I have an Alex Singer bike that I’ve owned since 1983. I bought it to travel through Europe back in 1983 but did not know or appreciate what a fine bike it was. I used it almost daily up until 1987 and then it remained in storage. I then moved to the North West Coast of California (Mendocino area) where the sea salt air did a horrible job of rusting all the chrome and all the nicks and chips in the paint.
I have no desire to get back into cycling and I would like to see it go to someone who appreciates it more than I do.

I’m seeking advice to help me decide if I should do any restoration on it, some partial restoration or complete restoration. If I don’t do anything to it, that would allow the new owner to have it plated or painted anyway they like. BTW I think it measures 54x54.5cm c to c.

I have sent an email to the Cupertino Bike shop to see if it originally came through them, but have not heard back from them at this time. I received the bike in a trade with my Mom’s husband who had the bike for several years, and he also bought it used. I have asked him for info on it as well, but also have not heard back as of this writing.

Thanks for your help,
Carlos
To see more pics go to: https://photos.xmission.com/carlos89/...942e1693340ab3
Here are a few pics before I've cleaned it up.

I would not do anything to it if I were you. A proper restoration will be quite expensive and you will not be able to recoup your investment. An improper restoration simply erases value.

"If I don’t do anything to it, that would allow the new owner to have it plated or painted anyway they like" is the best way to go, IMO.

My advice:

1. Super clean it. I mean realy get into with a tooth brush and clean it.
2. Polish it up. Super polish it. Be sure there no residue in crevices.
3. Put the least amount of money into it you need to get it rideable. I dont mean resotre it...just get it functioning.
4. Try to sell it localy on CL.
5. If CL fails Ebay.

It actualy looks OK in comparison to alot of the bike we see around here. The paints acceptable.

Looking over the pictures:

1. remove the rear fender or install the front if you have it.
2. Lower the bars and level them
3. wrap the bars is black
4. lower the seat so the nose is 1 inch above the stem and level the seat.

A nice bike, and looks almost my size. but I am not in the market unfortunately, conservation of cash gets precedent.

Yes, the rust has done a number, I would agree to not "spruce it up", wipe the dust off, use a damp towel then dry it off directly. If you can find or return the front fender to the bike, good.

This bike is not from the golden years of Singer, but does show some nice work, and some "production" work, this was a bike built to be ridden, and not fawned over.

I concur with the prevailing sentiments in this thread.

Hear, hear!

a collector, especially one who is into Alex Singer would prefer to do their own
restore etc. I'd just clean it up a bit and advertise on ebay. You do want a realistic
reserve on this one, selling it for a $25. lowball bid would be criminal.

Marty

It isn't my size.

Whew.

-Kurt

I could even come up with a hundred or two, I don't think this one would fly below the radar. And with that, my $200. is safe.

If it were up to me the Singer would be MINE!!! It's even my size.....

I imagine you would get the most money out of it on eBay, for example the Japanese love French bikes and will pay top doller. Just my .02cents.

Good luck,
Chris

Don't restore it, give it a light prep and put it up on ebay.

+1

I heard from Vance at Cupertino Bike and he says they did not sell the bike. He has serial numbers close to it from September 1974.
I have the bike 98% disassembled and have started to clean it. When I pulled the forks, the Head was very clean and showed no signs of rust and you could see the finger smudges of the last person to grease the bearings (probably the original installation 35 years ago). The Headset cleaned up pretty well.

God, I can smell that Campy grease...

Do you know what you are doing? Are you a bike mechanic? Do you have proper tools? You could be reducing the value of your bike by doing any work on it yourself.

I have been disassembling and reassembling autos since the 1960s. From rebuilding the engine to rebuilding window switches. I am extremely mechanically inclined with an excellent eye for detail , and I have a ton of tools. But I'm not a bike mechanic, so I have no experience in fine tuning a bike. I don't see this as any problem since removing a mechanical part, cleaning it, removing flaking chrome and reinstalling is something that is pretty easy for me to do. I actually have the experience to strip and paint the frame but won't do that, I think that's something I'd rather have done by someone who knows about dealing with rust and restoration. If you'd like to see an example of my skill, this is my current project : https://www.audiocircle.com/circles/i...?topic=59326.0.
I very much welcome your questions and advice since BikeForums has the knowledge and experience. So my plan is to give it a very good cleaning, remove the flaking chrome and polish the metal.
Do you think that's okay?

There's tons of information in the mechanics forum and at the Park Tool website if you need more guidance. Realistically, the first thing anyone who buys this bike will do is tear it all down again and deal with the frame. But you should still do a careful job of cleaning and regreasing the bearings and reassembling. Make sure you have the right tools. You don't want to be rounding off headset nuts, for example. As for the bottom bracket, I'd be inclined to leave the fixed cup in the frame, clean it up the best you can and reassemble.

For shame. You should be using VAR grease on a Singer.

I wouldn't get into removing any kind of flaking or anything. Just clean it up well. If a little bit of something flakes off in the process of a good cleanup, that's fine. It looks like you did a pretty good job cleaning the headset.

With bicycles, everything comes down to bearing adjustment, and locking it in place with a locknut. On the headset you adjust a little loose, because the locknut tightens everything when it's locked down. The lockring on the bottom bracket is the opposite. Retry adjustments until you have no play at the axle (forks, etc.), and no "crunch." Bearings should roll freely, without play, and it should be locked down firmly, so it doesn't come loose. But before you put the bearings in, grease liberally.

You might want to take the finished product by a bike shop to check your work before selling it.

Good luck!

Hey, you own a Merkur therefore you MUST be mechanical.


Darin

'86 XR4ti

Yeah, but it's got Campy parts...

I just saw the picture of that old yellowed grease and was instantly transported. I can't be the only one that equates that smell to the good old days of spinning wrenches in the back room of a shop filled with lugged steel, Nuovo Record, hairnet helmets, real chamois, and wool jerseys.

Amazing what a little buffing can do for aluminum!

VERY nice! Keep it up!

Mmm - another centerpull brake design that I have to get my hands on someday

-Kurt "CLB-2" K.