Retro Bicycle Thread

[DJR]

Painting 

 

Bogus Designs stripped the frame to bare metal and then did the spray work. The dayglo orange is VERY BRIGHT and the contrast with the metallic gunmetal grey is EXTREME! Afterwards Bogus even “apologised” because it came out so extremely bright. Daniel fell in love with the colour scheme at first sight! For him it was exactly the right colour to match his slightly loud personality! (Perhaps that is somewhat of an understatement?) All the decals were painted into the design and no vinyl stickers were used. If you run your finger over them it is perfectly smooth. Everything is protected with a clear coat. Without a doubt, the paintwork is far superior to the original, neater and much more hard wearing. At the same time, it still retains the classic appearance of a 1980s Alpina.

Edited March 24, 2018 by DJR

[DJR]

Building

 

Daniel and I cleaned up the groupset and all the components and delivered everything to Nils Hansen at Woodstock Cycle Works to build the bike in time for Eroica. Nils rebuilt the wheels. They came out looking so good that I wondered whether he mistakenly swapped them for something better. He added a new sealed bottom bracket and a seatpost to fit without a shim. We decided to use the 28 mm Continental Gatorskins we rescued when we sold our tandem, to try and smooth out the rough dirt roads the Alpina would have to tackle at Eroica. New cables and brake blocks were used. Why did we not build it ourselves? Because Nils is simply better at it. He spots problems and fix problems you and I would miss. That way you end up with a more solid, more dependable ride! That's what you get from building hundreds of old bikes, rather than the few I do. 

Edited March 24, 2018 by DJR

[DJR]

Eroica SA, The Test

 

We fetched the Alpina two days before Eroica SA, but Daniel had no chance to try it until the night before. A few laps around the garden was enough to make him fall in love with the whole bike. The narrow racy handlebars and the ugly, but extremely comfortable saddle, the seven speed downtube friction shifters, all came together to feel solid, predictable and dependable. The Alpina was ready to be tested properly on the 90 kilometre Eroica ride the next morning.

It passed with flying colours, for various reasons. Firstly, Daniel dressed to match his bike, bright Clivia orange Team Pain or Shine shirt with orange socks. That combination and his youth amongst the somewhat older crowd, attracted a lot of attention. People asked about the bike and the restoration and, social animal that he is, he loved all the bike talk and the fuss. (Last year, the much quieter David and his LeJeune preferred and managed to keep a low profile.) As I said in the beginning, bike and rider should match on a deeper level. Secondly, the Alpina ran like a dream. Everything worked smoothly and it handled the rough roads extremely well. He immediately said that he wants saddles like the old Alpinas ugly one for his other bikes too, because it was so comfortable. That is, comfortable on a really long ride on very bumpy roads. The only complaint was that the skinny retro handlebar tape was too thin, a bit slippery and difficult to grip. That was the only thing we replaced afterwards.

[DJR]

The build detail 

 

(And one more picture for the road)

Frame – Alpina, 1989, steel, size 57cm, dayglo orange and metallic gunmetal grey
Fork – Alpina steel, dayglo orange
Headset – Shimano
Wheelset – Ambrosio rims, Legnano hubs
Tyres – Continental Gatorskin 28mm
Crankset – Stronglight 53/49
Shifters – Shimano 105 downtube friction
Rear Derailleur – Shimano 105
Front derailleur – Shimano 105
Cassette –  unknown 6 speed 28/14
Chain – unknown
Brakeset – Modolo, March 1
Stem – Unknown
Handlebar – Jaehwa DS Super ?
Handlebar tape – Ryder Gripper
Seatpost – unknown
Saddle – Iscaselle ugly but comfy
Bottle Cages – Arundel

Edited March 24, 2018 by DJR

[IH8MUD]

Thanks for the excellent write-up DJR.!  

Wonderful  to see what you guys have done with the Alpina.

Very inspirational. Well done.  

 

Now I want to rush home this evening and go and give some TCL to my Le Jeune.  

Edited March 24, 2018 by IH8MUD

[HeartCoppi]

So nice. This is what it is all about. This is what makes a great bike. Love this story.

[HeartCoppi]

How does the Cape Knife Makers Guild show 2017, tie in to this?

[DJR]

How does the Cape Knife Makers Guild show 2017, tie in to this?

You sure pay attention. The day he got the bike, we took it for a spin around the neighbourhood ........ and visited their annual knife show in Rondebosch. 

[Andymann]

Hey guys. I’ve been looking for a early 90s Record front derailleur for my somec but haven’t found anything yet. I have found a 2007 Chorus derailleur, will it be compatible? The Record groupset is 9 speed and the Chrous derailleur is 10 speed. Any info would be appreciated, thanks

In the next month or so I'll be upgrading my Bianchi TT bike with a new groupset, so there will be some 2006 Record bits available - Crank, FD and brakes.  Not sure if they are too young for this forum but if anyone would be keen they can let me know.

[Bennie.Erasmus]

Hi everyone I need help please. Where can I find a shorter stem for my classic Cannondale road bike? Apparently they don’t make it anymore.....

[Loose cog]

Is it a 1inch, 1 1/8 or ahead stem? What length are you looking for, color, brand etc

[HeartCoppi]

DJR I've returned to your eroica report a couple of times. Thanks man ! It's such a great story and so comfortably written.

[Eppie]

I couldn't help buying this bike, mainly just for the interesting gear shifters. No decals on the bike so I don't know what make it is. Must be Japanese as research shows that these Symmetric shifters mounted to a single braze-on boss similar to a water bottle mount, located on the top tube were used on Japanese bikes from 1982-83 (Bridgestone, Miyata, Shogun, Panasonic, Univega, etc). When this SunTour rear derailleur lever was moved, a cam on the inside of the shifter body also adjusted the trim on the front derailleur. I have not tested it so will have to see once restored. The bike needs some TLC.

 

[blinx]

Lovely bike Epoke

[blinx]

Lovely bike Eppie

[bikebloke]

I couldn't help buying this bike, mainly just for the interesting gear shifters. No decals on the bike so I don't know what make it is. Must be Japanese as research shows that these Symmetric shifters mounted to a single braze-on boss similar to a water bottle mount, located on the top tube were used on Japanese bikes from 1982-83 (Bridgestone, Miyata, Shogun, Panasonic, Univega, etc). When this SunTour rear derailleur lever was moved, a cam on the inside of the shifter body also adjusted the trim on the front derailleur. I have not tested it so will have to see once restored. The bike needs some TLC.

Suntour2.jpgSuntour.jpg

nice crank