Finally all together

I finally have all the parts of the bike together and on one frame. This did however require some tinkering. The old shifter came off easily and the job of fitting the new one was just as easy, just had to make sure the chain was on the big cog before pulling the cable through nice and tight. I used the old housing with a bit of new lube as it seemed solid enough.


The front derailleur was a bit of a challenge. The back end of the cage screwed off, so there was no need to break the chain. However, when it came to attaching the cable I realised that there was no cable stop on the derailleur itself. This necessitated the slight bodge of running the housing underneath the bottom bracket shell. I also then found that the holding screw that clamps the end of the cable was partially stripped, perverting me from tightening it. Fortunately the bodge worked, and the screw was replaced by the near identical one that used to hold my suntour shifter to the frame. Went out for a first ride and all was fine.


The lbs had already fitted the chainset and had, as i expected, straightened out my wonky handlebars. With a bit of new handlebar tape, and a slight repositioning of the brakes, she rides like a dream. Just gotta paint her. But that's another job for another day.

First Rides

I have had some free time over the last week or so, and in that, I have been getting some mileage under my belt with this bike. Doing this has brought to light a few problems other than my evident unfitness. After about an hour riding, I started to get some shoulder pain in my left shoulder. On closer inspection of the bike, I discovered that the handlebars are twisted, very slightly (it is hardly noticeable). I proceeded to try and release the stem, a threaded one, from the headset. This is usually done by un-tightening the nuts holding it, then giving it a firm tap to release it. However, it appears to be jammed. This could be quite costly to repair, especially if it has to be drilled out, and that would result in a loss of what is a very beautiful stem.

I hope that, once it is in the hands of a professional, added experience, and brute force with some penetrating oil will do the trick. It is also possible that this problem is down to a bent steerer tube, which I am beginning to think is the result of a prior accident, this is probably what is causing the judder in the headset, which is still apparent when the steering is too tight. Hopefully the LBS where I am having my new parts fitted will be able to resolve some of those problems.

As far as those new components go, I now have a Campy derailleur and some shimano downtube friction shifters hopefully arriving next week. After that, all I have to think abut is how to go about painting the bike.

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Chainset

I have just secured myself an unused circa 1980's chainset complete with a matching botom bracket at an absolutely bargin price. I have had to step away from cottered cranks, as they are simply too hard (or too ugly) to get hold of at the price I want and at the sizes I want (primarilly a 52/43) for touring.

The one I got was a Sugino Maxy, and although I say so myself, I think it is rather beautiful. I plan to get it fitted, along with a full service at my LBS as I don't have the tools to do the job properly myself. Though, the derailleur and shifters will be my own responsibility. Both of these are band on and so should be relatively easy to fit myself.

The toe clips and straps that I have now purchased and fitted work brilliantly with the look of the bike and didn't come in too steep in the end. They also seem to help with pedaling, now being able to apply power on the upstroke, as well as the down and forward. Though on the first ride, I did almost come a cropper, forgetting they were on at a junction. I am also going to have to experiment with getting them on and off quickly. I still haven't quite gotten over the novelty of being able to peddle with one foot.

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Saddlery and other things.

One problem which I had envisaged with this bike was the Brooks leather saddle. I wasn't worried about the comfort, I have a friend with one on her tourer which she says is like heaven. I was more worried about weatherproofing it. As a commuter, it would be left outside for prolonged periods in the English winter, and I have seen the condition of my friends deteriorating.

The model attached to mine is the original 1960's B17 narrow (early model with holes to allow lacing up at the bottom) as such it is already slightly damaged , cracked and faded, but within just a week the old leather has shaped to fit my posterior, or as some would have it, vice versa. I have fallen in love with it, but I still want to preserve it for those long painful tours. (my advice, buy a second hand Brooks saddle, the older the better, they are far softer and mould quicker, though this is only personal experience)

So today I headed out to my LBS and delved into the bargain bin. (if your shop has one, don't ignore it, rich people get rid of good stuff all the time and the shop get rid of it for them) I emerged triumphantly with a Botranger Race, presumably stripped from someones bike for an upgrade. I secured it for only £5, it fits perfectly and it looks like a very retro 1980's addition, as it is now somewhat faded after use. One other benefit was the similarity in size, no adjustment was needed to the seat-post height, so the two are very interchangeable.

Getting the old Brooks off was a bit of a challenge, the thread holding the sat stays on were quite rusty, so I put on a lot of lubricant and de ruster, the carefully, but forcefully pulled the nuts over the rusty end tips. Fortunately, the threads survived, though at some point the post will need much more cleaning. The new one went on a charm. I cannot stress enough that getting the saddle right is important. the tip should be behind the bottom bracket, but not so you have to reach too far and it should be level, at least for intermediate riders, sloping forward will hurt you 'vitals' less, but it will put you at risk of leg injury as you slide forward into a bad position.

While I was down at the LBS I also inquired about some toe clips to add a bit more power to my peddling, allowing me to spin instead of step. I want to fit metal ones which will suit the character of the bike (I think clip-less will be too modern, though I may eventually have some for more serious riding). These only cost a tiny bit more, but will make a huge aesthetic difference especially with leather toe straps. They didn't have any in, the assistant even had a rummage in their workshop, then rang around some other stores one of which has now agreed to hold a pair for me. Don't be afraid to ask in the store, they may not have all their older stock on display, some will be hidden away, they are there to be helpful and will find somewhere that has the stuff you want. This is their way of building loyalty, and it has worked on me.

Initial Problems

When I first got the bike home, and had checked it over, I jumped straight on, the first thing I notice, whilst going down a steep hill was the front forks 'bucking' for want of a better term under braking. After a bit of research, mostly online, (see Sheldon Brown's bike pages, they are an excellent source of commonsense and knowledge http://www.sheldonbrown.com/) i guessed that the headset was not tight enough, sure enough with a little effort, I could turn the nut with my hand. (Note to self, better safety check next time) The one problem was that, not only did I not have a spanner to fit, Halfords and a number of other shops didn't have a headset spanner in the right size. In the end I borrowed an adjustable (mine was to small) from a friend and grasped the lock-nut with my leatherman, it did the job, though its still not perfect, may have to borrow the spanner again. The first time, I was worried about over-tightening and locking the steering.

In construction

I have just bought myself, what I believe to be be a 1960's Carlton Catalina racing bike from that great marketplace E-bay. I collected it a week ago, from a great guy in North Devon (UK) and brought it home on the back of my little car. Everything appeared to be in working order apart from some rust on the exposed metal and some missing paintwork. I have great plans for this little beauty, above and beyond making her look beautiful, I plan to use her, a lot. She is taking me to Paris this summer to see the end of the Tour and she is my general commuting machine. I am also planning to upgrade various parts to make a more efficient light tourer, something I have only done on mountain bikes before.

All this on a shoestring, partly because she's barely worth scrap anyway, and secondly because there are nothing but moth's in my wallet at the moment.

Up to now I have been an amateur (in the truest sense of the word) cyclist, dabbling in a bit of everything from cyclo-cross to touring and mountain biking. I have never owned a racer, nor done any major maintenance, above the old brake adjusting, lubing and cleaning that everyone should do. This means I am learning as I go, with the help of LBS', information I can find online, and any help you lovely people may give me. Though there will probably be quite a lot of trial and error as I go, probably more error.

(photo's to come)

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