Bike Forums - Do It Yourself (DIY)

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it was. now it's not because it's linked in the resource thread.

oooohhhhh.... that makes a little bit of sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VT tallbike (Post 6300812)

Leather Saddle Restoration

Thing's you'll need:

1. Old saddle in need of love
2. Beer
3. Proofide / Snoseal/ or some other wax based leather treatment
4. C-Clamps /Twine
5. Oven
6. About 1.5 hours

Ok time to get started.

Step 1. Open Beer
Step 2. Turn on oven to about 200 F
Step 3. Apply proofide to saddle (Focus more on the underside, but get the top too.)
Step 4. Place in Oven for about 5 min. In the mean time enjoy beer.
Step 5. Remove from oven. Let cool another 5 min. Enjoy more brew.
Step 6. Repeat step 3
Step 7. If the sides are splayed outwards clamp them in in the seat rails with seat clamps. if not skip this step.
Step 8. Place back in oven for another 5 min.
Step 9. Remove, and repeat above steps as necessary.

!!!!Be sure to let Saddle cool/dry over night before removing clamps!!!!!

Added. SHAZAM!

http://icanhascheezburger.wordpress....unches-dog.jpg

Thanks, VT tallbike.

icanhascheezburger is the only web humor i never tire of. that, and questionable content, of course.

Thought I'd show off some of the wheels I've built (happy opportunity they were gathered together one day):
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/DSCN3239.jpg http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/DSCN3227.jpg
All of them have been built to a very high degree of precision - both eccentricity as well as lateral trueness. They will all balance on the axle (rim stays horizontal).

Quote:

Originally Posted by wroomwroomoops (Post 6301980)

yanno, all rims should be able to stand horizontally or else they're built wrong lol :)

how tight do these hold your feet in?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...&postcount=140

With unsuitable leather like that guy used? This tight:

http://www.clubavalanche.com/forums/...0809717800.jpg

so what leather should i use to make it as tight as i can?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jol (Post 3677840)

De-anodising (anodizing - for the stateside) and polishing a Cinelli quill stem
(or any other aluminium (aluminum - as before) part)
The [165] with-beer method.

Tools
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/landres/1.jpg

Beer. (Weird one my girls dad had. MVP?)
Oven cleaner. (Sodium Hydroxide is the chemical you need I believe)
Fine grade wet'n'dry paper. (This was 1200 grit.)
Cup of water for the wet'n'dry.
Your aluminium part. (Disassembled as much as possible)
Metal polish cream. (Not pictured sorry. Mine was Autosol)
2 Cotton rags. (Old pyjamas pictured)
Old bucket or tray. (For the oven cleaner)

This stem was bought off Ebay and was a little shabby. Few knocks and scratches and
generally dull looking with it's factory anodise.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/landres/2.jpg

Step 1
Remove all parts/bolts and put part to be de-anodised in an old bucket/tray.
Spray on oven cleaner making sure not to get it on you or in your lungs.
A good coating helps. I don't think you can have too much. I had to turn
the stem with a stick to get at all the sides. Leave it for 10-15 minutes and have some ale.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/landres/3.jpg

Step 2
Rinse off all the cleaner a couple of times before you touch the part.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/landres/4.jpg
The part should be dull all over. If there are still spots of anodise, hit it again.

Step 3
Use the wet'n'dry to sand out any deep scratches, a general all-over rub works well at getting a
smooth surface. Avoid sanding any logos/pantographs if you care. The part should now look like this.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/landres/5.jpg

Step 4
Here is where the rubbing begins. You might need more beer. I did.
The method I find works best is to wrap an index finger in cotton cloth and apply a small blob of
metal polish cream to the fingertip. Rub the part like crazy all over for as long as you can bare.
Then get a clean rag (your 'dry' rag) and buff the polish off. The more times you repeat these
steps the more mirror-like the finish. I actually find it really satisfying but beer does help.

Bling
Your new shiny part.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/landres/6.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a375/landres/7.jpg

Hope this helps. I tried using a dremel on a Campy Aero post a few weeks ago and find this method works better.
Now I just need the rest of the bike! Pics when finished.

Cheers.
JOL

/dope

I just bought a 3t stem off the bay for $5 and it can use some love. This is perfect. I was going to use my dremel... will use your method. Thanks for taking the time to post this!

where's the sticky??!?!

Used jol's posted method above to clean up my $4.75 Ebay stem... well $13 after shipping.

This was the before pic from Ebay:

http://somegeek.home.comcast.net/ttt_stem_before.jpg

After:

http://somegeek.home.comcast.net/ttt_stem.jpg

There were some pretty good steer tube marks on the lower end which I sanded out as well as the scratches on the top of the stem. Used 320/400/600 for the scratches. I then used Easy-Off oven cleaner. I let it sit on the stem for 15 minutes and then rinsed. Used Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish to clean it up nice and then used McGuire's swirl mark remover which took out the small scratches. I'll prolly polish it up a bit more. Amped how this turned out at any rate. :)

Also - if you have bolts with dirty/rusty heads, you can clean them up pretty easily with a drill. I put a few wraps of tape around the stem bolt threads and then inserted it into my power drill. I used 600 grit to clean up the head with the drill running.. If the head is rounded, place the sandpaper on a towel. The cushion of the towel will allow the sandpaper to better contour the surface of the bolt head. Holding the sandpaper can get a bit hot in your hand. Then put some polish on a rag and you can hold the rag or set it on your workbench and just push the bolt into it. Worked great.

Beer often helps with many projects... I always tell people to avoid it when they are dialling in their chain tension though.

Vote to re-sticky this thread.

Or at least re-create the resource thread. Gearing Prime and Braking can fall under it.

If you do all above, but afterwards use a brand new white buffing wheel (set up on a bench grider), with white buffing compound, you can literally put a mirror finish on an aluminum part. I've done it. Without the anodising the part with eventually go dull with age, but you can buff it back any time.

could you add some information to clarify the JIS and ISO differences, they're a pain in the ass if ya mix em

also, i vote to re-sticky as well

Quote:

Originally Posted by sreilly845 (Post 8329390)

could you add some information to clarify the JIS and ISO differences, they're a pain in the ass if ya mix em

also, i vote to re-sticky as well

Provide a link or the content itself and I'll add it to the list in the first post.

Is there a DIY for a top tube protector AKA guard

Similar to this:
http://www.businesscycles.com/graphics/tubeprotect2.jpg

I've seen some people with their own home made guard from home depot or what not, but I have yet been able to find a DIY write up.

kthnxbye

Just let me work up a little spit here...

Quote:

Originally Posted by peitrus (Post 8329635)

put a strip of microfiber cloth around the tube, wrapped it in electrical tape so water wouldn't get to the cloth and mold.
Then cut a piece of 18G aluminum sheet metal to fit around it.
Sanded the sheet metal on the side that is inside. I also sanded the electrical tape a bit just to give the glue something to grip. Also sanded the edges of the aluminum to get it nice and smooth.
Went to the hardware store and got some weatherproof 2 part epoxy that works with soft rubber and metal and glued it on.

And it's just glued to the tape, so if I ever want to take it off, it shouldn't be a problem.

All this thanks to seedubs1. His bike below.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...1/DSCN1699.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...1/DSCN1702.jpg

Hoping to bring this thread to life-Great thread- but I need some help/assistance here. I have an old Schwinn Varsity frame that I'm converting to a SS, but as of right now the bike weighs a metric ton. As you probably know most, if not all Varsity's had kickstands and I'm wondering if I could saw/torch that beast off(the kstand is welded on) without losing the integrity of the frame. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

this was a sticky at one point but fell out of favor I guess