Recreate my youth?

[biggs682]

I've just re-read this and thought it deserved a fuller reply. When I say 'refurb' I mean a) complete dismantle and clean, b) dismantle and lube all bearings, renewing as necessary, c) new cables and brake blocks, d) new handlebar tape, saddle, tyres etc if required, e) paintwork cleaned and waxed, rust treated, exposed metal polished properly. The whole 'history' thing is important, and I wouldn't include a repaint unless it was so far gone that there was no alternative - assuming a run-of-the-mill bike with no special historic significance. I suppose I would sum up by saying a bike in 100% perfect working order, and looking as good as I can make it for its age.
.

your idea of a refurb sounds good to me , and that is what i try and keep to , because once you repaint the history goes i think

The Carlton I mentioned above was functionally a great bike and I loved it. It took me to work every day and on a couple of tours, and I wish I knew what had happened to it. But I hated the colour scheme - metallic brown and gold. In the end I stripped it and gave the frame to a local builder who stove enamelled it in dark blue. No decals - I even lost the 531 stickers. I probably shouldn't have done it, but that's when I felt the bike was truly mine. We had a lot of good times together. I felt it was a bit of a stealth bike
.

I was going to suggest Corsairs or pro am's but they didnt fit in with yorkshire , you see a few Corsairs in Blue & Silver not only the brown .
Make Gumtree and e bay you friend .

And dont overlook the Peugeot range they did some 531 models although they do fetch good money and going a bit more Modern is the early range of Giant Peloton's normally mid 80's colour schemes but i like them a lot .

 

[Spokesmann]

Any old Carlton would fulfill your requirements!

 

[mjr]

Just wondering where to start, really. A complete but tatty specimen off ebay and give it a full refurb?

Keep an eye on local social network groups. I was given the bike described in https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/falcon-majorca-restoration.182937/ and OK, it's Columbus 5 and not 531 or anything as fancy, but I find it behaves OK. It needed a bit of money spent on minor components (IIRC tyres, tubes, hoods, tape, saddle, brake blocks, and chainring bolts so far) but surprisingly little.

I'd be wary of 27" wheels, limited tyre choice and the rims are getting harder to find.

It's still a lot easier than it used to be, thanks to internet shopping. When SJS delist them, I'll get worried. Also, 622mm (700c) is so close to 630mm (27"x1¼") that conversions are usually possible.

ADo you want index gears for example ? I think they're brilliant WAY better than the old friction shifters we had in my yoof [although I admit there are those who might disagree].

Yeah, you're wrong: in addition to the beautiful Shimano Arabesque friction shifters on the Falcon, I've put switchable index/friction shifters on two other bikes here and when I'm riding, they stay in friction mode - shifting just becomes so much more flexible without it falling into notches all the time!

May I say that I discovered that my memories of 1970s/80s bikes were a bit rose tinted when it came to gearing. Either that or my legs have got weaker or ... (surely not) I'm carrying more weight up the hills.

I've pondered this and suspect pro peloton mimicry means we suffered from their doping back then. This spread into other things: why the devil were three-speed roadsters ever supplied with 50/67/90" gears? That bottom gear is barely low enough for pushing off and the top gear is a wild unattainable dream outside of ideal conditions. Were hills shallower and roads smoother back then? Or was it just a way to sell more rear sprockets?

If you're dead set on period components then you won't be able to fit a compact (but you can have a triple!) and you will be limited to 28T as your biggest sprocket on your freewheel. So plan accordingly.

OK, so can you fit a compact or smaller chainrings if you ignore period? I think I've 52/36 with a 14-28T at the moment giving (I think) a range of 36-103" which seems OK if slightly higher than I need. The bike seems quietest in 52" and 90" gears - about right for pushing off and lightly-laden cruising.

If buying an old clunker with chrome steel rims, just be very careful in the rain. And plan to replace them.

And at the very least make sure your brake blocks are steel-compatible else it will be a very rude surprise as the brakes make a lovely sheeeeee noise and do very little to slow you down... even with steel-compatible, the first rotation will usually be clearing water and not really stopping. Ride in rain like you're a newborn deer - ride like it's the 1980s

 

[RichardB]

I was going to suggest Corsairs or pro am's but they didnt fit in with yorkshire , you see a few Corsairs in Blue & Silver not only the brown .
Make Gumtree and e bay you friend .

And dont overlook the Peugeot range they did some 531 models although they do fetch good money and going a bit more Modern is the early range of Giant Peloton's normally mid 80's colour schemes but i like them a lot .

The Yorkshire thing was only an indication, really. I'm after any nice old bike, subject to the usual constraints of time and money, but if a Bob Jackson, Ellis Briggs or Woodrup came up, I would be selling my granny ...These were all bikes owned by people I knew back then, and were unaffordable exotica for me at the time being a schoolboy on 5/- a week I like the idea of a Peugeot, but Giant are a bit modern. When I was last cycling regularly, the name was unknown to me. There's a kind of mental cut-off point, just like any pop music after about 1979 is modern and just for the kids Giant falls on the wrong side of that - for these purposes anyway. Nothing wrong with them as bikes, obviously.

Any old Carlton would fulfill your requirements!

I think you may be right

And at the very least make sure your brake blocks are steel-compatible else it will be a very rude surprise as the brakes make a lovely sheeeeee noise and do very little to slow you down.

Oh yes. DAMHIK, BTDTGTTS, etc etc

 

[biggs682]

The Yorkshire thing was only an indication, really. I'm after any nice old bike, subject to the usual constraints of time and money, but if a Bob Jackson, Ellis Briggs or Woodrup came up, I would be selling my granny ...These were all bikes owned by people I knew back then, and were unaffordable exotica for me at the time being a schoolboy on 5/- a week I like the idea of a Peugeot, but Giant are a bit modern. When I was last cycling regularly, the name was unknown to me. There's a kind of mental cut-off point, just like any pop music after about 1979 is modern and just for the kids Giant falls on the wrong side of that - for these purposes anyway. Nothing wrong with them as bikes, obviously.

here is one of my latest projects Meet Woody the Woodrup

an ellis briggs is on the wanted list as well

it gets addictive for sure

 

[RichardB]

it gets addictive for sure

Don't tell my wife. I had an addiction to rescuing neglected motorbikes, and by the end I had three in the garage. She'd have a definite sense of humour failure if she thought I was starting that caper all over again.

I looked at your thread the other day. Nice bike.

 

[raleighnut]

I've pondered this and suspect pro peloton mimicry means we suffered from their doping back then. This spread into other things: why the devil were three-speed roadsters ever supplied with 50/67/90" gears? That bottom gear is barely low enough for pushing off and the top gear is a wild unattainable dream outside of ideal conditions. Were hills shallower and roads smoother back then? Or was it just a way to sell more rear sprockets?

The 3spd I've just built up runs 44"-58"-78" and even that is a bit high for me at the moment.

EDIT- 48 front 22 rear on an AW hub laced to 700c X 28mm