question:
a buddy of mine picked up a beautiful old italian road bike (used)
anyone got any suggestions what to do if he wants to get off surface rust and repaint?
or maybe a site i can send him to?

http://blog.makezine.com/Brass%2BLion%2B219.jpg

Sweet ride

Don't buy anything from the US during the summer months. Canada Customs hires an army of students who have to follow procedures exactly as written (no thinking allowed). I have had a sweater I ordered held up for a week now with an 'agricultural hold'. La Bicicletta had the same issue a few weeks ago with an entire shipment of clothing.

I find when I have things sent up in the winter, there are no issues, but in the summer, it always takes twice as long, and I end up paying bizarre additional tariffs and charges. I never have these issues with things sent from overseas - just from the US.

^^^ duuuuuude. that thing is sick.

Im going to go down there again this weekend, and see if maybe my unassuming but loved bike made it there.

Thx for the cog discussion guys, very useful stuff.

if he wants to DIY it, stripping the paint and rust off with the proper stripping disks and a drill or grinder works very well, but it takes time. then its careful and complete applications of many layers of paint, followed by several layers of clear coat. and if you do it stoned like I did, your finish will suffer as a result.

id say if he wants a really nice finish, to get it sandblasted and powdercoated by someone, ill see if i can dig up the site somewherez.

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet! thanx man! i owez u a beer!

http://www.velocolour.com/index.html
hell yeah you do.

I've had 2 bikes done now by Noah at Velocolour, including the Wilier track bike I posted a few pages ago. If anyone is thinking about a repaint and wants to see these bikes in person, I'll gladly bring them down to show you. His work is top-notch. Not cheap, mind you, but stands up to close scrutiny.

sweet... thanx guys!

ya i sent on the info...hes bringin the bike in tow to TO in november so hes gonna try and hook it up then...

Original paint is kind of nice and a light sand with 0000 steel wool can work wonders if it's not too heavily rusted. Damp aluminum foil takes rust off chrome if it's not too bad. Old italian paint snaps off with a fingerflick though, my seat stays on my Ciocc are almost completely bare, but don't be too quick to paint if it's not in too rough a shape.

+1 on Noah's work. A big investment but he does a great job.

going down to cyclesolutions to pick up a lock in about fifteen, in case anyone is equally bored.

edit: cavit8 is right, but the alu foil needs to be dampened with vinegar, not water, its the resulting chemical reaction that lets you wipe away the rust.

ermmm... water always worked for me.

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question...2002657AAfDAmB

huh, good call. and will stink less too then.

now to find out who told me to use vinegar and why =|.

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&sa...ar+chrome&meta=

Apparently its a popular misconception? Im thinking the acetic acid helps loosen and remove dirt and grime and such, while the water content allows the aluminum oxidization reaction to continue. Im in no mood to calculate, but chances are the acetic acid might work as a catalyst for the reaction.

I think we may both be right on this one. But water will stink less.

For those not vertically challenged

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/767127887.html

It's actually kind of refreshing to see a bike at a reasonable price...

http://images.craigslist.org/0115000...f0cc009391.jpgYup, good price but the fork kinda looks bent, no?

does anyone have a spare 27.2 seatpost that i can borrow for a month or so?

have a white one on order, but need something for the timebeing.

I have 1 for sure, maybe a second one. Yours to borrow if you want.

I think I'm going to make cinnamon buns. Or pie. Mmmmm, mixed berry pie, mmmmm.

And brocolli sauted on high heat in olive oil with garlic and onions, then broiled with parmigiano is so, so good. Went very well with the last of the venison sausages.

I'm at the point where I don't even really care about the cost of the part, rather whether or not the quality is up to snuff.

Bluh?

Interesting: Miche chains are ****. That company doesn't seem to make anything "well" just cheap. BB was ****. Chainring is ****. Hubs are ****. Now the chain ...

Down to choices: I a) trick out the Capo with sweet wheels (Dura ace/ RR1.1) & "proper" track crank or b) get a 'cross bike for the winter. The question is: will a 20km commute be possible on fixed gear into December?

Sure...I have 13 thru 17 in steel and 14,15,16 in aluminum. If you care to pony up $150 for steel or $200 for alu I will let one go. These are all brand new except for the 16 alu which has a bit of wear. Pardon the high price but I would prefer to keep them and it isn't worth it to me to take less than that.

On another note I had a great ride home from Wes' tonite....except for the d00che cop who thought it would serve the public interest to give me a ticket for running a red light. The funny thing is I didn't even run it. I made a full stop then proceeded as the opposing light went red. The second thing he said to me was "can I see your drivers license" I responded with "no you cannot see my drivers license but I can provide my Health card for identification purposes". He tried to get all gestapo with me, insisting on my drivers license upon which I informed him that firstly I am not required to provide a drivers license while riding a bicycle and secondly that I would pass on having to deal with going to the J.P. to get the inevitable points removed from my drivers abstract. He then told me that i would lose the points whether I gave my drivers license or not. I laughed in his face....told him he was a 2 bit excuse for a police officer...and that I would see him in court. I am really surprised he didn't cite me for something else as I was a difficult prick with him. What a fricken joke. He seemed taken aback when I informed him that cyclists only lose points on their drivers license when they are too stupid or uninformed to know the law.

Really? I like my Primato hubs a lot. They spin forever and they look pretty sweet to my eye.

Nerdsgirth, saw you riding east on Harbord tonight, what frame is that? It looks like it has a sloping toptube; nice. I woulda yelled but I was in a car and I hate when people yell at me from cars ;)

I have had EAI sprockets in the past and they have the same tooth profile as Campy. The guy at EAI told me a couple years back that they modelled them after Campy. $75 is a lot of sheckle but worth it in my opinion. Now $150 for a Campy?...that is ridiculous:D

Fixed.