Showing posts with label bikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bikes. Show all posts
Any old iron
Unfortunately i may be in tenbellies bad books as it seems i have another bike clogging up her shoe room. The other day i came across this fine little number on the back of a scrap wagon, now you may say i should have left it there but behind that rust is a fine ladies vintage bike im not sure on make or year as there are no markings i can see as of yet. The rod brakes always intrigue me but i also found that it was fixed gear too, the frame is in excellent condition and it just so happens i have some spare wheels with a sturmey archer hub that will fit nicely. Im going to see if i can restore the brake system before hunting for a replacement, i think after a lick of paint and a little tlc it with be a beautiful bike as it once was ready to serve a beautiful lady. Watch this space.
Carlton Fixie
I have had the bike finished now for just over a week and it rides like a dream. One or two teething problems at first but nothing a few spanners couldn't fix. As
you can see it very much stripped down compared to a standard road bike, the big difference is that it has no brakes this is controlled by your legs and the drive. I am looking at putting a front brake on as a fail safe having had some hairy moments already when going down hill.
you can see it very much stripped down compared to a standard road bike, the big difference is that it has no brakes this is controlled by your legs and the drive. I am looking at putting a front brake on as a fail safe having had some hairy moments already when going down hill.
So I have tried to keep as much original parts as possible, the forks, drive wheel chain and
pedals, the head set and the seat post. I bought new wheels; handlebars and my Brooks B17 saddle which a got at a great price. The paint didn’t come out as I had expected but it’s grown on me and even though I was wary of the decals I really like them now as they give an impression that the original bike is not lost. I have had a bit a stick from friends for the bike and various things but building this has been great fun and I’m already starting to look to my next project as this will not really be suitable once winter really sets in. The BSA is going to be a lot different and although it will be fixed I am looking at a coaster brake hub for the rear wheel and going all out on a new paint job.
Brooks since 1866
Well the bike is all but finished with a final touch of adding the saddle; I set out to turn the bike into a fixed wheel commuter as that is what I will be using it for. But it was also important that try to replace all the parts that can be used with the original, in some cases this hasn’t be possible and therefore it’s been replaced with parts for the specific spec. All in all the bike has come together really well and after a small test ride as proved to be very fast.
So the saddle, the final touch is important to the bike and the saddle needs to comfortable and add a little style and sophistication. I like things old and with some history about them so i choose Brooks, from new these can be expensive so I bought a slightly used one at a fraction of the price. The model is a B17 and has a long history of being a handmade quality saddle that ages to perfection, after all its all about the comfort.
So the saddle, the final touch is important to the bike and the saddle needs to comfortable and add a little style and sophistication. I like things old and with some history about them so i choose Brooks, from new these can be expensive so I bought a slightly used one at a fraction of the price. The model is a B17 and has a long history of being a handmade quality saddle that ages to perfection, after all its all about the comfort.
This aint bike riding weather
Returning back to Blighty after some well earned rest in the Greek island of Crete we were welcomed by wind and rain, ah home sweet home the boys at the met office are doing a cracking job they show as much competence as our PM. but hey that’s a whole other rant. The garden looks great a few more tomatoes have come, chillies slowly and even the corn is starting to make an appearance I just hope they will ripe just a little.
Before I left for Crete I brought the bike home for assembly, the next step is fixing the bottom bracket and chain set. When I was given the frame it had a random chain wheel so I replaced this with an original one that came of the same model Carlton. The chrome was in really good nick better than what was on it already, but I was unsure about the pedals, the ones that came with the bike were in a bit of a mess so I sand blasted these and then polished them up so that I could use them, I cant quite make out the make of the pedal but they are track type pedals that were common on race bikes.
A Touch Of Paint
A few weeks back I started to fix up my BSA but in the process I was given an old battered Carlton racing frame that I planned to convert into a fixed wheel. Well the BSA took the back seat and I got totally sucked in to this little fixie project. Scouring ebay for parts and stripping the frame right down so that I could re spray. Well I finished the spraying this week and it now stands for a couple of weeks for the paint to completely harden. It’s important to me that I try and keep as much of the original parts as possible so I left the original brass tag on the head and also had the idea to keep the existing decals that were worn and scratched. I have not done this before so everything is an experiment and so far I am happy with paint finish but im unsure about the colour as this is not the colour on the tin and the remaining decals have not given the desired effect I was looking for. The forks look great and these I found on ebay exactly the same as the originals which I had to cut off because some bright spark had used a fixing (ironic) agent on the stem.
On Ya Bike
At the weekend we talked about possibly changing our car for a new one. Tenbellies is starting a new job in September and will need to commute, so a new car would be nice as she starts to clock up the millage. I on the other hand only tend to use the car at weekends and fully enjoy riding my bike to work (with the addition of jumping on a train or two); my bike pictured above was given to me by a friend and is a BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) bicycle. It’s an old bike as you can tell but rides like a dream and holds with it plenty of character and loads of history. Besides building Motorcycles and weapons (a great mix) BSA developed the bicycle for military use during WW1, they made fold up bikes for snipers to carry on their backs while taking out the enemy. Over the next few months I will start to restore it adding some of the original features that seem to have been lost through its hard life.
