Falcon Majorca Restoration

[mjr]

Here we go again... I love my new roadster (got to decide what to do with the old one - I need the space) but it's longer than most bikes (2m end-to-end), fairly heavy and not easy to pack up (Shimano hub gear wheels are a whole lot fiddlier to remove than SA), whereas the folder is great for commuting but I don't want to tour on it (I don't completely trust the centre hinge and not sure I ever will)... so when someone offered me an old racing bike that as "needs a bit of TLC", I accepted, not knowing what it was.

And it turns out it's a Falcon Majorca. Pictures are just after picking it up. It doesn't appear to have any external rust. The stem, seatpost and both mechs all seem to move OK, the wheels seem true and the brakes seem OK except for a split outer to the front. As far as I can recall the markings: Tange Champion No 5 tubing, Maillard front hub stamped 82, both wheels quick-release, 27x1¼ Rigida alloy rims. Shimano 600 downtube shifters, front mech and possibly brake levers, Tourney side-pull QR brakes, Bluemels mudguards, rear rack labelled as some small brazing company (I will check), Madison saddle (foam?), possibly Champion handlebars (I need to remove the perished foam (GrabUp?) grips to uncover the logos - they seem like 390mm wide and I think they're rotated strangely at the moment), the hoods have completely perished and one has stuck to a lever, stem stamped SR... anything else I should look for?

Is all this typical spec? Is there much detail about this bike online already?

It's got quite a few bits stuck to it from its life as a commuter, including huge Duracell key-operated lights, which I'll remove to clean it up. I'm going to do a minimal restoration to check it over (I don't want a repeat of the one where the front wheel bearings collapsed miles away...) and get it rideable (clean, cables, replace the broken outer, maybe the chain, lubricate, replace perished tyres and tubes, retape the bars) and see how it rides before spending much on it. Any tips, please?

I also want to weigh it but I can't find the scales just now

 

[raleighnut]

Nice, only tip I've got is get rid of those lights, that'll cut the weight in half.

 

[ChrisEyles]

Looks great, sure you'll have a lot of fun with that one! Seems to be in good condition from the pics but definitely worth a good check over like you say.

Getting some new hoods ("cane creek" do some which fit older brake hoods) and bar tape (I'd personally lose the foam grips and go for some black faux leather tape) will make it look super-smart when you're done with all the bearings etc. Panaracer paselas are great highish pressure (95psi) 27 x 1,1/4" tyres, I'd recommend these if you'll mainly be doing "fast"-ish road riding... though you may want something heavier duty if you are planning on touring. Salmon kool-stop pads are also great for squeezing a bit more stopping power out of old caliper brakes.

 

[biggs682]

that looks nice @mjray

 

[mjr]

that looks nice @mjray

Thanks. Has anyone here met one before? Am I right to think it was not top stuff but not awful?

And I'm going grey as the first attempt at bar tape because that's what I've got that's similar

 

[biggs682]

@mjray you asked for tips in your opening post , make it safe to ride then do a few short rides to see what it feels like if you like the feel of it , then do as you have already said .

As for tyres this is where it gets hard Panaracer paselas are good and they are tan walled or Continental do some 27 x 1 1/4" ultrasports but they are black walled , koolstops get my vote as well .

bar taping is easy after a while i always start in the middle and work down wrapping any excess inside the bars befrore fitting the end caps/plugs

keep us updated

 

[mjr]

Oh yeah, sorry, I've taped bars before - I just mean I'm not sure the grey will look right.

I think I found a nice localish deal on some gumwall Schwalbes, so I'll go with them. Tyres actually seem slightly easier to find than when I last had a 27x1¼, but that was in Somerset and this is Norfolk where there are many more people cycling. The brakes on there seem OK but I'll bear koolstops in mind.

Work won't start for a few days, until it either cools down a bit or I get rid of a bike or two (the roadster and one other) to free up some space under cover.

 

[mjr]

It clouded over and cooled down a bit, so I just took a bit more of a look. The rear rack is labelled as Tonard Brazing Co Ltd of Croydon.

The cranks are Stronglight, the pedals are unmarked (or too marked ) and the chainrings are a 52 SR Sakae and a 40 whose markings aren't visible. The chainring bolts look rusted.

The current tyres are Specialized, K4 front and Touring rear, both actually 27x1⅛, so clearances on the 27x1¼ Schwalbes might be tight. Given that I intend this one for loading in/out of vehicles, it wouldn't be awful to have to take the guards off because it'll make it shorter with the wheels out.

The tubes seem OK at minimum pressure, but the tyres make alarming creaking noises so I don't think they'll take full whack. I'll really have to wait and do a proper service before I ride it far (some cables are rusted!) but I moved the stem and saddle to fit and peeled the hoods off, then tried it up and down the drive. It felt very swift but I rediscovered just how much less effective sidepulls are than the V and hub brakes on my new roadster... I will put on new pads, as the ones on it aren't as good as what I'd fitted to the old red roadster (and that's on chromed steel rims!). I've not watched it for a while, but someone mentioned it over in The Cycle Show topic and so all that kept coming to my mind was Jeremy Clarkson shouting "it's trying to kill me!" when test driving a sports car...

 

[ChrisEyles]

Yep, the old caliper brakes can be a bit hair raising at times! Decent new pads will help a lot, although they'll still probably fall short of what you're used to.

What's the biggest sprocket on the freewheel? A 40t small ring is OK for climbing, but you (well, I certainly do) need a 26t+ sprocket to make it up the steeper slopes. Hehe, then you can test out those new pads on the way down the other side

 

[mjr]

Lights and all other add-ons removed and the bike is definitely much lighter but I still haven't found my scales. The grips have gone, revealing them as Sakae SR Road Champion Custom Made bars (laurels on both sides). Dull aluminium with a wide sleeve for the clamp - I'm not sure if it was originally dull, if it's corrosion or the adhesive from the foam, but inside the levers looks the same. I'm fighting my inclination to buy a pair of shiny steel heritage drop bars

More pictures later once I've removed the other bits and washed off the sawdust, regular dust, grime and whatever else is on it. I'll count the rear teeth then too but I'm expecting a 14-28 like I used to use, so a bottom gear of about 41 inches now, 36" if I replace the 42 with a 39, or 33" if I replaced the double with a 34+48 alpine which still seems to be available... but I'll give what's there a try first. Heck, I might not even be able to ride the thing comfortably!

 

[mjr]

Washed, lubricated, new cables, new tape. There's an annoying clicking while I'm pedalling, several times a crank revolution, in time with the crank, in both chain rings. I still want to strip and repack wheel and BB bearings, which may fix that anyway - or it may be the saddle which I think I'll swap for a less slippy one that's sat on my shelf anyway, at least for my testing. Chain is Shimano UG with a bit of surface rust but not too worn. Gear range seems OK but I've not tried a proper climb yet. While recabling the brakes I noticed that the back wheel seems to be very slightly not true. So still a bit to do before I really trust it and I still haven't found those scales!

 

[biggs682]

@mjray looking good to me

i always do a number of 1.5 mile rides to gain confidence and to test bikes before i do any longer rides , once all happy then i use them for leisure rides

un taped bars is a good look imho unless its winter

 

[midlife]

SR road champion bars are quite nice if a little curvey on the top. They came anodised so would not be shiney. Some were gold and some had their sleeves drilled

Shaun

 

[mjr]

The bars are indeed dull. The amount of white powder inside does worry me, after reading http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=98215 recently.

I think I cured the loudest click at lunchtime: right crank was just striking the front derailleur, fixed by bringing the high limit screw in a bit. Now I need the roads to quieten down so I can hear the other clicks enough to tell where they are

i always do a number of 1.5 mile rides to gain confidence and to test bikes before i do any longer rides , once all happy then i use them for leisure rides

Heh, I can tell you're in Northamptonshire, not empty Norfolk: 1.5 miles barely gets me out of earshot and back, let alone sight

 

[mjr]

Well I've cured one but can hear three more clicks. I wonder if it's stiff links but I think they're too close to crank frequency but not exact. Probably not saddle because it still happens when stood. Could be pedals and they look the easiest to re grease so that's next. Worst case, a frame tube is shifting in a lug?

If I do break the UG chain, for easier removal of the right crank to regrease the BB, is it simple or do I have to break it at the correct link like HG chains?

And is the tool to open the adjustable cup (two notches) the same as for SunTour freewheel extraction or am I not that lucky?