Relief at Last -The Cyclus Bottom Bracket Tool :

If you love working on old bikes you’ll know the feeling of stripping them down for overhaul and finding that the old style fixed cup won’t come out no matter what. These have two flats on a vey narrow flange that needs a large size spanner, and even purpose built spanners alone tend to slip off.   The cup has a tendency to freeze into the threads of the bottom bracket because of water ingress causing rust, and also from the BB generally being neglected for years. Even “PB blaster” fluid has trouble penetrating these threads successfully.

The solution is not brute strength, as this increases the chances of a dangerous slip causing an injury to the hands, damage to the spanner, cup, or even to the bike itself . Instead it is the better grip offered by a tool such as this Cyclus extractor.

a stubborn cup released

The tool clamps the cup from the inside with a heavy clamping bolt, making it impossible for it to slip off.   The adjustable cup needs to come out first, along with the locknut, axle, and all the bearings – in my experience it’s rare that the adjustable cup is badly stuck but quite usual that the fixed one is.  If the fixed cup still doesn’t come out using the tool, the temptation to put a pipe on the handle should be resisted as it may damage the tool. I prefer then to leave the cup where it is and clean it in situ as best I can (assuming that the bearing surface is OK ).

cup removed with tool

My only gripe is that the plastic end caps come off the tool too easily, otherwise it’s a godsend.  The long term solution – once the cup is out – is to use an anti-seize compound on the threads when replacing the cup ( I use Penrite “Copper-Eze” ), and also by servicing the BB more often – famous last words !

all disassembled

And remember, the fixed cup is usually a left hand thread….

This tool was purchased from Wiggle (UK site) and arrived by Australia Post in 7 days, as usual. If you do more than a few resto’s on old bikes, it’s worth getting.

Read Full Post »

The Elswick Cosmopolitan Refurbishment – Part 1 :

rust in peace …

My method of refurbishment is to fully disassemble the bike to determine what can be recycled and what is to be replaced, then to hop between the various cleanup and maintenance tasks back and forward until ready for re-assembly, and while sourcing or repairing parts.

I like to work out what the cause of abandonment is, and in this case it relates to the rear wheel, which is buckled and has a spoke broken, as well as a damaged tyre and punctured tube. The bike has been stored unused for quite a while, finally being disposed of as a rusty basket case. The rims are in terrible condition rust-wise and most of the chrome has flaked off or is blistered. There’s nothing for it but to scrape the loose stuff away and hit the rest with rust converter .

wire brush, phosphoric and steel wool – an improvement – some chrome has gone west though

I’ve also done the same with the racks, they’ve come up a little better, and here’s the seat adjuster clamp cleaned up too. Small parts can be soaked in the phosphoric acid ’til all rust and even some metal is eaten away, but converter works best if there is a thin layer of neutralised rust to remain as a blackish protective coat.

maladjusted & de-rusted

With the frame, I neutralise any spots of surface rust and clean out the bottom bracket threads of rust and grease. The BB is the “sump” of the bicycle, and a collection point of water related nasties. I make sure the little pin hole air vents in the forks and some frame stays are open and inject fish oil via a spray can with tube nozzle.

This frame has a myriad of hidden welds where rust has begun, all fish-oiled too.

mmm … chocolate

The paint work is cut back with metal polish paste ( e.g. “mothers” or “autosol” ) which brings back some shine, staying away from any decals or vulnerable surfaces. Sadly, the head badge has lost most of its detail already.

“she is – almost a mirror”

Here are the markings I have found so far, for posterity :

Frame No : E4C00611 on rear of BB shell

Seat tube sticker  : “Hand Built by Elswick Falcon Cycles Ltd.” – conforms to BS6102, blah, blah …

Fork : Akisu 84

Bell : Made in England by C.J. Adie & Nephew Ltd. ( ! )

Quill Stem  : I.T.W.

Hubs : Sturmey Archer, Rear is AW 3-speed dated 84 – 3

Rims : Rigida Superchromix (not any more!) 20 x 1 & 3/8 “

Cranks : marked ” Made in France ” ( no name ).

Pedals : Union U50 white platform.

Grips : White ” Plastiche Cassano”

Kick stand  : Royal – Made in Italy

Levers : Weinmann alloy marked “7 83″

Calipers : Weinmann Type 810 – alloy.

BB races  : “Phillips – Made in England”

Saddle : unbranded moulded white vinyl padded, on rigid metal base.

The saddle is unstitched and has no gashes in the vinyl, so has lasted quite well except for a horrid brown spottiness – looks like it was left under a tree for years !

basic, but it’s lasted

Seat Post – so rusted it’s unreadable !

Tyres : Deli Tyre  Indonesia (off white)   20 x 1 & 3/8 ”  ( as found ). These are actually grey wheelchair tyres, and that may be the only option available now in colours other than black. It seems this size was sometimes used on BMX bikes too, but they are mostly 407 mm now (vs. the 451 size here ).

The head badge has barely readable Elswick Cycles – est. 1880 – Barton on Humber ( I Think ! ).

———- Next !

Read Full Post »

Raleigh Caprice Refurbishment 2 – Front Wheel Disassembly :

progressing slowly

I find it useful to have a few jobs going at once when restoring/preserving, as I can get tired of monotonous work. So while having a break from the frame sanding I had a look at the wheels. I gave the wheels a spin and looked for warps first, to give me an idea how much truing is needed – the answer in this case is “a little”.

some of the worst affected

The steel front wheel has a Sturmey-Archer hub and a rim stamped “Raleigh England”. The luxurious old gumwall tyre has degraded and has no decipherable lettering. The Thai made Vee Rubber tube has a “94″ stamp on it – so not original.

These cones have a raised flange on the outer that mates with the fork, so the fork must be spread to remove the wheel. There is a “semi-fixed” round cone and an adjustable one with flats for a cone spanner, and generally these wheels should be installed so the adjustable cone is on the left side and will not self-tighten in use, as there are no locknuts.

A tip for hub disassembly – run a stiff wire brush parallel to and over all exposed axle threads – you will find the cones and nuts much easier to remove. The exposed thread ends gather a lot of rust and dirt and possibly thread damage from various knocks over the years. When the cone is off, I brush the whole thread briskly then clean in kerosene to aid reassembly.

front rim scraped back (top), rear rim – hiding nasties (bottom)..

The silver paint on these rims obviously conceals some nasties underneath, so will be removed by hand ( knife, wire brush, rust converter, steel wool used ). They won’t be ultra shiny, that’s for sure …

The chrome is badly damaged, but the rim itself is sound. I like to leave the tyre on initially to protect the rim while working, but at some point it must come off along with the rim tape. Two reasons – to check for corrosion and to allow access to the spoke ends for truing. Corrosion often appears around the valve hole, spoke nipples under the tape and in the little holes on the inner rim (see pic). It needs to be wire brushed and neutralised.

Remember that rust converter may not penetrate thick rust – if you scrape it off and see red rust beneath you may need to repeat the process. Scraping off the converted rust and re-treating can often bring up more shine too.

On sensitive metals you need to be careful and wash it off quickly, but on heavily rusted chrome I let it dry and scrape it off then re-coat  – I once left a brush in rust converter a few days to find that the metal ferrule had completely dissolved !  I think it can remove galvanising quickly too …

removing bearings and axle

With loose ball bearings you need to be careful – support the axle so it doesn’t fall through the hub and lose the opposite bearings when unscrewing the cone.

Ensure that you have containers ready for the balls to fall into as you tip the wheel over – always some balls fall out while others remain stuck – then they gradually let go while you’re not looking and can drop everywhere !!  The remaining stuck balls can be picked out carefully with long nosed pliers.

Clean the hub races, axle and cones in kerosene using an old toothbrush and dry – clean the balls with a cloth after soaking in kero. Check bearing surfaces for pits and cracks which indicates replacement is needed – I store the balls with their original cones for re-assembly, unless they are to be replaced.

Read Full Post »

Raleigh Caprice Refurbishment 1 – The Frame :

downtubes – the left one is original paint and the right partly sanded back

This bike was purchased cheaply in run down condition and while appearing quite sound, it needs a service, some rust removal, and cosmetic detailing. So I will start by disassembling the bike to find any potential issues and to properly clean and service the bearings and components. The grease is sure to be crusty and dry by now, but if the bearing races are sound  it should be easy to get the bike working smoothly again. I would like to keep it looking original and don’t wish to spend a complete fortune on it, nor do I want it looking showroom new.

fork crown

As I have said somewhere before, I like to retain some patina to keep a bike looking authentic  so it’s only the signs of neglect  that I want to remove, e.g. rust, excessive oil and grease, and oxidation of paint and alloy surfaces.

a shame about the saddle plastics – i will try to preserve it

On a closer look the white vinyl mattress saddle is starting to fall apart, and I don’t know if I can save it, though I will attempt to. The only alternative is a leather saddle, but I did like the shape and colour of this one … it’s very Brooks-like in the suspension, with its B66 style double rail. A “honey” B66s might be a nice alternative saddle.

some paint work revealed and top plain bearing cup ok

Unusually for 1980, the head and bottom bracket bearings are all plain balls rather than caged ones, which I think are better mechanically anyway, because the races use a greater number of balls and that should give a better bearing spread of the loads, even if it means a fiddly service job.

old paint meets “new”

The over-painting of the frame in places means more work for me as well, because I have to rub back the new paint and its undercoat to reach the original colour ( which is much nicer ). A previous owner had tried to hide the scratches and chips by masking and spray painting over broad areas on the forks, loop tube and guards. The overpaint is more dull grey-green than the original turquoise metallic.

and again on the forks

Luckily the original paint is mostly still underneath and I have found that using fine steel wool balls and rubbing by hand is the gentlest way to remove the top layer without damage. The original paint surface is much harder to abrade, and this makes it relatively easy to save. The steel wool also helps remove any rough surface rust at the same time, making it easier to neutralise the rust spots after the overpaint has been removed.

Read Full Post »

The Speedwell Popular Part 3 – A Mechanical Assessment :

In my typical re-cycling method I have dismantled the bike to see what I am up against before I get too involved with cosmetics. It’s nice to know that your old bike will last after putting such a lot of time into it!

i started here - steering head detail

The results so far show that the steering head bearings are good and the frame is straight. I have an identical replacement steerer lock nut in better condition in my collection. This old spanner (below) is for cone adjustment and the two pins are for this type of steering locknut and also fit the bottom bracket races on old bikes. The little square cut-out fits the little chainwheel pins, and possibly the old square ended wheel axles too.

a handy tool

The front wheel needs new cones and bearings as one side has been run dry and pitted the cone. Some spoke tightening is needed as well so I have run some penetrating oil into the spoke nipples in readiness.

The crank axle has some slight pitting and may need replacing, certainly with new bearings. There is an oiler fitted to the BB but “grease is the word” here. I want to keep the old chain wheel and I have a replacement left crank in the same size, but a slightly different style and also some new cotter pins.

wheels - some attention is needed

With the rear hub, cleaning off the oil has revealed the 3 rifles BSA logo. I have disassembled and cleaned the internals ready for reassembly.

Here is the C-spanner to remove the L.H. thread lock ring :

conveniently marked to indicate L.H. thread

And the chain whip to remove the cog :

chain whip tool - cog is R.H. thread

There is a very small amount of pitting here and there but overall it’s in reasonable condition and the bearings look OK. Rear hubs like this generally remain lubricated inside for long periods. A felt seal has protected the outer axle bearings better than the plain seal on the Perry hub of the Malvern Star.

I like to keep track of the order of things using wire ties :

It's not too hard, but if you haven't done this before, take lots of photos!

Many of the hub components are stamped “BSA”, and the brake arm “New Eadie”.

Here are the brake parts from the hub centre :

driver, brass brake shoe, roller bearings etc.

All good fun on a rainy day – I could do with a ride though …

Read Full Post »

Basic Mechanics – Servicing a Derailleur Cluster Rear Hub :

freewheel tool

 

threaded cluster

 

Here is a fairly easy job to help keep a bike going. This is the rear hub of a 24″ Raleigh 15 speed bike that I am starting to slowly overhaul. The gear cluster on some bikes is threaded onto the hub as a one piece assembly with a freewheel inside – to service the hub the cluster/freewheel needs removal, to access the RHS bearings and cones. This requires a splined tool that matches the splines inside the freewheel and in this case a 22mm socket with a long lever arm or torque wrench to apply enough force, via the tool, to loosen the freewheel.

Hopefully a bike shop that you patronise can help with this bit – if you do a few of these wheels, it’s worth getting the tool, but there are some different sizes.

axle, cones, ball bearings

Once the freewheel is off, the cone, locknut and separating spacer can be accessed – the cone here needs a thin 15mm cone spanner and the locknut a 17mm normal spanner.

cleaned and inspected the races - drive side here

It’s only really necessary most times to loosen one side as the other cone and the axle will pull from the hub complete. Carefully placing a container to catch the loose bearings is a good idea as dry ball bearings fall out easily and nearly always roll somewhere impossible …

I use kerosene to clean all the metal bits as it is less flammable than petrol and leaves a slight oily residue to protect the metal while waiting for reassembly …

I check the bearings, cones and races after cleaning – they should be shiny with no uneven pits or grooves.  Good bike shops will sell new cones and bearings if needed – I take an old one in for size matching.

reassembly with teflon grease

I use a decent amount of grease though I know some will be forced out of the seal after a ride and need wiping off.

adjusting play - cone left, locknut right

To adjust the hub, it’s a bit trial and error, I screw the cone in till it contacts the bearings, then screw it out a little, while tightening the locknut. This binds the two together so that the turning wheel can’t drag them back out of adjustment. The wheel should spin freely with no binding while holding the axle and there should be either no play, or at most just detectable  play when wobbling the axle by hand.

I check it regularly till it beds in after a few rides …

 

 

Read Full Post »

Restoring a Department Store Bike – Part 3 :

What to do on a rainy day ?

Too wet to ride ?

Put a bike together !

The shiny bolts in this photo below replace the cheap rivets that once held the 3 chain wheels together. Their only purpose now is to hold the protective guard ring onto the single wheel as this bike will be a 6-speed rear derailleur only, using the old front middle ring. I have done this conversion on another 26″ wheeled bike and find it greatly simplifies shifting for us old timers (lol), while still giving enough gears to make a useful commuter.

Crank assembly before fitting

I kind of like one piece cranks – though they are heavy and usually found only on cheap bikes they are simple, generally work well and are easy to maintain. Remember that the adjusting cone and locknuts are left-hand threaded if you are working on one. A large bike spanner like this one below is useful, and the crank is left just slightly loose before tightening, as the act of tightening the locknut generally nips up the remaining play – this may need to be re-done a few times to achieve free bearings with no play. The notches in the adjusting cone allow fine tuning adjustments before tightening the nut and lock-washer against it. Generally it helps, if you can, to unscrew the cone while tightening the lock-nut in these situations as forcing them against each other helps keep them firmly in place, as it does with wheel bearing cones.

Adjusting play

The rear derailleur was reassembled with a light smear of grease inside the two plain jockey wheel bearings. The 8mm bolts hold the jockey wheel cage together as well as keeping the wheels in place. This is a “low-tech” Chinese made Shimano mech., but the principles are the same as the fancier ones.

assembled derailleur

Fitted the derailleur mech. to the right hand dropout first, then the wheel is installed. The chain will pull the mech. into its proper position when fitted.

getting there ...

Next !

Read Full Post »