Turtle Jack

Ok, I have gotten into the older bikes, now I am trying to get into the mechanical side. I am sure I will have a ton of questions and the Park site and Sheldon Brown's (may God bless his soul) site will answer a lot of them. But 2 right off hand that you can help me with are:

How do I get these off? I have no cutting or welding type tools.


and are these dérailleurs salvageable?




Thanks for looking!

TJ

Old Fat Guy

1) Why?

2) Yes.

Turtle Jack

[QUOTE=Old Fat Guy;6183760]1) Why?

Turning an old Collegiate into a single speed coaster for a friend who wants "like what she had as a kid". And I don't like those sticking out.

What do you think OFG?

TJ

Old Fat Guy

WD 40 and elbow grease on the dérailleurs, and sorry, don't approve of grinding off bits on any bike, even old Schwinn's.

CardiacKid

We don't cotton to people who cut things off their bikes in these here parts.

solveg

I had to smile...over on the fixie forum they regularly send people over here for bike info, but sometimes with the warning, "Don't tell them you're going to turn it into a fixie. They have strong feelings about that."

tradtimbo

A man may do with his bike what he pleases. If you insist on cutting the bike, I suggest buying a dremel tool or some clone. If your going to do it, I want it done right. use the grinding wheel and get it as close as you can without penetrating the tube. finish it off with some fine grit sandpaper. Then get it painted.

a little bit of elbow grease will get those derailleurs looking and working just fine.

mastershake916

I do for the old schwinns, if anyone wants one in Sacramento with the braze-ons on then let me know.

sciencemonster

Doesn't matter what you use, just cut slowly and don't change your mind later.

kpug505

That just cracks me up! I hope you don't mind but I'm jacking that ^^^^ as my sig.

Turtle Jack

Ok, I understand (a lot actually) the desire to not ruin a classic. But why not take a clunked out VW and make it a dune buggy? It's not like the Schwinn Collegiate is the bike equivalent (to keep the car analogy going) of a 57 Chevy or a 55 T bird. It's a farm auction reject brought out of the barn covered in moldy hay and pigeon crap, a rust bucket. True it could be restored, but is it worth it? Is it rare?

Or is it better to GIVE a friend a bike they want in the hopes that they might see the cycling light? She has talked about trying biking for 2 years now and her asking for a single speed is the closest it has come so far.

Alright OFG and others, I have not yet desecrated the holy grail, convince me not to

Thanks for all the replies, I do have a dremel tool, I just didn't think it was capable of the cutting grinding.

Now I AM interested in your opinions. Here is a pic of it after it was cleaned up a little.

TJ

PS. The 600 parts are on another bike (a Concord) that's another story, its in sad condition and I am not sure what I want to do with it.

kpug505

Well crap,
After a complete veiw of your project.......
Maybe just maybe (God this is hard to do.) you could grind off the shifter cable stop. It's not gonna get used anyway.......Would anyone seriously rebuild that thing to spec. or upgrade it? I was gonna come back and post about "what about cable routing?" in an attempt to persuade you not to hack that beast. But really......I've passed on a million of those things. Usually a bike like that get's consigned to the dump or as yard art with a basket on front brimming with trailing petunias and violas and left out to wither away in artful disgrace (I intend on getting one myself for that exact purpose. There is one in town 15' in the air grown into the crotch of a fir tree. It gets me every time I ride by).
I guess if you can get one more person on a bike and make a girl smile........you've got my vote (on the shifter cable braze on only). The only condition is a pic on completion......

With the girl Seriously

Kelly D

Turtle Jack

Thanks Kelly, I appreciate your answer. And you eloquently sum up what I believe. The bike will live longer this way, and if it ends up hanging in a garage, I will re rescue it and give it a third life

I will post pics when it is done.

I am disappointed no one else rose to my challenge.

Thanks again!

TJ

tradtimbo

go to a home depot or a sears for the dremel attachment to use for cutting and grinding. It will work like a dream. I work with old bikes all the time and I use the dremel to cut off stuck lock rings, grind off powdercoat in a bad spot, grind housing after cutting it, etc, etc, etc....the list goes on. you'll have no problem with taking off anything you want.

edit: by the way, you'll want to keep the brake cable braze-ons on there unless your planning to use clamps. I'd keep them on.

Charles Wahl

My father, out of the blue, sent me a Dremel tool several years ago. Inside, he put a post-it with the message: Every man should have a Dremel.

East Hill

No household should be without a Dremel tool. Preferably with lots of esoteric attachments .

East Hill

Turtle Jack

It is ground.

TJ

Turtle Jack

Sorry bbattle, they have been ground off (see pic above). Besides I am converting the bike to a coaster brake bike. If my friend doesn't like it, I have some cyclist friends that can't quite get the hang of shifting gears.

Thanks!

TJ

bbattle

Wow, you must've posted right when I was deleting. Anyhow, steel wool and WD-40 will shine those derailleurs right up. If you have rust on chrome parts, oxalic acid solution will do the trick. A strong lye solution will remove the rust on that old chain. Just be sure to wash it thoroughly then carefully lube each and every pin and roller on the chain.

I fix up old, cheap frames but I don't grind off bits and pieces. They may come in handy later.

TheFool

Are you going to replace the handlebars TurtleJack, or keep those?

Roll-Monroe-Co

Arrgh! He's using reason! Strength ... fading .... can't .... grouch.... eeeeeehh....

roccobike

Uhhm, I heard a rumor that some Shimano 600 derailers are considered dangerous and radioactive requiring special disposal. Fortunately, I have access to proper disposal. Send them to me and I'll dispose of them properly. (On one of my bikes)

Turtle Jack

Actually I was going to replace them with something up right. Need them?

TJ

Turtle Jack

Hmmmm, wonder if the nuke plant near me needs fuel?

TJ

Turtle Jack

That makes sense, where were you when I needed your logic? Oh well, next time!

TJ