1979/80 Falcon Black Diamond.

[Illaveago]

This afternoon I picked up an old Falcon frame. At the time I wasn't sure which model it was. Since getting it home and starting to clean it I noticed part of a transfer on the crossbar. I could just make out a few of the letters of Black Diamond.
I said that I will get the bike up and running but I will need to give it a good clean first , there is quite a bit of black oily road gunge covering things. Some white spirit removed some of the gunge but it will need another session. The alloy cranks are Sugino, I couldn't make out what the front mech and derailleur are, they might be clearer after another clean. I found a date stamp on the front brake caliper for 1979 so 79/80.
No pictures at the moment I have still got to download them.

 

[classic33]

Anything like this one?
https://falconrestorebike.wordpress.com/

 

[Illaveago]

Anything like this one?
https://falconrestorebike.wordpress.com/

Yes but with a bit more wear.

 

[Illaveago]

Here are some pictures of my frame.

 

[midlife]

Takes me back a bit . Most black diamonds weren’t black lol. Carlton style Flyer lugs and no frame braze ons.

Nice find in such good nick

 

[raleighnut]

Nice

 

[Illaveago]

No work on the frame today as it has been raining again. I have had a look to see what equipment it came with. A Sugino alloy double clanger. The rear mech was difficult to make out at first but it is an Altus. The front mech has charger on it. Weinmann centre pull brakes. SR alloy stem and bars. The frame number is 01747.

 

[Illaveago]

The frame has Bike Register stickers on it . I thought I would just look up the number. It says that the bike is still in the possession of the owner.

 

[classic33]

The frame has Bike Register stickers on it . I thought I would just look up the number. It says that the bike is still in the possession of the owner.

Doesn't mean that it's stolen. Those systems rely on the old owners notifying them when the bike is sold. Normally that costs money, which people selling often don't want to spend.

 

[biggs682]

From memory don't you have to have the frame number to report it, and how many cyclists remember that once the bike has been stolen.

What are your plans for the forks, I think I would remove what is left of the red and then you have a pr of chrome forks .

 

[Illaveago]

From memory don't you have to have the frame number to report it, and how many cyclists remember that once the bike has been stolen.

What are your plans for the forks, I think I would remove what is left of the red and then you have a pr of chrome forks .

Looking at the areas where the paint has come off it looks like nickel plating. I will see if it will polish up. There are quite a few areas of rust and areas where the paint is missing. The black gunge covering the frame is being stubborn and taking a while to remove.

 

[biggs682]

Looking at the areas where the paint has come off it looks like nickel plating. I will see if it will polish up. There are quite a few areas of rust and areas where the paint is missing. The black gunge covering the frame is being stubborn and taking a while to remove.

Ah ok hence why not so bright as the lower section

 

[Illaveago]

I've been doing some de-rusting today mainly on the pedals, there are quite a few areas on the frame but it's difficult to tell the difference between rust and caked on gunge. One pedal is cleaning up but the other is a grey colour, looks like the chrome has gone , it also has a dent in it so I will have to sort that out. I thought I would also move the handlebars as they were pointing down. I found that someone had been a bit brutal and rounded the corners of the securing nut. I had to get my needle files out so that a spanner would fit . Rain stopped play.

 

[Illaveago]

I'm still in the process of cleaning. Yesterday I tackled the front brake caliper and cranks with petrol. The black gunge is very stubborn and took some effort with an old toothbrush and petrol. The annoying thing was that the petrol softened it only for it to settle elsewhere. The bent pedal was sorted out using a hammer and a block of wood. The handlebars have scratches on the engraving which will require some careful work with a needle file.

 

[Illaveago]

Another couple of hours spent cleaning the gunge off this morning. I was going to try to remove the cranks as there is play in the BB. I put the crank puller on but all I succeeded in doing was to wind the end of the puller into the threaded end of the BB axle. I couldn't take up the play in the BB axle as the bearing cup has internal splines.