hello from Germany

[outrage]

Hi all! My name is Stefan, I am from Nürnberg in Germany. Maybe you want to see for what we spend our time (and money) on the other side of the pond...
(and please excuse if my English ist not so good)
Here's an Express Alvia bike from the late 50ies. When I found it in a backyard, it looked like this:

I made a "single speed racer" from it:

The only things I didn't trash were the frame, the fork, the Sachs rear coaster hub and spokes. I added: SR bar and stem, Altenburger Synchron front brake, Stronglight headset and cranks, Shimano SPD pedals, ITM seatpost, Giant saddle, Sachs 5000 front hub, aluminum rims and 26x1 (25-559) racing tires.
Unfortunately, this bike was stolen some months later.

 

[outrage]

Here is a Motobécane folding bike from around 1970. When I bought it, it looked like this:

I made some changes, so this is how it looks now:

It has now: a cartridge bottom bracket (with plastic casing - i fitted it with a big hammer, because the bike's bb shell is not threaded) and Dura Ace cranks with MKS clipless pedals. Wheels: Vuelta aluminum rims, Vredestein racing tires, Normandy front hub (a high end racing hub from the 70ies), Sachs rear hub with 2-speed automatic and coaster brake, aluminum seatpost, Ritchey Pro saddle, Weinmann centerpull front brake. The flat bar was made from a bretzel-shaped trekking-bike-bar, which i cut with a hacksaw. And i look for a way to put the fancy chainguard back on, it doesn' fit well with the Dura Ace cranks.

 

[outrage]

This is a cute French Vélosolex 4-speed bike I bought on ebay for 10 euros. It comes with 650B tires, a size which has a sort of cult following, but not in Germany. It had a lot of awful parts: all the reflectors and lights, a huge black painted bar, a Shimano SIS derailleur (one of the worst pieces of crap ever made IMO), a chunky saddle, and so on:

So I went back to original. Step 1:

Simplex derailleur. Soubitez head- and taillight. Philippe bar. San Marco Rolls saddle.

The original seatpost was stuck, I had to remove it with a saw blade. I replaced it with a Shimano 600 (I'd prefer a French one, but aluminum posts in 25 mm diameter are a rare find, even on ebay). Vetta SL saddle I covered with leather. I tried to wrap the bar with the same leather, but the look doesn't satisfy me. Next I want to put on a French crankset and a nice chainguard

 

[outrage]

In Germany we don't have old Schwinn bikes in every backyard, so I started building a cruiser for my girl with a new chinese made Micargi frame. I added parts from the last 5 decades from Europe and Asia:

New parts: frame, fork, fenders, Nirve "Hello Kitty" tires, Union pedals. Used parts (my stuff, flea market, ebay): SR stem, stainless steel bar, cork grips, Weinmann brake lever, huge ding-dong bell, VDO speedo. Idéale 75 Cyclo-touriste saddle with leather tool bag. FIR rims, three leading-three trailing lacing pattern. Sachs drum brake (front), Sachs Torpedo coaster hub from 1964 (rear). Tange Levin headset. Shimano adamas crankset, Shimano Selecta bb w/ US-BSA adapter. Small Union headlight, Miller taillight, Cibie generator.

 

[misfit]

outrage, nice bikes! i especially enjoy the heavy weight. where did you get the seat and tool bag for the bike.?....
gut vom Glück zu dir Gehilfe. cheers....

 

[user 135]

Welcome to the board. Your new home across the Atlantic. I like the cruiser, especially the seat. Does the front hub have a dynamo in it? Maybe try the Motobecane guard on the cruiser to give it more of a retro look.

 

[outrage]

@misfit: the saddle and the toolbag came from ebay Germany.
@cman: the front hub has a drum brake, but no dynamo. And maybe I should look for a chromed guard, because the frame is dark blue and I think it's hard to paint the guard in a matching color. And my girl likes the bike the way it is, so I will get in trouble if I change anything...

 

[xddorox]

My favorites are the Velosolex and the cruiser. Welcome aboard. :mrgreen:

 

[Clothespin n]

I like the Motobecane( before you changed it )
and I love what you did with your Girlfriends Cruiser.

I know the parts and availability in Germany must be a lot different
from North America,but you seem to know your stuff
and it shows!!!!

very impressive builds on all the bikes!

Welcome aboard.....from the Suburbs of
Vancouver British Columbia,

peace,
Kev.

 

[outrage]

yes, the bicycles and parts are really a lot different. If you want to see German oldtimer parts, you must download the catalog from this guy: http://www.velo-classic.de/. He has a lot of awesome stuff!