I’d Rather Have a Bottle in Front of Me:

Hmm, what to do when your recycled old commuter doesn’t have fittings for a bidon cage?

Well, I found this Tioga brand handlebar mounted one in a local bike shop (LBS) – but in black… anyway, I bought it .

I was hoping for plain alloy to match the road king’s other shiny fittings and brown tones…also, on its first use the bottle bounced out on a big bump and nearly smashed due to the loose fit and springiness in this cage.

My solution was to twine it, not that it was a neat or easy job, but here goes :

as it was – black and springy

taped, twined and starting to shellac

ta daa! — rough’n'ready damping

at last – a bottle in front of me that stays put

The job was done with two single pieces of twine, and the hardest part was to finish the winding so that the twine ends don’t unravel off the double sided tape when first wet with shellac, and also to negotiate the many changes in radius of the curved shape without leaving gaps…

I cheated somewhat by clamping the ends with a bulldog clip after shellacking, then recoating gently when dry, and finally putting a spot of clear epoxy on it, just in case!

I feel that if I did another of these I could improve on this one, but am generally happy with the result. It matches the twined kickstand fairly well.

Perhaps it’s otherwise easier to twine the bottle?

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The “Road King” Project Part 4 – Re-assembly :

refitting cranks

So far, this has been one of the easiest restorations I’ve done, thanks to the bike  having been kept in relatively good condition. In only a few hours today, I had the majority of work finished. It still needs some parts, like a new chain – as the old one is too worn. The saddle will go too, as it is immediately uncomfortable. Also new grips, new tyres, and some mudguards will need to be sourced. Despite the colour being about as subtle as a coke can, I still like it.

Here is the general idea of how it will look, disregarding the seat and grips as they will be changed :

the general idea ... with removable basket

Here also are some ideas for decorative details that don’t cost much, yet can smarten up any old bike like this one :

i infilled the gear lever indents with matching colour

infilled front derailleur logo and chainwheel bolts with colour

same with rear derailleur

lug lining

replaced clunky old steel stand with a light alloy twined one

I should go into production with these stands – lol …

The gear levers can’t really be separated so I’ve decided to leave it a 10 speed, with a “normal” ring and a “downhill” ring – i.e. the opposite of a “granny” ring!

another view with an animated shadow ...

So, it’s a sort of “10 speed fixie” then, if you get my oxymoron.

More details to follow…

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A Budget Decorative Twined Kickstand :

The mainly alloy stand, as purchased.

Here is a budget adjustable kick stand that I have decorated for a friend’s older bike that didn’t have one. The stand is the same type that I used on the restored Malvern Star bike featured earlier – it’s basic, but reasonable, for the $13 that it cost at a department store, provided that it is used on a firm surface and the bike is of moderate weight. I prefer these stands to the ones where you have to cut the one piece alloy leg to length, as you can’t make a mistake with this one !

Twined and partially shellacked, primer on top plate and bolt.

The reason I decorated it this way is simply because I thought it looked too plain and shiny for an older bike. The method is to tape the leg section with double sided sticky tape, wrap it tightly with white twine and give it several coats of amber shellac until satisfied with the colour. The steel top plate and bolt were painted to blend in with the red bike that will be wearing it.

The finished stand.

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