Austro-Daimler question
 

Hey, I'm new to the forum and to bikes in general, but I recently acquired an Austro-Daimler, I don't really have any intention to sell it but I was wondering if anyone could ID it, it says Austro Daimler on the side and "S" but the rest is scratched off, its a teal color, I'll post pictures tomorrow.

I was also wondering if repainting the frame (getting rid of whats left of the logos) would deminish the value? I have no plans to sell it at the moment, but in the future I may consider it. As far as I know only it's original aside from tires (which are totaled anyways so I'm buying new ones) and pedals.
I do plan on saving the emblem and gluing it back on after the paint job

Could be a Super Leicht model. Here is a link to one that was repainted that still looks good:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fox_dog/2488812797/

and here is a link to a BF thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=66558

And here's one more link:
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/ima.../AD_SuperL.jpg

I used to have an AD Olympian, wish I'd kept it.
Don

:(
I'm going to cry. My first sort of real race bike was an AD. I actually did a junior's race with one.

Puch Austro-Daimler Steyer (the full name of the Austrian company that made these - though some later one's were made in Japan) made some very nice machines. I own one. Unknown frame. Looks like an Inter10 - but there are variations in the geometry that say "custom order - never picked up." So these bikes can be difficult to ID, even with the serial numbers.

Please do post pictures. I'd love to help you ID your A-D. If you ever do decide to sell it - there are many people looking for a Puch A-D out there. They have developed a healthy mystique amongst quite a few serious riders.

Another Puch A-D that starts with 'S' was the SLE - a fast touring machine (intermediate racer) that didn't cost as much as the Superleight, but still fast as lightning and intuitively responsive.

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/p...g/IMG_0004.jpg

I too am looking forward to photos. If it's a lighter teal (Azure Blue - more turquoise really), it sounds like it might be a 'S'tarleight. Nice bike if it is and very elusive (I've been searching for one to add to the family for many many years and haven't come across any). All 531 with complete Dura Ace EX (at least originally). A darker teal (Salzburg Blue) would make it an 'S'LE. It's 531 as well with Huret/Nervar drivetrain and Weinmann brakes.

That unknown frame could also be an SLE. In the Puch-badged years, they looked almost identical with only subtle differences (531 fork=Inter 10, Puch fork=SLE; also check under the bb for a shell). Very nice bike in any case.

The fork is 531, but the rear geometry is off for an Inter10. But I've given up speculating. Ran the serial number - falls into the unknown area. Whatever - it's self-steering, nimble, and very, very fast. Bought it through Sheldon Brown in 1982. He didn't know what it was, either. Just that he knew I was looking for a top-end 531 frame, and this showed up as a special offer to the Puch distributors - said they had a few. We ordered. 4 months later - Unknown arrived.

Bring on the pictures! LOL.

Puch A-D's rule.

Sorry guys, no opportunity to get pics today, I was too tired from school to go out haha, I'll probably take some tomorrow, be warned its very worn and rusty so I may ask some questions in regards to refurbishing it.
A friend of mine found it in the woods a year ago and gave me it haha so it's pretty beaten up and the gears and whatnot are very rusty, does anyone have a good rust removing method? Keep in mind I dont have much money as I'm still in high school

I held one for a guy for a while, the frame was smoked chrome. Very nice ride.

(What is it with bicycles and white garage doors?)

Sweet! I think I'm in love!

Not to hijack the thread (just an intermission while wait for photos), but your unknown special offer bike is really cool. I worked in a shop that carried A-D — hence my lifelong love (ok - maybe obsession - I have four) of them — but we sure never got any special offers. Hang onto that one. I love the Speedy's on there too. Goes great with the burgundy/gold accents.

Intermission: I put on the red levers - picked up that set - NOS - from a guy in Norway. And as the most hideous touch I could muster - put on some old Bianchi Celeste green brake-cable housing. That'll make people wince!:D

Intermission: Nice one Chuck! Looks like Victory/Triomphe up front and 600 Ultegra in the rear(?). Can't tell what you're running for hubs/freewheel. How does it ride?

Call me a dork, but sounds kinda cool actually. Any pics? I always liked Celeste, just maybe not for an entire bike. I like the idea of a little accent here and there. I'm doing pink Benotto (found a good source in Mexico) on one of my smoke chromes. I should go Crockett & Tubbs and do the Celeste guides (right now it's white/white). Whaddaya guys think?

(photoshop dramatization)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_fwpE_eHSWYM/SX...VNII01.alt.jpg

More intermission: Someone really needs to get this one:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=8192362

According to a Puch specs. sheet, the SLE's forks are Puch 2500. Perhaps 2700 is the later version? Anywho, what kind of dropouts does it have? I think the SLE was Gipiemme.

I want to see the pink Benotto tape! Go for it! Let's see who can make the most garish Puch in the world! LOL!

Here's the Celeste - I removed the green Brooks tape and put the black back on though:

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/p...g/IMG_0091.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/DSCN1010.jpg

I could only take 2 pics, my camera died in the cold (it was -19 degrees or so)

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/DSCN1009.jpg

Not sure of the model-name. But thats a lower-end A-D Puch. This bike was made for export to the USA as it says A-D on the headbadge. Puch Austro-Daimler Steyer marketing people, of Graz, Austria, tried hard not to let anything labeled 'PUCH' cross the Atlantic. The concern was that people would mispronounce PUCH (Cross between Pooook and Puuuuuck) as PUKE or PUSH - thereby sinking sales.

It's certainly worthy of restoring/upgrading. Puch A-D's have become (as this thread demonstrates) a cult item. And well-deserved at that.

More photos would be nice, once your camera warms up or you haul your prize inside out of the freezer. Try to get some close-ups of the lugs and the dropouts. From what I can see, it has some very nice lugwork going. And I'm guessing those are the original wheels. I'll guess 27" - but are those built 3-cross or 4-cross?

You've sparked my curiosity!

Now that you guys have seen what the bike looks like, any ideas on how to fix it or what it is?
And is there anyway to fix that cracked up plastic/foam stuff on the brake levers located on the handlebars? Like can I buy a cover or replacement for the plastic/foam? I don't have much money and the brakes themselves work fine.

Can I ask what lug work is exactly? I'm new to bikes and don't know all the technical terms. And I would love to bring it onside to take some of the rust off and clean it off but my parents said no (remember I'm a high school student). Do you know any quality entry level parts that aren't too pricey? I'd love to fix it up but low on cash. So far I decided to paint it (my grandpa paints cars so he said he'll do it for me) and I'm buying new tires.

Here are a couple of pics and an album link to a Puch A-D I was kind of negotiating for a sale late last fall but other things kind of got in the way and I let it slide; the owner told me he was going to sit on it over the winter and repost it on eBay. He was asking $200 plus $65 for FedEx Ground shipping. If anyone is interested, PM me and I'd be happy to provide you with his email address and let you make your own inquiry. It's that nice burgundy color. elsteveodiablo I'm fond of it just the way it looks, nice bike.

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...h_IMG_3960.jpghttp://i270.photobucket.com/albums/j...h_IMG_3963.jpg

http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/j...ustro-Daimler/

With limited financial resources, I'd say that you should approach this as an ongoing project. It might take you a year or two to completely build this - or any - bike up to the fully restored/upgraded level.

Lugs are what connect the tubes of the frame together. They are, for instance, where the seat-tube connects to the top-tube. Like little sleeves of metal (usually) that the tubes fit into and are then brazed to hold the tubes together. Regards the brake-HOODS that are all cracked - replacements are widely available. But before you buy a set of Weinmann replacement hoods, you should clean the brakes thoroughly and oil them and see if they are worth saving. You might want to get a better brakeset (kaChing!$$). Such is why this may well be a long-term project for you. Like my friend who bought a 1947 Cadillac-LaSalle hearse when he was in high school. That took him years to restore, but he did it as money and time allowed.

Here is a good site with videos of how to do basic mechanics on bicycles:

http://bicycletutor.com/

And here is the Guru of all-things Bicycle, Sheldon Brown:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

I'll let someone else take the podium now...

Happy Trails!

That is an SLE if ever there was one. If you pass that up at $265 inc. shipping...well, you know. GRAB IT!!

Well, I'm going to basically build it up so I can ride it and add on parts as necessary. And the brakes seem to work, I'm going to oil them up and derust any small parts that need to be derusted when I take the bike apart and what not. The bike for the most part only suffers from superficial rust so it'll come off easily. The paint job though needs to be done as alot of the paint chipped off.

What do you mean by 3-Cross and 4-Cross, like I said I'm still new haha. Also how can I tell what speed this bike is and what kind of chain it needs?

Look at a spoke where it comes out of the hub (center-part of the wheel). Now count how many other spokes it touches between the hub and rim. Include the one it crosses right on the hub. It likely, including the one it passes over at the hub, crosses/touches a total of either 3 or 4 other spokes before it goes into the little hole in the rim itself.

For it's present number of gears (speeds), look at the rear wheel. See that set of cogs on the rear hub? With the largest being closest to the spokes and the smallest one being furthest away from the spokes? Count the number of cogs. Now look at the where the pedals are. There is likely 2 large cogs (chainrings) there. So multiply 2 by the number of cogs in the rear. If there are 5 cogs in the rear: 2 X 5 = 10. If there are 3 big chainrings up front: 3 X 5 = 15. If 6 in the rear and 2 up front: 6 X 2 = 12. Get it?

Regards a chain, that will depend on how many gears the bike has (see above). But I can tell you now it will be an 8-Speed chain. 8-Speed chains work with 5, 6, 7, or 8 cogs in the rear. Oh yes - that cluster of cogs in the rear is called, on your bike, a freewheel. More modern bikes have what is called a cassette.

There are no stupid questions - except the one no one asked.

Thanks, does the amount of crossover spokes do anything for performance or is it aesthetic only? And my free wheel is rusted, but its superficial rusting and it still works, should I submerge it in a de-rusting solution for a bit or just buy a new free wheel? Also, can I put a cassette on this bike if I wanted to, and whats the difference between cassettes and freewheels? Haha sorry for all the questions

(I LOVE Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome...)

I'm trying to get a rough estimate on when your bike was manufactured. 3X (3 Cross) is standard on most bikes made after about 1978 - 1980 - in my experience. A 4X would tell me your bike is from the early-mid 1970's.

3X and 4X wheels are strong wheels that can take a lot of abuse - if properly built that is. These were the standards of the industry until maybe a decade ago. Now you see 2X and radial (straight from the hub to the rim - spoke doesn't touch another spoke on it's way) wheels everywhere. Which is better - stronger - etc? The answer will likely be: How many bike-mechanics/wheelbuilders are there in the room? We all tend to disagree on this point. Personally I'll take a 3X (or 4X) over a 2X, 1X, radial any day.I believe the reason that such animals as radial and 2X caught on was the marketing hype of saving weight: A radial wheel will weigh less than a 3X built from the same hub and rim. Now we get into opinions, and these could start a war in this thread - so I'm NOT going there. :D

A new freewheel is probably a good idea. To swap to a cassette, you would need to get a new rear wheel - or build one. Now there's a project for you: Learn to build wheels.

Anywho, the short answer to whats the difference between a freewheel and a cassette: A freewheel screws onto the rear hub. They are threaded. A cassette slides onto a type of spindle and is held in place by a lock-nut. Both have their die-hard fans, but the cassette is the going modern design which most people find more convenient to use/work on.

For rust removal, use a solution of Oxalic acid. Do a search here on BF, there are several threads. You can dis-assemble the bike, de-rust, clean, lube & re-assemble for not much $$ & that is all you really need to do if the tires & brake pads are OK for a while. You can try cleaning the brake hoods & Armor All might freshen them up, but if they are sticky you will need to remove & get new ones or ride without. New bar tape isn't to expensive & you can check with a local bike shop for a used saddle. Most have a box of take-offs at cheap prices.

Go to your local library & get a bicycle repair book or two. Also here is a link to help with repairs:
http://www.parktool.com/repair/

Find out if there is a bicycle swap meet near you, if so, that's a cheap way to get parts to upgrade your bike. Replace the steel drop bar with an alloy one, new brake hoods & possibly cables/sheaths, tires & brake pads will make the bike into a nicer ride, but not really necessary. Don

Also, leave the cottered crankset & bottom bracket for your last overhaul project or take it to a bike shop. Removing cotterred cranks can be difficult, especially for a beginner.

Be very careful with oxalic acid. It is corrosive to flesh and eyes - wear suitable protection. And if you spill any - clean it up thoroughly by neutralizing it with baking soda (until it stops fizzing) and sweep it all up and wash the area down several times. If a pet gets it on their paws - the pet will try to stop the burning pain by licking it off. Dead Pets 101. You want to remove the rust - not take up taxidermy and hope mom doesn't notice that Fluffy hasn't moved in a week.

Like I said, do a search on BF, Here is one link: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ghlight=oxalic

I have used Oxalic many times & prefer a mix on the weak side. Avoid the All American urge "if a little bit is good, a whole lot must be better!"

Self control & caution will preserve old parts better. Don