Hello from South Holland - a restoration project

[MariosGP]

Hi All,

So, I’ve renovated a couple of classic style 80s road bikes ( a 1981 Gitane Tricolore and a 1986 Jan Janssen “Tour de France”) both of which didn’t really need any major work doing to them. More cosmetics than anything else. Now I’ve moved on to a couple of “proper” bike builds from scratch. Hence, this is why I’ve navigated to this forum for some stirling advice.

First up, is an old early 70s George W Stratton built Claud Butler tourer. I bought it as a project as it was in need of a lot of attention. The frame itself is sound (Reynolds 531) and it came with plenty of original fittings: Gerry Burgess quil and bars, Weinmann brake set and simplex sx410 derailleur and Maillard hubs and freewheel. I had to lose the BB as it was worn and the plastic was damaged.

Now here comes my “issue” that I need some advice on. I replaced the BB with a Shimano 68/118 1.37x24T . It fits nicely, however, it wouldn’t take the original suntour crankset as the inner ring was rubbing out on the chain stay. I guess it’ll be something to do with ISO vs JIS. So I changed it for a Shimano 600 arabesque crankset that seems to fit well. I hung the rear derailleur after servicing it, but it seems that the chain line is wildly out of alignment. Can any of you guys offer some advice on the best approach to setting this correctly? Should I use a BB spacer or adjust the hang on the rear derailleur? I’ll upload some pics when I get the chance.

Thanks in advance.

I’ll follow up with another question a bit later on about best way to treat an acid dipped and stripped 531 steel frame before spray painting.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Mod Note:
I've moved this from new members to the vintage section for better responses.
Welcome to CC @MariosGP

 

[Cycleops]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Looks like you need a new square taper BB spindle. Can't remember the lengths but you cam check on line shops.

 

[midlife]

Bit tricky to see from the photo what problemis? Have you put an asymmetrical axle in the wrong way round?

 

[raleighnut]

Doesn't look too far out to me, you could fit a longer axle but then you'd have a bad chain line on the bigger sprockets, What does it look like on the middle of the Freewheel/Cassette?

BTW

 

[MariosGP]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Looks like you need a new square taper BB spindle. Can't remember the lengths but you cam check on line shops.

Thanks for the welcome. I have put a newer version of the spindle slightly longer. I think I may need to check the position of the derailleur on second thoughts. Think I could only go up to a 122mm spindle on this BB.

 

[MariosGP]

Doesn't look too far out to me, you could fit a longer axle but then you'd have a bad chain line on the bigger sprockets, What does it look like on the middle of the Freewheel/Cassette?

BTW

That’s what I’ll try next. On closer inspection I may need to rehang the derailleur and adjust the position of the pulley wheel cage. Think I need to adjust the tension also on the knuckle springs. Thanks for the response. Will report back how it goes.

 

[MariosGP]

Bit tricky to see from the photo what problemis? Have you put an asymmetrical axle in the wrong way round?

That crossed my mind when I first installed it. Then removed and measured to find it’s a symmetrical spindle.

 

[midlife]

I thought FC 6200 ad FC 6207 etc. Axles for the 600 cranks were asymmetrical?

 

[CBGuy]

Hi there,

Would be interesting to see more pics.

Do you have any idea of year, model or where built? I have a made to measure Claud Butler "Super" Torino that dates to 1968 and was also purchased through George Stratton's shop. I've often wondered if was built by Bill Gray who apparently had a workshop behind Stratton's and built many frames for him. Wonder if yours is a factory or perhaps a custom job like mine?

I'm also in to deciphering Claud Butler serials from post 1958 Holdworth take over onward. Would be interesting to know serial as would likely give a good estimate of date of build and simplify sorting model from catalogues on www.nkilgariff.com.

See Flickr Claud serial research thus far with date prediction and examples of frames with serials each organized in individual albums (includes my 1968 Torino) :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/76762476@N05/albums

Doug