Bicycles

[cheesy]

Sorry to hear your wife's bike was stolen. I've always felt that bike thieves should be treated like horse thieves were in the 1800's.

[JerryHawk250]

Go to your local fed store and pick up one of those electric fence boxes. I guarantee they will only touch it once. lol When i was first married i had problems with people stealing gas out my work truck and trying to break into my car. I hooked up one of those boxes to i=the car. About 2 in the morning i hear a guy screaming. I never had a problem again.

[Magician16]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Sorry to hear your wife's bike was stolen. I've always felt that bike thieves should be treated like horse thieves were in the 1800's.

Completely agree. By the way, Cheesy, my Trek is also an 830. I would never buy a new one either.

[cheesy]

This followed me home today


It's a nineties Finnish built Tunturi 3 speed that I got in exchange for the Christmas beer. Tunturi spent money on the wheels and had nothing left for anything else. Well, the chain guard and rear rack are okay. The welds on the steel frame are embarrassing, though, as is the one piece crank.

The wheels, though, wow. The rims are aluminum 700c, maybe Weinmann. Front hub is a nicer Shimano, rear is a Sachs Torpedo 3 speed coaster brake hub. Front caliper is a Weinmann. I'm not crazy about a coaster brake on a 3 speed hub but removing the reaction arm will fix that.

I scored a nice Danish built step through frame last summer that will get these wheels, so I'm keeping it Scandinavian. Some hip issues are making swinging my leg over a top tube kind of hurty and I still want to do the Lake Pepin 3 Speed Tour a few more times before my bod says "Uh-Uh".

[cheesy]

I got the 'Finn Flyer' all apart yesterday. It was pretty straight forward and I take back what I said about Tunturi not putting money anywhere but in the wheels. It's still just above a bottom feeder but there were some nice touches.
The one piece crank was much nicer on a second look. The bearing cups are machined castings instead of stamped steel and the crank itself is fluted and polished. I'll hold on to it just in case I ever score a Schwinn Super Sport 4130 cro-mo frame. There is also a keyed rear wheel lock that is part of the frame. I'll have to cut that off the frame to keep it.
The new build will commence after the first of the year. I'll probably overhaul the Sachs 3 speed hub over the holidays out of boredom. Surprisingly, I have a set of the special Sachs tools to do the job. I just have no idea where or when I got them.

[Magician16]

Originally Posted by Magician16

I hate thieves. My wife's bike was stolen off our patio sometime last week. It was a cheap Walmart bike which she hardly ever rode, but stealing it off the patio is an invasion. Now my wife and all our neighbors are paranoid. My Trek bike that I ride every day was still in the car port. We live in a gated community in AZ and the neighbors patios almost touch ours.

A few days after this, my next door neighbor's bike was stolen, but another bike was left in its place. A few days after that another neighbor's bike was stolen; however, it was found abandoned because of flat tires.

[cheesy]

Well, I couldn't wait and started farting around with the step thru build.


I started by overhauling the 3 speed hub. I can do Sturmey Archer 3 speed tear downs and rebuilds in my sleep. Fitchel & Sachs/Sachs/Sram are another story. They are over built and pretty much designed to be abused. So, all that was required was a clean and regrease.
I wasn't pleased when I tried to fit the rear wheel in the frame without having to deflate it. Deflating was expected, a tube filled with Slime was not. Even removing the valve wouldn't deflate the tire enough to get the job done. Trying to breakdown a tire with a tube that won't go flat is not a lot of fun. It's doable, just requires a lot more muscle and swearing.
With a new tube fitted, I was able to get the wheel in place.
I stopped there for the weekend because the seat tube is not gas pipe 25.4mm, nor is it 26.2, 26.6, 26.8, 27.2 ID. These are the OD of all the seat posts in my stash. This one had to be 26.0. So, that's on order, along with a binder bolt.
I gotta meet up with friend Weez and grab the front fork from him.

[cheesy]

This is pretty much where I've stopped on this build until after the holidays. Unless I get bored or sick of family. I don't have a saddle that I can use in my stash and I won't see the original fork for at least 10 more days. The chain guard from the donor bike won't work and what I can find that will work may have to come from Poland.

A free bike is like a free puppy...anything but free.

[Darkrider]

Originally Posted by Darkrider

I ended up clearing out all but one of the bikes in wake of the separation. Sold the Triumph, Supercycle Xti and the now ex wifes beach cruiser. She took her bike with her so the only one remaining is the Supercycle Rush i bought last summer which i have yet to throw a leg over this season.


I might end up building a bike over the summer/fall. Likely a 5-7 speed with single sprocket crank. Not sure what wheel/tire size yet though.

Just an update on the above, Never did get out on the Rush at all this year, Actually contemplated selling it a couple times. I think the entire separation situation just soured riding for me because there def were no lack of days to get out. I might pick up a cheap Supercycle SC1600 if they still are available in the spring. They are just a simple rigid frame 26" bike like my old XTI. If i do so...one of two things may happen...One i just use it as a cheap trail basher to get back into shape then work my way up to riding the Rush again which i have determined needs a bit more set up and suspension adjustment which is likely something i was fighting while riding it. Suspension is set too soft and as i was trying to pedal i was wasting energy fighting the suspension to get effective movement. So a firmer suspension will def help with that. May even look into the idea of swapping to a disk fork on it and keeping the stock fork to build a Mullet (29" Front tire/27.5" rear tire) Still debating that one.

[cheesy]

I got a bit more done on 'The Old Fart Lefsa Special'.


Weez sent the fork, a nice chrome Tange. I replaced the original headset with a NIB Ritchey that has been in my parts drawer for a couple of decades. The $9.99 price sticker would tell you that. I got the stem and bars from my favorite bike shop used parts bin.

I have been setting up Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs for so long that I can do them with my eyes closed. This was my first Torpedo. The Germans knew what a tolerance was, so there is a special gauge for setting the cable adjustment. That gauge is unobtainium. There was a good hour of trial and error to get it right.

Since the pic was taken, I've installed grips, a rear caliper, rack mounted tire pump, and Eastern platform pedals. I had a nice pair of Lyotard quill pedals, with toe clips, on it but opted for platforms. This is supposed to be a slow rider.

I've stopped at this point now until mid February. That's when the Chicagoland Winter Bike Swap happens. Hope to score either a front fender, or matching set of fenders, and a decent saddle.

[cheesy]

A Red Letter Day at Cheesy Manor. I went to a bicycle swap meet at my old stomping grounds in Carpentersville, Illannoy this morning. I wasn't really looking for anything special, I just wanted to get out and BS with like minded fools. Here are the scores, though.


I was happy just to find the fenders for $10. The Italian Guerciotti frame for twenty bucks was the icing on the cake. Not just that I stole it, but who I stole it from, Mr. Ron Boi. Ron Boi was the owner of RRB Cycles in Kenilworth, IL and one hell of a frame builder. He's since retired, and was selling off a bunch of stuff. I had dealt with him in the past, but never face to face. After I bought the frame, that has its own story, I was told who he was. Jeez, we BS'd for about a half hour about who we both knew, about rides we'd been on, and when I told him I'd done Paris-Brest-Paris in 1991, he stopped talking for a moment, then asked to shake my hand again for finishing that damn ride.

The story behind the frame. It is Italian, but may not be a Guercotti frame. Ron told me that the rear dropout on the frame broke and was welded back together. The previous owner rode the frame for another twenty years with the repair, then had it resprayed with new transfers put on. The previous owner used it as part of trade for one of Rons' frames. I got it for twenty bucks because, as Ron said, it had been repaired in the past and he couldn't sell it without pointing that bit out. It's a beautiful frame that I am seriously considering to just hang on a wall in the Man Cave.

The fenders went on the 'Old Fart Lefsa Special' and I think I can call that done. At least until I can actually ride it.

[Thumper]

Gee, that is one nice Guerciotti frame. Looks stiif and light. 21", 22"? Looks tall. What's it made of, Reynolds 501?, 531? That headset is steep. quick action road frame. Beauty!! And the paint is in good shape Wow. $20. That's a $200+ frame, minimum. Probably $500 or more back in the day

[bogieboy]

I think i can finally call myself a wheel assembler (not going full wheelbuilder just yet, as i havent ridden it...LOL)

But anywho, with the expert guidance from Xavier the master wheelsmith kitten, i fully laced a new hub into the front rim of the Groadie (aka the road bike built off an mtb, which frequently has been ridden on gravel and worse, even in road configurations...kinda like a supermoto with skinny tires and no suspension LOL)

So now i can run disc brakes up front, completed and tensioned the rim about a month ago, but have not ventured into the rear rim just yet, as with spring here, i may get the urge to ride, and not want to have the bike down with a disassembled wheel...LOL

[cheesy]

Ron had some nice frames for sale. If I'd had some more change on hand, I would have bought one of the tandem frames he had and moved the parts over from mine. I really liked his Gitane tandem frame, even if it was French.

On the Guerciotti frame, I don't know what tubing it's made from, no transfer. If the seat tube diameter is 27.2mm, that would lean towards 531. I'm not sure what the ID of Columbus would be.

[cheesy]

A little research shows that the steel Guerciotti Sprints were made from Columbus tubing. Depending on the year, it could be SL, SLX, or Aelle. 1994 to 1996 the Sprints were rebadged ALAN aluminum 'screwed and glued' frames.

Looking at prices of vintage steel Guerciotti Sprints, I should have worn a mask.