Originally Posted by
obrentharris
I love this bike! I'm pretty sure you get the award for the oldest bike in this long thread.
Nice furniture too.
Brent
Yes, a great old Bianchi! I especially like that you are riding and shifting that old Campy shifting setup!
My 1952 Rudge, Aero Special, might be second or third.
Rudge Aero Special more or less as received.
I've shown this here before but it's a slow moving project. Changes/restorations/upgrades completed:
1. Original Dunlop Special Lightweight rims replaced with Super Champion Gentleman(s), spoked with Sapim skinny spokes. Front hub is the original Raleigh Industries with QR wingnuts. Rear hub is an alloy FM, but it needs some internal attention and at least a rinse-out (coming soon!).
2. Original chainset and BB spindle replaced with TA 5 vis with 49 T, TA314 spindle. The spindle bearing saddle width is the same as that of the original Raleigh Industries (A31?) and teh original cups were smooth, so no need to retap the BB!
3. Original ratrap-style pedals to Lyotard Berthet
4. Original "Sylvan Maes" steel bars replaced with GB rando bars.
5. Original Raleigh Industries stem replaced with GB alloy stem.
6. Original steel straight seat pillar replaced with Kalloy alloy seat pin, with Ideal 80, 92, or Brooks Swallow (have to see what is the best fit!)
7. Original Bleumels mudguards attached to mid-fork and mid-stay brackets with little wingnuts, but I only have the rear muduard. The original front one had a separate stinger attached in front of the fork but I don't have any of the front one. Looking for a used period set, or a recent set of Bluemels 42 mm.
8. Original gearing with the AW hub was 48/17. With a shorter-geared FM hub I want a taller sprocket set, but There aren't a lot of TA single f-vis chainrings around. I may go to an FM hub and scale an 18 or 19 rear sprocket. It also depends on chain links on-hand, since these frames have pretty long chainstays.
9. Added new tires, Pasela Tserve 27 x 1 ¼". Someday after the mudguards I'll find a front rainflap. I might put on a hub dyno if it fits - hot sure about that yet. I might have gone to 700c if more 40/32 rim combos had been available, and if the frame was not so narrow - it would be hard to squeeze anything igger than 33 mm into this frame - seems to have been designed for Lands' End to John o'Groats circuits - extreme randonneuring over the less-developed rural roads of 1950s United Kingdom. - Think Velocio but in UK.
But I'm not claiming I can do that ride! If I an pedal on it out to buy a bagel and coffee, I'll be happy!
Project is still going on, but I hope to ride it this summer and show it at the Wixom, MI show this August, if not the Auburn, IN show late Spring.
Then I'll see about paint and livery restoration.
The original ride was pretty efficient and very smooth and stable, with tires up to about 60 psi, and gearing was pretty nice with the AW hub. This argues in favor of the FW versus the FM - lower lows. I'm also not shy about gentle weight-weenying when the opportunity is apparent. The frame is fully straight-guage 531. Should have a lot oflex due to narrow stays and blades and rather long main tubes, but its pinned construction which I expect to be a bit more rigid than unpinned products.
We'll see, it's an adventure!