Flyaway

[Ulu]

All my kids and grandkids skate. I taught them and built them all custom boards. It is traditional that the kids bring some gear and ride with me on holidays.

But I will be 68 soon, and long distance skating is getting too rigorous. I have given up skating almost entirely for bicycles now.

So my wife has declared that we should have several bicycles to ride when the girls come over. She could just drive the truck to Walmart and have them load some bicycles in the back and drive home. It could be that simple.

It won’t be.

 

[Ulu]

The Bendix got polished and greased and reassembled. It has some real wear, but it will keep going.

I polished all the spokes and re-laced the wheel in my office.

I was very lucky that the hub was almost identical in measurements to the seven speed hub & the spokes fit perfectly.

Now I just need to true the wheel up and find a skinnier tire.

 

[GeePig]

I love all the little polishing and cleaning, as well as fixing all the bits.

 

[Ulu]

The wheel is all done. Test fitting 101:

This tire is still too fat for the skinny category.

While cleaning the crank I discovered that at one time it has been blued, and so I gave it several coats of Perma blue.


I don’t know who forged this but it has the same makers mark as the crank arm.

 

[Ulu]

I got the crank assembly all polished and greased up and reassembled without a hitch.

I gave it a good whirl and she spins like a top.

If I want these bearings to last I should run them all in, disassemble them, clean them, and re-grease.

I spent some time refitting the pins and I didn’t quite tighten everything down yet. I just tapped them in with a rubber hammer and put the nuts on lightly.

I also put a new chain on it, but I don’t like it on this bike. It has some weird silver-white coating on it. I Need to get another one and some new pedals.

I could get reproduction rubbers and fix the old ones but the bottle caps are screwed. I’ll get some nice alloy pedals for it.

 

[GeePig]

That is new to me, I have never heard of people running in bearings and then stripping them. Do you find much to clean off when you do?

 

[ingola]

The wheel is all done. Test fitting 101:

View attachment 212794

This tire is still too fat for the skinny category.

While cleaning the crank I discovered that at one time it has been blued, and so I gave it several coats of Perma blue.

View attachment 212795
I don’t know who forged this but it has the same makers mark as the crank arm.


View attachment 212798

Raleigh

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Raleigh

They loved putting their name on stuff, looks like it could be a stamping of their stork, or ol' Sir Walt, their other logo

 

[ingola]

They loved putting their name on stuff, looks like it could be a stamping of their stork, or ol' Sir Walt, their other logo
View attachment 212861

Sir walter

 

[Ulu]

That is new to me, I have never heard of people running in bearings and then stripping them. Do you find much to clean off when you do?

No, just barely enough to justify it at all.

 

[Ulu]

Bad news: The Raleigh style chrome front hub is only 32h! Poop! It will not lace to my alloy hoop.

None of my other chrome hubs is a 36h either. I will try to buy a new one today.

Good news: I pressed in the cotters, and then pressed them back out again without damage, and I looked at the wear marks in the heavy bluing to see where the final dressing will occur.

All of it will be on the crankshaft, with a hand file. The cotters got flat-sanded & they look nice, But they still do not seat to the correct depth and they never did.

I picked up some $30 alloy rat trap pedals yesterday, and some new skinny racing tires and tubes.

559x40s and mounted they are only about 1.47” wide . . . WhooHoo!

Compare to my old de-mounted 1.75” hybrid rear tire. Sooo skinny!

I don’t see an arrow on the sidewall, and the tread pattern but it is directional; so which way should those tires point?

 

[OddJob]

@Ulu , typically, directional tires on bicycles are used for purposes of optimal traction (in the rear) or control (in the front). And usually, this mostly applies to off pavement riding; dirt, mountain bike, gravel, etc. However, if you look at the pattern on your hybrid tire you can see that the 'chevrons' or 'sipes' start skinny and end fatter as they sweep back. That is typical for a directional tire. Thus, in your case, I would run your new 'skinny tire' exactly the way you have it pictured above ^^. With those center sipes starting skinny and ending fatter.

Remember, you'll be going so fast on this no one will notice anyway.

 

[Ulu]

At 67, It’s not my blinding speed that will be any issue.

It would be the water, but it doesn’t rain in the desert and if I did I wouldn’t ride in it, having tossed all my fenders away.

But I will make them point forward as you suggest, if you quit calling my little paisleys as chevrons.

 

[OddJob]

Yes, 'paisleys'.

 

[Ulu]

Incense and Peppermints . . . I think you get it.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Often times if there is only one colored label on the tire sidewall, it'll be drive-side.

 

[Son of Kradus]

No, just barely enough to justify it at all.

I do this too, particularly if using old bearing race's n balls etc! With blue meanie I made it all, tested , re greased n cleaned everything, then fine tuning and do it all a final time!...it dosnt hurt and only helps,

 

[Ulu]

Often times if there is only one colored label on the tire sidewall, it'll be drive-side.

These do have both labels.
I am still lacing wheels, so no test runs.

 

[Ulu]

I was not able to find a new chrome hub assembly locally. I was however able to find a complete new 24 inch 36h alloy wheel with a chrome hub for $30.

The hole circle dia was 1/8” larger, but the width was slightly less, and my old spokes fit perfectly.

Unfortunately, these spokes had minor corrosion on them in some places, and though I spent an hour polishing them up, they are far from perfect.

Oh well, the hoop is used and it’s not perfect either.

I was up way past midnight lacing & truing this wheel, but it’s not quite straight yet.

 

[Ulu]

OK, everything is refitted, and we now have a fully functioning bicycle.

Not fully accessorized, but I like them light.

You can see the mark where my press slipped as I was putting in the pin…

The plastic oiler on the bottom bracket was baked to death in the desert and I tossed it. This is just a little copper rivet that I stuck in there because it fits.


Some of the balls in the neck were missing, and it turned out that these caged balls from the little princess bike were exactly the same diameter.



I don’t like the seat or the handlebars and this will certainly change but it’s good enough now that I can do a test ride.

Also the front forks look funny with the short wheel. I could probably run a 700 C up there, but instead what I’m gonna do is make some funnier looking forks.

They probably won’t be too elaborate, since I have got to work on my car before the weather turns wet.

(Edit: I’m amazed at how many mistakes this automatic dictation program makes. It can never seem to tell when to use to, too, two, and 2.)