lambert bikes
 

so my father decided that he would start buying bikes at garage sales. he recently brought home a lambert of england bike. im going to fix it up a little, but i am stuck on the bottom bracket. it is a regular square taper spindle, but it looks like 2 external bearings. i have no idea on how to remove these...are they threaded in/can i replace them with a sealed bb?

You need to check the fork. If it is aluminum, you really should replace it before you ride the bike. The aluminum forks accaionally failed by snapping where the fork was bonded to the steerer tube. You would want to be on the bike when that happened. There was a recall on these bikes which amounted to them send you a new fork. You might be able to find a chromed fork that will fit it cheap.

The original bike was light with reasonable components at a very attractive price. The components were all made by Lambert. The derailleurs didn't work well, so a lot were replaced. The brakes were OK.

AFAIK, it was bonded or welded aluminum tubing. The frame was very flexible, though, so it was not very efficient.

The bottom bracket bearings are not threaded, they are pressed in.

BTW, I have a Lambert Frame in the attic. :)

thanks steve for the reply, i already know about the "death fork" from another thread, but i did not know how to check for it. but since you just said the death fork = aluminum, then i should be ok i think. i just tested my fork by putting a magnet on it and it attracts...so it should be fine right? i was planning on changing the fork, but now i do not need to. i have already noticed that the deraillers do not work so well.

so would you say this is worth spending $ to restore it? i was going to replace the tires (9 dollars), tubes (6 dollars), brake pads (10 dollars), and maybe even the brake levers (20 dollars).

this will technically be my first multi gear bike. maybe i should restore it, sell it, and use the money for a better road bike? also is there a way to overhaul the bb? being pressed in doesnt sound too safe to me.

It should be a good utilitarian bike once you get the simple things done. Why are you changing the brake levers? The magnet test indicates you have a good replacement fork on there, so no worries.

I had a friend who raced on a Lambert frame in the early 80's, and he was no slouch about bikes. It was a great frame, and he was proud of it. The BB was changed over to something reliable. I don't remember the details, but I'm pretty sure you'll find a standard sealed BB fits the threads just fine.

No doubt someone will tell us more about the frames; most were fillet brazed chrome-moly tubing, but I have also heard of lugged Lambert frames.

The Lambert spindle is not a regular square taper; the Lambert spindle is a little thinner and, as I recall, it doesn't taper at all! You can file a taper into the crank arms, though, and fit them onto a tapered spindle. It'll give you the original look, very much like a TA crank, but not a very stiff one.

i wanted to change the brake levers because the lambert ones that are already on there need new hoods. the website i was going to buy them from sells hoods for like 7 bucks. they also sell a set of tektro brake levers for 17 bucks. u think i should just save my 10 bucks and just get hoods?

There are no threads! It is a pressed in BB using readily available #6003 sealed bearings. The spindle had external snap rings and would occasionally (well, eventually) break at the snap ring groove. I had good luck replacing these with Klein spindles BITD, and I understand Phil Wood has appropriate spindles these days.

Do not discard the crank bolts if you keep the spindle and cranks. They are British Cycle Thread 5/16 X 26, which in the USA is rare and bizarre. Do not try to use the old bolts in any new spindle you may purchase.

So if you feel the need to make a change, check for an old Klein dealer to see if they have spindles. You can get just about any length you want, tapers for most cranks, and if you don't ride the thing underwater, you will do the job ONCE. I used to spend ~$15 for a genuine Klein spindle ~15 years ago (I think there was a professional discount--it was the shop down the street from mine). I hear that Phil gets ~$80 for a spindle these days.

One possiblity that I had discussed with LBS when I owned my lambert (can you say 74?)
was to have the BB tapped for italian threading.
I always thought that was the best option when it came to the Lambert/Viscount BB.

Marty

I guess you can go either way on this, get new levers and hoods for $17, or just hoods for $7, and maybe not have to remove the lever bodies from the bars? The old Lambert lever bodies are basically the same as the Weinmann/Diacompes of the same period (but with cool blue "dots"), so you have a bit of overlap in case of a need for parts/hoods in the future.

thanks for all the useful information guys.
i planned on using the original drivetrain, and ive kept every part of the bike except the saddle. i am in the process of ordering parts for the bike. found some 6003 bearings, but i don't know what kind of spindle it is suppose to use. can i use any sugino one? bmx spindle maybe?

also...would a better option be to go with a threadless bb?

just a long shot: icyclesusa.com has a number of Ritchey spindles for sale that *seem* to be intended for a BB with pressed-in bearings, and they are pretty cheap. You'd have to measure all the variables before you order, but these look like high quality spindles with regular ISO tapered ends, so if one will fit your bearings and your shell, any ISO square-taper crank will fit the spindle...worth a look.

I think they're Whitworth. I got some once at a British motorcycle shop...

It is a threadless BB already. Read my last post. It's much simpler than you (or some other posters) are making it. If you are keeping the original drivetrain, then reuse the spindle. Just be aware that it may someday break at the snap ring groove. If that bugs you, get a Klein spindle if you can, otherwise go Phil. Doing anything else (including threading it to Italian) is a step backwards.

Why do people so fear the unfamiliar?

Fear the unfamiliar? hell I specialize in DUTCH bikes. . . .
Back when I owned mine threading to Italian was the only option (maybe phil was available not sure
of the timeline) for alternatives to the lambert pressed bearing square non-taper BB assembly.

Marty

[QUOTE=melville;7393451

Why do people so fear the unfamiliar?[/QUOTE]

The thing I would fear is that non-tapered spindle that you have to use with the cr*ppy original crank, otherwise there's nothing wrong with a fucntioning unthreaded BB that uses 6003 cartridge bearings, I've got something similar (and familiar) on my Fisher Cyclocross bike: works just fine.

I have a full set of Lambert stem, dropbars w/brass "handcrafted by Lambert of England" plate, levers w/hoods, still has the black cloth grip tape. I'm not using them on anything, I'd let them go pretty cheap.

i basically bought some new bearings...i will be using it with the stock spindle...it didnt look like the c-ring things cut it too much. i emailed klein about a replacement spindle...hopefully they will respond back. a phil wood spindle would be way too much money for me to spend.

If you are really in the SF bay area there should be an old Klein dealer nearby. That would be your best bet for a Klein spindle. I'm pretty sure Trek could care less about providing service for old Kleins at this point, seeing as they've killed off the brand. Your old Klein LBS would be your best shot at having an odd box or drawer of spindles. If you are young, this is your chance to learn about the yellow pages;) You know, what we used before Google.

Every time I did one for a customer I'd go down the street to the Klein store and try to get the length within 3mm or so, picking from what was available. Length is not terribly crucial (just not too short), as you can set the spindle to any position within reason to get the chainline right.

Good luck!

i looked up the retailers for klein in california. they only listed one in southern california. do you know where it is in northern california?

You may need to use an older Yellow Pages (this is that big fat book near the phone, not yellowpages.com). If you don't keep the old ones at home, try your local library. If it all goes well, that trip to the library could save you >$50. Really.

IIRC there were at least 4 Klein dealers in Seattle when I was there, within 5 miles of each other. I can't picture the SF bay area being much different.

Former Klein dealers included: City Cycles in SF (Union /Steiner), Sharp Bicycle in either Richmond or Lafayette, Robinson in San Leandro,I'm sure there were dealers in the City, Marin and the Peninsula but I have only one old East Bay YP to refer to.

soul05,

Looks like other people have posted a lot of good info about the Lambert bikes.

FWIW, the original spindle was square, but not tapered. Eventually, the crankarms started clicking regardless of how much you tightened the bolt. So I replaced the Lambert spindle with a Phil Wood spindle. Then I took a file and tapered the inside of the crankarms to fit the new spindle. It wasn't great, but it worked OK. I wouldn't recommend that, though. BTW, you'd have the same problem with a Klein spindle.

Steve

thanks for all the help guys...i will try to look for a spindle just in case i need it later, but right now the original spindle should be ok...i'll post some pictures as soon as it is done.

I just re-read your original post. You indicate that it is a square taper spindle Is it really tapered? As I recall, the original spindle on my Lambert was not tapered.

no no it was my mistake. i thought it was tapered....its just regular squared.