deux jambes

alikitch

Waiting for parts: bars and stem from ebay and replacement for a faulty campag BB.

Slightspeed

After 55 years, I decided it was (PAST) time to service the headset and bottom bracket on my '64 Legnano, had since new. I've done a few newer bikes, but the old Legnano has been my faithful and much neglected partner on many adventures all these years. The crank still spins freely and never felt a problem with the headset. Still 55 years is a long time. Got it apart, the grease was almost non-existant, replaced by a filmy hard sludge somewhere between grease and hard epoxy. I had to scrape it off the cups, after soaking everything. These old bikes are tough. Hope to get it together tomorrow, in time for a couple of rides before next week's Eroica. It did fine on the 2016 Eroica with 52 year old grease, so 2019 should be even better with new grease and balls!

JaccoW

The sun was out, so bike cleaning time!

deux jambes

rccardr 

deux jambes

RiddleOfSteel

Yeah, that's a pretty bonkers setup, though just keeping them together makes sense. Still, that's a long chain ring bolt! Likely borrowed it from those Sugino AT guys....

I'm prepping bikes to sell as a part of a larger effort to reduce the fleet size. It of course will not be without its "stair steps" down via building or perhaps acquiring other bikes to sell or keep, but the goal is three plus a rain bike....plus a track bike when it very eventually gets built up. The three "keeper" bikes are fully built and/or modified to permanent status. The rest of my work is selling either vintage parts or building up complete bikes--vintage frames with more modern parts--to sell to very happy tall riders as that market is continually underserved. I run my tall bike orphanage with tons of love and effort, carefully sending new bikes out when they are fully realized. I am sad, but happy at the same time.

Prowler 

delbiker1 

Going to pick up my newly powder coated Ochsner steel frame and fork. WOO HOO!

jbchybridrider 

Painted my Frank Paino frame today .Only one insect in it torn about clear coating it. Clear looks good but isn't vintage

jbchybridrider 

It's really a dark red but the phone has trouble getting it in the sun

jbchybridrider 

No it ain't magenta it looks very dark red in the sun silly phone

curbtender

Who needs an oven when you can just bake it in the yard... Paint laid down nice.

noglider 

Speaking of switching bikes for seasons, I did it backwards this time. I hadn't ridden my fixed gear bikes for a very long time. Often they are used as winter bikes. I've ridden both now. Comparing them, I realize I like the track racing bike a lot better than the Viscount.

ryansu

Third times a charm. after failing with not one but two (115 and 118 respectively) sealed BBs on my 84 Novara Randonee rebuild I threw in the towel and mounted the stock 3 piece bb. after taking some aluminum foil to the cups to smooth them out a bit. Now the inner ring doesn't rub and I can get on with finishing this project so I can have a bike at work.

3speedslow

jbchybridrider 

Thanks. Considering the time since I last painted I'm happy with the outcome.

jbchybridrider 

Managed to convert some 1st gen Superbe clamp on shifters to braze on mount using a cheap later model shifters parts. Looks good.
Got the headset forks BB and some decals on the frame but waiting on cyclomondo to send a few more decals.

Just noticed so rash needs sanding and buffing out on one shifter.

Slightspeed

Tuesday's ride with the half clips.

Back to the future ... back to the toe clips.
Tuesday I did a 44 mile pre-Eroica ride on my old Legnano using VO half clips. My feet kept sliding horizontally on the pedals, so today I went back to the dreaded full toe clips and straps. I last used them in 2016 with plastic cleats. It was damp and muddy on the dirt roads, and the cleats got packed with dirt, and later wouldn't release when I needed them to. So I used the half clips and no cleats last year. I'm doing the (hopefully) flatter short coastal route on Sunday, so I thought the full clips might be OK again. No cleats this year, muddy or not. I hate toe clips as much as I love my usual SPDs. I used to race this same bike with toe clips back in the 60s, but it was start to finish, clipped, strapped and locked in till your toes went numb. No dirt roads. If you stopped for a flat or crash, that was the only time you put a foot down, and that usually meant "game over". Not so with Eroica, heavy traffic, stops and starts, crazy steep hills, gravel, dirt, and mud. Did I say I miss my SPDs?

Wileyone 

I sold a bike today.

I find I enjoy buying them more.

I am very sad.

I feel like I lost a Loved one.

Now it's time to find a special one that fits.

RiddleOfSteel

I understand you--I feel the same. The bikes that I sell have to function as well as if I were riding them, regardless of component level. That tends to mean they are comfortable, capable, stop well, and have good gearing. And I've usually spent a lot of time getting it right, either in the time before selling it as I built it to ride myself (and discover everything about its character), or in making it very sell-able yet without me losing my shirt price/cost-wise. Plus they always seem to ride sweeter right before you sell them... I figure if I can break even, that's a great outcome as I gain knowledge, experience, and appreciation for the bike and/or components, but it doesn't cost me anything but time. I work hard to repair or restore or renovate a bike or frame--the redemption of something lost or discarded yet still very good and useful drives me to pick up bikes. And since I ride 63cm+ size bikes, those are very often discarded as the market for them is small. But us big guys need cool rides, and I aim to deliver on that account. I basically run an orphanage for huge bikes, and I am happy with it.

alexnagui

Cleaned some parts that came from this Gazelle Champion Mondial today. Simplex front derailleur and shifters, Mafac Racer brakes. They are ready for re-assemble now.

I bought an ultrasonic cleaner recently but still prefer to clean parts with a toothbrush. The ultrasonic cleaner just doesn't seem to do the job properly.



All clean and shiny

RiddleOfSteel

Helped out a (now) friend (who initially bought a number of components from me on CL) with re-cabling his newly found Davidson. The Campy Daytona Ergos need rebuilding (aft section only, in practicality), but given that his Davidson needs a bit more work--the previous owner was a bit neglectful and set the bike up poorly--the fact that we got a 2x8 out of a 3x9 is a victory enough for both of us. G-springs and G-spring carriers should be replaced, and that will be good enough for now. As it sat before I helped out, the RD shifting was atrocious/inacturate and the FD...it was sad. It apparently worked well enough for my friend, who has a number of very nice and very tall vintage frames that he builds up and takes care of. Still, the STI/Ergo bits were new to him so we worked on it and got a very nice and very nice looking bike out of it. Win there. I also bought a flippin' Land Shark Road Shark from him!!! 66cm (CTT) x 57.5cm (CTC) in a nutty blue/purple/pink funkadelic jellyfish splotch paint scheme. The TT was too short for him (perfect for me) and he didn't jibe with the paint scheme (59 vs 34 y.o. here, so I don't blame him), but I 100% did! I have wanted a Land Shark for a while--low key as they are rare, so when would one ever come up for me at a decent price?--and this was a great price. I am PUMPED to put full 8-speed 6400 on it (STIs for shifting), white cable housing and bar tape, all of it. Gotta wax it first, and then I'll build it up. Somehow I will have three Prestige-tubed bikes... That was not planned.

horatio 

Rejuvenating a non-functional RX100 right-side STI and a Shimano 600 rear derailleur, hopefully.