go vegan

My friend let me take a look through some old, less than decent bikes on his side yard before he threw them out and none of them caught my eye except for this Coventry Eagle (I wasn't familiar with the name until today). It was packed with Campagnolo components (seriously every single part was campy besides the Cinelli bars/stem and "Kyokuto" pedals), it had the most amazing head badge I've ever seen (a detailed, 3D extruded eagle) it was suprisingly light for a steel frame, the lugs were pretty nice looking, it had wheels built for tubular tires and it was packing Campy Nuovo Record hubs. I asked my friend about it and he told me his dad picked it up in Europe in the 70's and was his racing bike for a while. What blows my mind is what horrible condition I found it in! I took it to the LBS and they estimated that in its day it was worth around 1,000 dollars. My friend gave it to me for free but I don't know what to do with it. As rad as the parts are, they're more of a history lesson than bike parts and the only thing I think I should be salvaging from it are the bars, stem, frame, and fork, although I feel like I need to do something to save the hubs (they still roll well). Anyways I really want to know what all of you would do in my situation, I'm considering swapping the frame for the frame I have as my fixie now (mine's just a steel nishiki custom sport frame I painted and is almost the exact same size as the coventry eagle frame). The decals are too far gone to save so I'm thinking I'll just have to sand it down and paint it? Sorry this message was so long! and Sorry I have no pictures yet!

mattface 

clean those parts up. I think you'll be surprised what careful cleaning and greasing will do for those old parts.

dolface

don't sand it down, leave the paint as it is, it's part of the character of the bike.

as for the parts, as mattface said they'll clean up nicely (i use this stuff called 'nevr dull).

re-pack the hubs, (replace the cones if needed), headset, and pedals and you should be good to go.

go vegan

Well I don't think I was clear enough with what poor condition the bike is in. I will take pictures of it tomorrow and show you the damage and let me know if you change your mind or not on what I should do with it. Do you think I should clean the parts up and refurbish the bike as a road bike? And I don't think I want to run tubular tires, that's just not my niche.

dolface

check your pm's

killsurfcity

damnit... what's going on behind closed doors? i was just getting interested!

dolface

i was just trying to convince him/her not to trash the components...

in other news, it looks like coventry eagle was a brand that was made by raleigh in the early-mid 80's. 531 tubing, and pretty nice workmanship from what i've been able to find out.

that thing was a sweet find.

frameteam2003

Coventery Eagle is now Falcon.

go vegan

I disassembled the bike and I've been cleaning up the parts in my dead time (I haven't touched the wheels yet) and I think I might turn it into my very own road bike! You guys were right, the parts cleaned up very well (they look amazing compared to how they were when I got it, I wasn't exaggerating its condition). Here are some pictures, sorry if they're too many/too large.

p.s. sorry that this thread took place in the fixie forum, I was considering converting the bicycle and I just like to get all of your input over the people in other forums!




































a quick assemblage for looks

treechunk

wow.



hot.

I can't get over that headbadge.


way to score!

ryan_c

wow, please do not repaint that. it's definitely got character, in the good way.

gregg

The badge is awesome, the rear der tags look great too.

Nice find!

r-dub

Yeah, that's a great find. I'd do something about rust inside the tubes, but leave the outside as-is. If the wheels have seen lots of harsh winters outside *nevermind, I just saw that you're in San Diego* they may be a little sketchy to ride on, though.

DonPenguino

Wait, threw them out? What else went in the trash? Damnit, don't people realize I can use such things!

BTW, beautiful bike. All those components cleaned up real nice, and I'm sure the frame is still prime. What's going on with the fork in the last picture though?

soyboy

wow, my heart fluttered a little when i saw that headbadge, beautiful bike, what's up with the fork though, it looks like it's riding really high, i mean i'm not an expert on frames of that era i'm just saying, are you sure you put it together right?

dolface

holeee CRAP! that is freakin' gorgeous!
i really think you should build it as a roadbike.

(if you don't wanna do that, you can sell it on ebay for the price of a small used car.)

dolface

"a quick assemblage for looks..."

treechunk

the headset is out. He's not done.

ink1373

those campy three arm cranks are just awesome.

moki

Heat up the headbadge with a torch and brand it into my chest.

whoosh!

+3


between the op and that guy who found the miyata track frame in the mcdonalds dumpster... damn son. they must be eating 10+ bowls of lucky charms every morning.

onetwentyeight 

That thing is totally salvageable. Just hit the paint w/ some clearcoat and yer golden. listen to dolface!

oh and did someone say "sexy headbages?"

go vegan

Two really old, really ugly mountain bikes, an old Schwinn Le Tour road bike and a unicycle were also being thrown out. I of course grabbed the Schwinn and the unicycle and already fixed up the unicycle and have been learning to ride it around my house! The fork looks funny because I put the fork and stem into the frame without the headset to see what it might look like when it's finished.

sr20det

masochist.

moki

You think your paint is in bad shape?

conversion