarly dated and the lights work perfectly.
Reversed North Road bars which look so cool to me.
Has some chrome problems on the bars and calipers but they can both easily be replaced if necessary.
No patina, but you can see why it needed painting!

This Phillips is pre the Raleigh takeover and must be much scarcer than the equivalent Raleighs of the time.

sonatageek

Pretty impressive. That before did look a little like a lost cause.

viscount

It sure did look beyond redemption originally, but it only had surface rust and looked much worse than it actually was.
Fair bit of work of course, but I just had a feeling about it and I'm very pleased with the result.
Proves that not a lot of sad, neglected bikes are beyond saving.

gr23932

I don't remember what rims is has and I don't have it now as my friend came to pick it up 15 minutes after I told me I had finished it. It's very nice, yet I feel the Modern Dura ace was/is a bit out of place on it. I just think that it should of been built with campy components since it's italian, though I do admit that the Dura ace shifts beautifully.

Mudu93

Not completely finished but close enough for a before and after. Some might call this lipstick on a pig but so far I am loving it.

Before: Specialized Crossroads hybrid. 7 speed Altus C10 equiped. Pretty decent shape and definatly rideable as it was.


After: Specialized Crossroads Commute/Tourer/29er-cross bike.








One one midge bars, Ultegra 8spd bar end shifter, Cane Creek Brake levers, Shimano FC-M730 Crank 48/38/28, Un 54 BB, Deore DX FD, Deore XT rd, Deore XT Cantilever Brakes, Wheelset is 32 hole Xt hubs laced to Salsa Delgado Rims.

The only things now left original to the bike are the stem, headset, and frame. All I need now is a 26.2 seatpost (anybody have one cheap?) and to decide on a saddle.

viscount

Another before and after!
This one is a Dawes Realmrider from the early 60s
Originally had Cyclo RD and drop bars as here:

Very nice paint and a cool head-badge.

But I had a pair of similar period wheels with Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub and I thought it might look better and be more reliable and usable with these and a pair of 'straight' bars.
As here:

The trigger was mounted on the stem because the clamp didn't quite fit the bars.
But works well there.

Ablaut

Looks great, Viscount! What's that thing on the fork, an older mount for lighting?

Barchettaman

That´s the normal UK mounting light bracket thingy.



Something like this would have gone on it. Horrible things.



This would have gone on the back.

viscount

Barchettaman beat me to it, but here is the one I use for all my older machines with no dyno at night.



Made by EverReady (who also made batteries), probably 1970s this one.
I use 2x rechargable R2 D batteries and it works fine and will fit all bicycles with that type of bracket. (Most)
The rear view explains the fixing.
Works well enough for me and one charge gives 6/7 hours of usage.

YoKev

I had two projects this winter that I wrapped up. The Raleigh was almost sent to the dump by a friends wife hours before I got it, and the Ross was saved after a coworker scored it in his sister inlaws moving "clean out".

1970 (IIRC) Raleigh Sports

Before:


After:




1985 Ross Mt. Hood

Before:


After:




The Raleigh got a cleaning, new shifter cable, cable stop, used saddle, new grips, new tires and grease. This one needs to move on to a new, loving home I guess.

The Ross got new cables, grease, seat, grips, and I scraped off as much black spray paint as possible. This one is going to my dad to use on the rail trail. The headset was pretty cool! An early attempt at a sealed unit with "O" rings.

Otis

Here's the before. After will be in a couple of weeks or so. Actually I do not think it will look much better, but it will be put mechanically right. The saddle is going to be the biggest challenge!



Early 60's Fiorelli/Vittoria. Campagnolo Gran Sport drivetrain, Magistroni crankset, Gnutti 3-piece LF hubs, Fiorelli brakeset, Fiamme 27" clincher rims, Ambrosio stem/bars, Alder Fiorelli badged saddle. I believe it to be totally original except for the tires. Just a low-ender, but worth saving.

YoKev

^^totally worth it. Nice bike!!

j. hughes

Looks Great.
That looks almost exactly like my Mt St. Helens minus the color. Except of course, mine has the most garish stem ever made and yours has a black one (same headset with gaskets and everything, except I don't trust it and added an outer "seal" as well)! With the crankset and paint job on the Hood, it must have been a step above the Helens. I have been trying to peg a date to it, so I guess I'll call mine an 85 too, then. I thought it was an 85 or 86