fconway3

Here's a Diamant I just picked up ($220). It was a single speed with tubulars. It has Columbus TSX tubing, a Cinelli BB shell, internal brake cable routing, a number hanger, a Cinelli 1R stem, and Shimano 600 brakes/crank. I switched it over quickly to a fixed gear with clinchers and have ridden it a couple hundred miles. I really love the look and feel to it. I'm going to build it soon (waiting for the braze-on FD to arrive from the bay) with 10 speed SRAM Red from my now (sadly) deceased Cannondale System Six. I really like it in the sense that it seems like a high end bike from a lesser known maker which allows me to build up a nice steel bike at a low cost.

non-fixie 

Lesser known in the US maybe, but I've seen quite a few nice examples in these parts (even today). Nice catch!

3speedslow

Old tax tag I plan on using for my Belgique Rapidix re build.

Cool.

juvela

i have never understood why there has to be a tax on dog biscuits.

3speedslow

Go where the money is !!

danslb

A Flandria I got this week for 60€
I have little to no experience but would like to restore it; any tips much appreciated. From what I have been reading I think it might be a 70's model.
10 speeds, quite light.

3speedslow

Danslb,

Looks like a fine bike. Hard to tell from the one shot.

Please keep us posted on how things turn out !

KER

The only Belgian bike I have is also the only aluminium frame bike I have:



With Dura-Ace 7800 groupset and Mavic Aksium Race wheelset. Rides like a dream.

juvela

this looks like it might be one of the contract builds done in portugal. if you have occasion to service the bottom bracket you may discover the spindle to be so marked.

danslb

I might be doing that soon, what should I look for? What makes you think it was made in Portugal? What do you know about those units?

juvela

the base model bikes from the boom era were done on a contract basis by a manufacturer in portugal. the bottom bracket spindles are marked "flandria made in portugal" in their center section. the pattern of the bottom bracket fittings is one unique to flandria. the fixed cup is distinctive with its round bulge in the center. var makes a special jaw for its fixed cup tool to accommodate this unique cup.

yours is the first example i can recall seeing in this colour. more widely seen finishes were white with black trim, orange with black trim and a deep blue flambouyant with white trim.

if you are curious as to the portugal connection. the forum has a post from someone at flandria withing the past year or so explaining about these bicycles. you can try the forum's search function to see if you can pull it up.

danslb

Would it be terribly difficult to remove the cup without this jaw tool? any ideas on how to get around that?

Mine, is actually orange.
You seem to really know your Flandrias, any idea on the period/year of this model? The last two numbers on the serial are 76 if that's any indication...

non-fixie 

Nice bike, @danslb! Looks like it doesn't need much in terms of restoration. I love the way it looks, and if it were mine, I'd try to preserve that.

I'd just replace the perishables - like the grease in the bearings, cables and maybe brake pads - and clean & polish it. I'd lose the fugly wheel reflectors too.

If you're going to ride it a lot you may find yourself wanting a better saddle. A used B17 would be on my shopping list.

Are those steel rims? If so, replacing them with aluminum ones will improve braking, especially in the wet, and also lower the weight considerably. It would be an upgrade to consider if the bike's a keeper.

non-fixie 

Unless it needs to be replaced, you don't need to remove it.

danslb

Don't you think it would be a good idea to get into the lower bracket and have a look to see in what shape the bearings are in? Clean and grease?
You mentioned bearings I guess you meant in the wheel axle?
I don't know if the rims are steel, I will try to take a closer look. However they are engraved with "flandria" and might be a shame to change out.

I was inspecting the underside today and found that the bottom bracket shell has lost quite a lot of paint on the bottom. Also there seems to be some bubbling in the paint indicating rust on several areas of the frame. Would it be better to sand these off and apply paint or clear coating?

3speedslow

It would be a good idea to grease all areas that require grease to roll smoothly.

I believe Non-Fixie was saying not to remove the fixed, drive side cup when re greasing the bottom bracket.

Good idea to arrest the rust on the frame. Many ways to accomplish this. Best to research and decide for yourself which method you prefer.

nice thing to have Flandria on the rims. Keep those but get yourself a set of aluminum wheels.

non-fixie 

Sorry I was a little shortish in my comment. @3speedslow is correct: you can clean and re-grease the bottom bracket without removing the fixed cup. It's what I do quite often, as fixed cups tend to be hard to remove anyway. A small flashlight comes in handy for checking its condition, though.

The bearings you might want to apply new grease to are the bottom bracket bearings, the head set bearings and the wheel hub bearings. It takes some time the first time, and it will be messy, but it is very rewarding to have everything spinning smoothly afterwards.

Give the whole bike a clean and a polish. Straighten the fender stays. It'll make the bike look really sharp.

Regarding the rust: what I usually do is clean the rusty spots, taking off most of the oxidation, and then use an acid solution to remove the rest. A piece of cloth or paper towel soaked in vinegar draped over the spot for a few hours will often do the job. When the metal looks clean, apply a thin coat of oil by putting on a drop and wiping it off again. As long as you don't store the bike outside, this will keep rust at bay. This method will also leave the remaining paint intact.

danslb

Sorry 3speedsslow I am confused: aren't the rims the wheels of a bike? (forgive me if this sounds silly). Maybe you meant the fenders?

danslb

@non-fixie yes I understand now, thanks, the fixed cup can stay
My plan for removing rust was sandpaper starting at 400 and working down to 1200. The cloth with vinegar sounds like a good addition.
Here are some more detail shots of the current state of the flandria.

3speedslow

No worries, in post 340 you mentioned the rims having Flandria incised on them. I thought that was cool and would want to hang on to those rims. Just get new aluminum rims to build more reliable wheels in the wets.

rims are what the spokes are laced to leading to the hubs. The tires go around the rims.

non-fixie 

Thanks for the pictures. Looks like this is a good time for practicing how to take a bike apart, clean the parts and put it back together again.

Be careful with that front derailleur. The delrin (plastic) cracks easily when you tighten the mounting bolt too much. If it does crack (or has already cracked) early Shimano (f.i. Altus) derailleurs would be nice replacements. Flandria was one of the first European companies to offer Shimano parts on their bikes.

danslb

Thanks, I actually read about that somewhere. IŽll be lucky if it does not crack while blowing on it...

juvela

thank you for the additional images danslb,

from the information they give suspect cycle may to slightly too late to be one of the portugese made machines. the 1976 you suggest sounds like a plausible date.

frame appears similar to non-fixie's "raleigh" flandria.

his is a bit earlier and looks to be one of the portugese machines.

note the difference in the way the dropouts are attached and the presence of plate style bridges.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...e-raleigh.html

dimitrikerr

A little late to the game on this thread, but I thought I'd add my Flandria mixte. Bought in college as a daily rider about ten years ago, I abused this bike greatly. It had a simplex drivetrain and stem shifters (I think) when I bought it, and shortly afterwards had it converted to a single speed. The bottom bracket gave out on me a few years ago and it got demoted to live in the basement for a while (I crashed and suffered some pinchy nerve damage on one knee).

Last summer I had it stripped and powder coated and rebuilt to start riding around again. It has new life now! Still has the basic dia compte levers and olympic brakes. Everything else has been replaced. It has an elongated geometry, as it's about 2" longer from the seatpost to the stem than another mixte that's the same 'size.' Even so, my favorite bike to ride in town.

CuttersRidge

The old one before paint looks very good too.