Old road bike

[us56456712]

It's French, the painted head badge is unreadable. Tubular tires and Reynolds 531 tubing, which came out in 1935. By the drop outs and 4 speed fork style rear derailleur it's probably from 1936 to the start of WW ll in 1939?

building clincher wheels, all vintage French, 114 OLD, bolt on hubs and French threading, 4 speed cassette and French threading.

I have a leather French saddle. I need French thread pedals and stem/bars.​

 

[us56456712]

I'm fitting the clinchers to see how they fit the brake blocks. Almost the same as the tubular rims. I have to order some old fashioned looking gumwalls. I have a vintage bidon and rusty handlebar mount for it.

 

[macncheese]

What kinda stem do you want? I have a Belleri Francois in my parts pile but I'm not sure the exact extension.

 

[us56456712]

What kinda stem do you want? I have a Belleri Francois in my parts pile but I'm not sure the exact extension.

Thanks,
I'm looking for a 22mm slider. If I can't find one I'll let you know. There is a guy in New Zealand that has several and I won a bid on one. I't been 3 weeks and hasn't shown up yet.

 

[us56456712]

The frame and shift stuff + back side pull brake.

Back wheel before lacing. Atom low flange bolt on screw on French thread hub. Regina rims

 

[us56456712]

Vintage bidon sourced from France. I put an inner tube around it and wrapped the string using the under wrap technique, like when replacing a fishing rod eye. The string is held in place with wood glue. My stem hasn't arrived yet so I can't mount it.

 

[us56456712]

Anyone out there in TV land want to let me know your experience clearing rust off a bike frame and retaining most of the paint. Its got a lot of surface rust but also some nice faded pin striping. I want to minimize the damage when cleaning. The surface rust is the worst, but not bad, under the cable clamps where all the paint is gone. The clamps were not bolted but friction type and moved around over the years and removed the paint. So far I'm thinking aluminum foil and WD-40 with a finish coat of boiled linseed oil. That sounds pretty harsh though as the paint is fragile and faded. Perhaps just oil? Someone told me it is a French Super Champion bike. Who knows? Sounds good to me for bragging rights. If I get it to the riding stage I guess I'll be a super champion. My wife will disagree. Thanks for any ideas. I want to preserve not restore. It's in very nice shape for the age. Here is a picture of a 1936 road race. The cockpit looks short to me and the seat looks too low for what is ridden now.

 

[furyus]

Really cool bike. I'd recommend Gibbs Penetrating Oil, available on eBay. Great stuff, used it for years. Apply with paper towel. After 12-24 hours dry to touch. No slimy mess like with wd40. Never had it damage paint. Arrests rust (cuts off oxygen) and adds a nice patina to both metal and rust. Using it on current build off bike "Coda" now. Great product.

furyus

 

[furyus]

I'd not recommend rubbing any paint with aluminum foil, by the way. You'll regret it. Bathe it with oil, but get good stuff. No wd40, no silicone. Too messy and stays messy.

 

[us56456712]

I'd not recommend rubbing any paint with aluminum foil, by the way. You'll regret it. Bathe it with oil, but get good stuff. No wd40, no silicone. Too messy and stays messy.

Thanks. I was leery of the foil idea. I have used it on metal parts but never paint. I have ordered some Gibbs.

 

[furyus]

I think you'll like the Gibbs. Spray some on a paper towel then wipe down the bike - paint, rust and all. I like to apply several coats. Test a little bit on any decals or pinstripes just to be safe. I've used it on ancient Schwinn screens (chain guards etc) and not had any problem. The stuff patinas bare metal and rust over time - looks great. By the way, I'm not affiliated with Gibbs in any way, just a happy customer.

furyus

 

[us56456712]

I think you'll like the Gibbs. Spray some on a paper towel then wipe down the bike - paint, rust and all. I like to apply several coats. Test a little bit on any decals or pinstripes just to be safe. I've used it on ancient Schwinn screens (chain guards etc) and not had any problem. The stuff patinas bare metal and rust over time - looks great. By the way, I'm not affiliated with Gibbs in any way, just a happy customer.

furyus

I did research on peoples reviews of Gibbs, both pro and con. The cons seemed to be using it for something it wasn't designed for or expecting it to remove rust so it looked new. I have an old seat I'm rebuilding for a friend. I'll use it on that first and then proceed to the bike. I'll use Penetrol on part of the seat and Gibbs on the rest for comparison. I was truing the front wheel I built for this bike and stripped two spokes. I'm heading to town today (124 miles round trip from our home in the middle of the Hiawatha National Forrest) and I'll try and get two replacements. One of the bike shops there has a Phil Wood spoke threader. This road bike progress is going slow. I still need clincher tires, pedals and bars/stem. The pedals are coming from England and the bars/stem from New Zealand.

 

[furyus]

Gibbs won't remove rust, which is why I specifically used the word arrest, which it does spectacularly. Gives it a nice color, too, especially over time. I use it to preserve bare metal, painted surfaces and to arrest rust. Another thing it does, literally, is repel dust. Dust will finally settle on the surface after awhile, but dust slides right off initially. The stuff is dry to the tough after it soaks in for a day or two as well. I think you'll dig it!

furyus

 

[furyus]

Look forward to seeing the results of your comparison.

furyus

 

[rev106]

Nice find!

 

[Grant]

The tubular tires mean that it was a top of the line model.

 

[us56456712]

The tubular tires mean that it was a top of the line model.

yes, it was a very high end model. Has Reynolds 531 tubing

Gibbs won't remove rust, which is why I specifically used the word arrest, which it does spectacularly. Gives it a nice color, too, especially over time. I use it to preserve bare metal, painted surfaces and to arrest rust. Another thing it does, literally, is repel dust. Dust will finally settle on the surface after awhile, but dust slides right off initially. The stuff is dry to the tough after it soaks in for a day or two as well. I think you'll dig it!

furyus

I used the Gibbs. Looks good. I was worried about it getting more rust as my shop is in an unheated garage and snow blows all over it when I'm working on it. I won't worry now that it's coated.

 

[us56456712]

I've been working on the dried out leather seat. I tried Mink Oil, Snow Seal and Kiwi Leather Restorer. I would put these on and let it sit for a week and add more. They didn't do any good. Yesterday I soaked the seat in a pan of Neatsfoot Oil. It was still hard when I removed it after and hour. I wiped it down with a paper towel and put it on an old rag by the heater. Overnight it is starting to get soft and come back to life. I think I will cool it for awhile to see how it comes back. If it is still too stiff I will continue with the Mink Oil. I have to finish my clincher wheels and put on new cables and it's done. A slow winter project. I can finish building the wheels inside but I'll probably have the LBS do the cables and true the wheels as I have no work space. My work bench where I put my truing stand is outside and buried under about 5 feet of snow. Easier and more comfortable to throw money at it.

 

[jamesdart]

5 feet of snow... That's rediculous.

 

[us56456712]

5 feet of snow... That's rediculous.

We have gotten 17 feet so far this winter. A local school bus garage collapsed. It's going to pretty much snow non stop for the next two weeks, if the weather man is right.