I hope this guy doesn't decide to sell the 'gift' for a bottle of Firebird or a rock o' crack.....

I just finished tearing both bikes down completely. No troubles from either bike, nice and smooth. Now to see how the Lotus cleans up.

"At first I felt bad only giving him 10 dollars but in retrospect the bike is rough, plus it's a low end Lotus. No seat and a flat rear tire... and he was still riding it!!"



$10 can buy alot of cheap wine if you know where to shop!

Looks like the only thing he had around the house with a metric thread. That bar tape is old enough to drink too,, Bob. Chris

I just finished polishing the frame. It's not perfect, but it's not half bad for a 10 dollar hobo bike either.

"I just finished polishing the frame. It's not perfect, but it's not half bad for a 10 dollar hobo bike either."

A 23" (?) Chrome Moly frame..and black is so easy to spray over! You probably saved the guy from having an accident the way he was riding it.

Here's what $250 got me today. Came as a bag of parts , the guy was getting ready to part it out on ebay . I also have the original brake levers and a Cinelli pantographed Cinelli stem... Anyone knows if the number hanger says anything about this frame?Also, I don't get the Columbus decal stating that this is a repaint , looks to original to be one.

mkeller234, how do you polish frames? I need to learn.

Also, isn't it a lot of labor to strip it of components and rebuild it? I mean, I know it is, as I've done it, but do you feel it saves time in the long run, compared with doing repairs bit by bit?

This was described in the ad as a "parts bike" but I don't see anything wrong with it other than that the tires need to be re-glued. The frame is immaculate and doesn't look to have ever been ridden and the components are 9-speed Veloce and are in perfect alignment. It was only a few bucks more than the Battaglin above me, so I am very happy with it. I apologize about the crappy photos, it is dark out.

Tom, I don't really do much to them. I just give them a good wash, then I rub the paint with meguires scratch x. After that I use this tube of polish I have had for years, then wax. I used brasso on the head badge.

I like completely stripping the bike for a few reasons, but I can see a couple of reasons why it's not for everyone. It makes the frame much easier to clean and polish for one, plus it gives me a chance to use frame saver if I want. Then I clean every part one by one and put attach them as I go. It is labor intensive, and I probably go a little overboard on the cleaning. If I stay focused I can usually rebuild a complete bike from the bottom up in about 5-7 days.

For me, it is rewarding to see the bike slowly go back together. I have other bikes to ride too so I don't worry about the downtime, and the only customer is me so I don't really have a deadline. I especially enjoy tearing apart and rebuilding rear derailleurs:

That is one of the most awesome "parts bikes" I have seen around. I love the look of it...minus the bar tape

Very nice, I think you got your moneys worth in the brake calipers and crank alone.

This Lotus is looking real nice! Lotus bikes seem to have very nice finishes.

I can't remember the name of the Lotus importer. Same guy as the guy behind the Windsor brand. I think he lived on Long Island, NY. Clearly, he liked bikes. He designed and spec'd them. Lotus came from Japan. Windsor started out coming from Mexico. They were both nice, and the graphics were simple and tasteful.

mkeller234, can you describe the materials and tools you use to clean frames and components? You listed some car care products already, but I'd like to know more. I'm thinking I might get drill attachments that can do some polishing duty. Does that make sense?

I know you didn't ask me but, I've kept it simple with my clean up.

Diluted simple green (any other product would work too, I just had this), nylon brushes, maybe some metal ones as well, green scrubbies, any other rags you have that can clean and dry.

Like the op, I disassemble the bike, which, on a good devoted day, I can rebuild in that same day.

Then I use a carnuba cleaner wax, similar to that already mentioned, and work in sections while rotating around the bike's empty frame untill its glistening.

Oh, and neverdull on the shiny bits.

Was on my usual delivery route, and decided to check this pawn shop that never seems to have ANYTHING worth looking at. I drive up and spot an SE badge. I get closer, and it's a Draft SS for
$59!?! I walked in and paid, and picked it up after work. I'm going to do a 3pc. conversion, and get the godawful looking Lee Chee calipers off. Someone must have snagged the Tektros off of it, because that's what the levers are. Clean, upgrade, and flip. It might be hard to part with if it was my size, hehe.,,,,,BD

I did a quick Google, and found it's a 2008 model! Amazing what people give up for a quick buck these days. Another weird thing
I noticed just now? The front sprocket is the spitting image of an old 50's-70's Columbia design. Talk about odd! Did SE buy the
tooling or something?

Oddly enough my first Miele, and the second one I looked at in a few weeks (the other was too small, this one is running on the too big side, but I should be able to make it work.. if so my new commuting rig.

Hey Tom, I actually don't use much to polish. Here are my normal "tools"

- old toothbrush
- dish soap (to clean the old crud off)
- Cotton rags, usually old shirts.
- polish and wax for paint
- Mothers aluminum polish for the alloy bits.
- Tri-flow and grease.

I do all of the buffing by hand. For really marred parts I use 1500 grit sand paper and then a rubbing compound.

For really sweet results check out raydobbins.com, MachinShin uses this process and his stuff looks beautiful in person.

Thanks for the compliment!

Here is a small example of the Ray Dobbins method:



I hit this crankset with tripoli rogue and the spiral wound cotton wheel on my buffing machine.

Oh, ok. Here's another that got the same treatment with tripoli. Did the rings too:

After whinning to a buddy about how I wanted a "Tenspeed" he shows up with this out of a trash pile some where. It's supposedly too small for me. I haven't gotten a chance to really look at it all that much yet but it sure is purdy. I'll probably wind up selling it to get something a bit bigger.

I stopped by the LBS this week and they said some guy decided to get out of the bike-fixing-up business and just dropped all his stuff off. Most of this stuff will be donated to a charity that provides bikes to kids, but the 24 or 25" Centurion Accordo frame is too big for a kids' use, so they put a tag with my name on it and it will be coming home with me. They paired it with the wheels they thought belonged to it.

It's hard to tell, is that a Reynolds sticker on the downtube? That's a great looking bike, I can't believe someone was going to throw it out. It's good to have great friends!

Please "wind up selling it" TO ME!!!

Cheers,
Chris

Those delta brakes will pay for the whole bike!


Since you guys are talking polishing, how do you treat oxidized alloy parts? Does something like simichrome or some other chrome polish work? Or is there something more efficient?

CCM Concorde Mixte that is in great shape.

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