OK. Bike wrenching FAIL.

This is strange. They appear (maybe) to be clinchers but are GLUED to the edges of the rim. The rim appears to have some sort of yellow rubber lining which I took to be part of the tire when I pried it back before I bought it. LOL. But there is some sort of glue action happening. Who knows. I am basically trying to pry back the bean of the tire but it is partially attached. Or maybe someone spilled a big pot of glue on it during the last 20 years in the garage. In any case, if they are clinchers I am relieved.

I've just cleaned 30 years of dried on crusty grease off the chainring/crank and it is just gross.

Oh c'mon, that's the best part!

Scott

Hang Shen may be Cheng Shing - the cheapo tire. The lock ring can be taken off via hammer and screwdriver, giant plumbers pliers, or some vice grips. However, theres a good chance that you'll be unable to take out the cup without the right tools. Might be worth taking to the LBS and have them show you while they do it.

What do you use for this? I'm using Simple Green and it's pretty ineffectual. Though it is satisfying, I will admit.

I use a mix of Awesome from the dollar store, some good scrubbing brushes, and very hot water which usually turns the old hard grease into something a bit more manageable.

Simple Green is ok, I wouldn't soak any aluminum parts in it .. I use Dawn Dishwashing detergent to soak overnight, then a stiff tooth brush. If that fails, I bring them to work where we have a auto parts washer. Rubber gloves, apron, presto clean.

Scott

Nice Miele! I've never met one that wasn't well made, even though lower end ones. Yours looks mid, and should have a nice ride. With respect, I think what's happening is you're trying to pry off the rim strips (the yellow thing, I'm betting). Take a step back, you don't want to wreck anything. The tires are going to be a pain to get off because they're mounted to Ambrosio rims, which are good rims but notorious for this. You just need to get under one part of the bead and then you'l be able to run your tire lever around the inside edge and the trie will start to come off.

Tire levers or a Qwik Stik or something of that nature will make this all much easier for you. In any case what I am trying to say with this rambling is that it is the rim strip that is glued on, it is supposed to stay there, don't pry it off.

Good luck, Devin

The yellow rubber "lining" might be a latex tpe of inner tube that might have already perished and started sticking to everything against it, making it look like it's glued down. I think all you have there is old, perished clincher tire stuff that you should just throw it all out and clean what ever got stuck to the rims off.

Chombi

haha, yes, I probably am trying to pry off something that should stay, but geez, finding the bead is quite challenging! Gotta take the bike to the LBS tomorrow to use the C wrench to open up the BB. And once I have the BB out I will try putting some ammonia down the seat tube to try and free it. Once I use the ammonia and if it works, what should I use to neutralize it?

The C wrench will probably fail on that lockring and you'll end up resorting to hammer and screwdriver anyway. Don't worry about 'marring' a lockring. An identical replacement would only be a few bucks. The C spanner will be a must for final adjustment after reinstalling the bottom bracket. You'll also need a pin spanner like the Park SPA-6 for the adjustable cup.

Oh man... Ammonia down the seattube. Be careful and good luck. I don't know much about it other than somebody just reported that it worked for him like this week.

~kn

I forgot all about the tape they put over the spoke heads to protect the innertube. Many were yellow in color. and made out of stiff plastic. I think that's the yellow stuff you are seein in there and it should stay if it is in good condition.
Just a warning about the stuck seatpost. Dont rush that job as most times it usually take quite a while to get it loosened up with penetrants or Ammonia......days.....sometimes weeks.....or even months.....no kidding! It took about a month to take off a stuck stem last year myself without damaging the fork and stem.

Chombi

Wow you have quite the project on your hands. Most people wouldn't have the patience to fix that up but it will be well worth the effort I think.

Months?!? Wow. I hope not...or at least that the seat is a good height!

This is going much quicker than I had thought. Once I get that lockring off and the BB out, clean it and put everything back together it shouldn't be too bad. Then i will tackle the drivetrain. I need a chain tool, I suppose. I'm fairly loathe to mess with the derailleurs because they are working quite nicely and the rear one is indexed. Do I really have to take them off to clean them up?

The rust on the chrome has come right off and the forks are nice and shiny already, even though I haven't had a good go at it, so I am feeling quite optimistic overall. I'm already thinking colour schemes...I think a white saddle, housings and bar tape will look good and 80s enough.

The shimano gear looks like the Shimano light Action that came on my sons Panasonic. It shifts nicely and the brakes are ok.

I would suggest that you consider replacing the bottom bracket with a sealed unit.

as for removing the current bottom bracket....using a hammer and a screwdriver doen'st mean destroying them. Just get it to move a little bit and the rest is pretty easy.

and for removing the cup..... the sheldon brown bolt an washer works great.


http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/bbcups.html

What is a sealed unit? i couldn't find any info on Sheldon.

He's referring to a sealed cartridge bottom bracket. Kind of a maintenance free bottom bracket. Just install it and not worry about it for like 10,000 plus miles. Not necessarily better but if you don't want to service your BB at least once a year then it's a great idea. A decent inexpensive cartridge unit would be a Shimano UN54. You'll need a different tool for it.

~kn

How often do you have to service your BB if you don't ride it much? :)

It does sound bit tempting. But first things first, I need to get the current one out/off.