Retro Bicycle Thread

[Diedrich]

6 hours ago, Knersboy said:

I had a Hansom 653, still looking for that frame, my mom flogged it when I was gallivanting in Europe.

My current road bike is a Hansom 708, was my mates, his mom didn’t flog it.

 

I therefore have a real soft spot for old Hansoms. I am still looking for a 53cm, 753 Hansom. 

Oh boy, the similarities are uncanny, same thing happened to me. After school I went to the airforce for my “diensplig” coming home I discovered my bike was sold, even my cycling kit as it fitted the guy who bought the bike! “Because you have a car, why would you need a bicycle”

All I have left is a photo. I also wondered what happened to my old bike 

[Skylark]

Double posting here just in case anyone on this thread can help:

I'm looking for a decent 26" rim brake/V-brake wheelset, preferably with Shimano hubs with dust seals like the LX/XT/XTR hubs
Alternatively also looking for decent loose 26" rim brake/V-brake compatible rims and hubs.
I have a really nice vintage Kona that I have built up but the wheelset is toast and rim brake 26" wheels are not easy to find
Seems if you don't hammer it using some disc specific rims will work but I'd prefer not to go that route.

[Warren van Rensburg]

Hey guys, have a 80's Cannondale MTB up for sale

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/hardtail-mountain-bikes/527900/classic-cannondale-mtb

[Diedrich]

Is there anyone that can help to identify this steel frame? British BB, Columbus dropouts and a distinctive arrow on the saddle post clamp. No stamps or numbers visible on the frame and lugs. 
Some speculation to suggest Maestro, a local built frame built by Rodney Andrews?

[Loose cog]

Hi Diedrich. This is not a Maestro frame. The brazing quality on your frame is poor when compared to Rod's work.  All Rod's frames had RAM and serial number stamped on the BB and in certain instances the degree angle, i.e. 73.

[Diedrich]

43 minutes ago, Loose cog said:

Hi Diedrich. This is not a Maestro frame. The brazing quality on your frame is poor when compared to Rod's work.  All Rod's frames had RAM and serial number stamped on the BB and in certain instances the degree angle, i.e. 73.

Thank you for the info, much appreciated.

[Twaatie]

So just got this today 

Can anyone confirm what technique is used  to remove  the rust on the spokes ?

[Loose cog]

If you use YouTube, search for Buffs Vintage Bikes and view one or two of his clips for tips in restoring your bike. 

[Jakkals.]

27 minutes ago, Loose cog said:

If you use YouTube, search for Buffs Vintage Bikes and view one or two of his clips for tips in restoring your bike. 

The man would also tell you to use evapo-rust

[BuffsVintageBikes]

15 hours ago, Jakkals. said:

The man would also tell you to use evapo-rust

He would indeed ☺️ However it would mean removing all the spokes and soaking them to get that right and its often difficult to do without breaking spokes as some of those nipples will probably be seized. 

On galvanized spokes I use a scotchbrite pad and warm soapy water and literally scrub it off. Then polish them with Autosol and coat with ACF50. Unfortunately once they get to that stage of neglect, the rust will reappear over time so you'll need to keep your hand on it if you ride the bike often.

If you intend keeping the bike and using it, best bet is to spend the money and re-lace the wheels with SS spokes, they look a whole lot better as well. 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Another fairly cheap option if you can get the spokes off successfully is to have them blasted and nickle plated.

[DJR]

3 hours ago, BuffsVintageBikes said:

................if you intend keeping the bike and using it, best bet is to spend the money and re-lace the wheels with SS spokes, they look a whole lot better as well. 

That is what I do because I'm too lazy "to keep my hand on it".🤪

[TyronLab]

Venturing into unknown territory here, so I need some guidance from Hubland.

I'm keen on restomodding a vintage road bike into an allroad / gravel machine. Planning on doing some restoring, some painting, but mostly just to have something to fiddle with in the garage. Keen on doing it on a vintage bike because steel most definitely is real, I can pick a project bike up for relatively little money, and they're just cool looking.

Keep in mind:

• I'm doing this to have fun, so trying to keep the faff and cost level to a minimum (i.e. not too keen on buying a R500 tool to extract some exotic bottom bracket). So being able to fit a relatively modern brakes or groupset, to simplify finding relatively modern parts, would be ideal.
• I want something as "consumer" as possible. Partly because I don't feel like defacing some mythical bike with my ham-fisted workmanship, and partly because its likely to be cheap.

My ideal donor bike, and what I plan on doing:

• Capable of taking a MTB / gravel drivetrain (i.e. 1x 40t-ish chainring, maybe an 11/32 or 11/42 at the back) or being set up single speed. So something with a freehub and not a freewheel.
• Frame will be repainted in olive / miltary fatigue green. All hardware gloss or matte black (little to no chrome).
• Can take some 30-33mm cx tyres (highly unlikely I know).

Idea is that I take a bike that's pretty much running at the moment, disassemble it and restore the existing parts a bit to neaten it up, then slowly change it to get to my vision.

What I need some help with is which bikes I should look out for, what I need to stay away from or be aware of, or even if there is one for sale pointing me in its direction.

I'm considering this bike (I rode a 56cm Titan Switch with a 70mm stem which was a bang-on fit for me, so I'm thinking it'd fit me at least): https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/vintage-bikes/533345/classic-zini-with-shimano-105s

Think this, but more Judas Priest and less Mumford and Sons:

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by TyronLab

[BuffsVintageBikes]

You can use a multitude of old SA built frames but make sure to look for something that can handle that size tire. Many of the frames built from Reynolds 531 tubing and up have tighter geometries and therefore can't handle tires above 25C... maybe a 28C if you're lucky. Clearance on the brake calipers is also something to look out for.

Cheaper frames with more touring type geometries work a lot better and are also better suited to gravel riding.

I'm about to start on a similar project with and old Alpina frame.

[Jakkals.]

Chat to Hennie to see what he has done with his Hansom...something I would like to do as well.

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Hennie's is very similar to the one above done by Whippet. He's got a 1x9 drivetrain on it 30C cyclocross tires and his clearance on the caliper is "balhaar". He actually took a few mm's off the caliper with a dremel to get the tire in.