Puch Alpine bought at an auction

[Illaveago]

I bought this Puch Alpine at an auction yesterday, it looked in a bit of a state covered in dust and dirt but has now come up looking a lot better now that I have given it a wash. It weighs a ton in it's present condition, or it feels that way. It has steel rims, crank, seat post and stem. The saddle is a leather Middlemores which is also in pretty good condition with a couple of cuts in the leather which may glue down. The Bluemels ally pump works and should also clean up nicely. The Weinmann brakes have a date stamp for 1975 so I am assuming that the year of manufacture for the bike is 1975/6.
This make of cycle is new to me having never seen one before, I do however remember the yellow mopeds they brought out in the 70's. I haven't test ridden it yet, I've pumped up the tyres but the bearings feel a bit notchy and so will need greasing.

 

[midlife]

We sold Puch bikes where I worked back in the 70's. The manufacturer was Steyr-Daimler-Puch / Austro-Puch IIRC and we stocked the very low end of the market for people who couldn't afford Raleigh / Carlton / Falcon which were our main brands.

They did do higher end bikes including 531 /Shimano models like the Vent Noir. The front light will be missing because they always fell off because of the design LOL

Shaun

 

[Brandane]

That was the first bike I ever owned from new. Bought in 1976 from Dales Cycles, Glasgow (which is still in business although moved premises).
It was stolen in 1977, in Edinburgh. Recovered in a second hand shop a few months later, but had been trashed and was never the same again.

A few years ago I bought another one off ebay, renovated it with good intentions to use it ... and did, but not very often. It collected dust for a year or two before I gave it to a local charity shop.
This is it, post renovation....

 

[wisdom]

Very nice.Leather saddle is good as well though very far forwards.Is that a clamp, for a mirror on the bar end?

 

[Illaveago]

Very nice.Leather saddle is good as well though very far forwards.Is that a clamp, for a mirror on the bar end?

Yes you are correct on both counts, I had to remove the mirror to fit the bike into my car, I'd better retrieve it before my wife steps on it. The mirror looks as though it belongs to a motor cycle or scooter.
The saddle does look too far forward, both the handlebar stem and seat post were also set far too high. I just put things back on to take some pictures.
The bike doesn't look too bad for being 40 years old. I think that the front wheel may have been replaced or one of them has as the rear wheel has an aluminium large flange hub.

 

[Illaveago]

That was the first bike I ever owned from new. Bought in 1976 from Dales Cycles, Glasgow (which is still in business although moved premises).
It was stolen in 1977, in Edinburgh. Recovered in a second hand shop a few months later, but had been trashed and was never the same again.

A few years ago I bought another one off ebay, renovated it with good intentions to use it ... and did, but not very often. It collected dust for a year or two before I gave it to a local charity shop.
This is it, post renovation....

It looked really nice.

 

[BretonM]

The bike looks great.
Absolutely love the colour!!!
What groupset does it have.

 

[Mrs M]

Lovely

 

[Illaveago]

The bike looks great.
Absolutely love the colour!!!
What groupset does it have.

It has got a Simplex plastic rear derailleur,it's only 5 speed. The colour brightened up my day yesterday as I went into our back room. It was grey and gloomy outside yet the light reflecting off the bike lit the whole room, a bit like the way that a Buttercup reflects yellow.
I did a bit of cleaning on it and a bit of rust removing, changed the rusty steel seat post for an ally one and swapped the seat mounting round to move the seat back. If it brightens up I might try it out.

 

[BretonM]

It has got a Simplex plastic rear derailleur,it's only 5 speed. The colour brightened up my day yesterday as I went into our back room. It was grey and gloomy outside yet the light reflecting off the bike lit the whole room, a bit like the way that a Buttercup reflects yellow.
I did a bit of cleaning on it and a bit of rust removing, changed the rusty steel seat post for an ally one and swapped the seat mounting round to move the seat back. If it brightens up I might try it out.

Go for it !!

 

[Brandane]

I did a bit of cleaning on it and a bit of rust removing,

Hammerite smooth yellow is a good colour match. I ended up painting the whole frame with it, and got a new set of transfers on e-bay (I think they are still available if you are going down the renovation route).

 

[Illaveago]

I weighed it as it is and it weighs 30lbs. I have also been putting on some rust removing gel on the rims and other bits of chrome work. Thanks for info on the paint but I may just touch up the bits that need it. Paint wise it is in pretty good condition, it feels softer than the paint on my other cycles of the period.
I once put a piece of metal that I painted with Hamerite under a grill to speed up the drying, the dimples flowed out to make a smooth finish, a bit like TPA, Thermo Plastic Acrylic paint as used on some British Leyland and Vauxhall cars, it was a right swine to repair.

 

[Cycleops]

Under the grill!! That'll please 'er indoors.

 

[MiK1138]

Under the grill!! That'll please 'er indoors.

Is that how they make Carbon Bikes , Cut the shape out of bread then burn it in the Grill? Illaveago that a nice looking bike and if it comes out as nice as Brandane's all the better

 

[Illaveago]

I couldn't wait any longer so I thought I would give it a try out along the cycle path. It was a bit damp out with a lot of leaves lying on the ground and wet chromed steel rims. Applying the brakes reminded me of sending off a job application, you eventually get a reply. They did work sort of, mind you the brake blocks are old, worn and weren't adjusted up so they were a bit slow in slowing me down. The ride felt a bit bouncy, I think that the saddle is stiffer than my Brooks model. I think that the chain and idler gears were also a bit stiff as the ride improved as my ride progressed.
The first impressions are that the bike seems fine, some more cleaning, lubricating, new brake blocks and then another ride