abshipp 

Bought a track bike on eBay a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty grimy so I've been spending a while cleaning things up. Lots of ancient crusty grease.

Seller said this was built by him in the 70s out of Columbus SL. Overall it's quite well done, a few little things that give the frame some character like how the chainstays are bulged a little bit from a cold set to fix a building error

Mocked up with the wheels from my Grand Jubile, tires are Veloflex Master 25 that are measuring out at 23mm. Maybe 2mm clearance at the fork crown, and a brake will foul the tire without a riser bolt.

Very happy right now, I've wanted a track bike in my size for a really long time. Please excuse the less than flattering lighting and background, it's dark outside

bark_eater 

Got a minute and put the studded tires on my single speed Diamond Back mountain bike. Now all I need to do is round up and attach every spare light and blinky. And pray for snow....

Mad Honk 

Phil,
I went to Lowes and they did a full warranty on a ratchet and wrench for me no questions asked. Just a quick trip through the checkout desk and I was on my way. The new stuff doesn't look as tough as the old but I will wait to see. Smiles, MH

Kdogbikes

Working assembly of the super sport. Trying the bb conversion.looks to be a bit wide on nd side. Schwinn approved bar ends to do shifting duties. Thought the black dia-compe brakes looked right on this build.

SurferRosa

It's difficult to adjust a bb with the nds crank arm mounted.

You've done this, right? You get home from a ride on your grocery getter and think something "down there" is loose. You check the pedal. Check. You move the crank arm back and forth. "Knock knock." Hmm. That's a little loose. But I just overhauled this bike a couple years ago. I don't want to remove the crank arms. I can loosen the lockring and tighten that adjustable cup, right? Right?

Man, that takes a while to get right. It really helped to be able to use a makeshift tool (needle nose pliers) to hold/rotate the cup where I usually place my pin spanner.

I wonder how/why it came so loose...

Prowler 

I've done this too but also have a DIY pin spanner that is slim enough to sneak in between the arm and the cup. I made mine from a length of cattle electric fence wire. Wire made to hold horses in the fenced enclosure. VERY tough stuff and hard to bend. But strong enough to hold and turn a well maintained cup during an adjustment. Not strong enough to free a rusted stuck cup. That takes crank arm removal and "the big guns".

Senrab62 

I was tempted to bid on this as well. Very cool background/story on it per the sellers auction ad. Everyone likes a bike with character. Keep us posted! Should be a fun project. Looks great!

daverup 

I really like this one! Nice looking repaint! Are you planning on new decals? Are those steel or alloy rims?

abshipp 

I was shocked that I won the auction!

I purchased it with some intentions of having it stripped and re-finished, but all things considered the powdercoat is in really great shape and so are the decals so there's no really good reason to do that. Aside from my general overwhelming desire to have a baby blue track frameset with yellow handlebar tape

It had two other foil decals on the seat tube, one was an general undated "Tour de France" and the other a "Giro d'Italia". I took those off and I like the look a lot more - the remaining seat tube decal has Merckx's portrait inside a diamond of world champ colors.

I can't say I'm a fan or not of Merckx - my parents were both in grade school during his career so he was just a little before my time I like the character the decals give the frame though

dweenk

Those pens really do work well for lining, and that is a nice looking Humber.

denaffen

Hey there, just joined up... after a long hiatus I got back into wrenching and riding this year. The most recent project I've completed was a Peugeot mixte that was about one step from going to the dumpster. That one came out beautifully and I'm looking forward to sharing pics when I can and the build when I get around to updating my web site.

denaffen

Currently have my attention on a Nishiki Sport I built up earlier this year as a city bike, but it never really clicked. The geometry fought me on the North Road bars. It wanted to put me farther forward, the bars wanted me farther back, and it just never felt quite right. So now I'm going over it again setting it up as a single speed with bullhorns for a sort of cafe racer vibe. I think I'll finish that one up before the new year.

BFisher

Yeah, it's kind of unique. Basically a Raleigh Sprite 5 speed with Humber branding. Serial number seems to indicate a 1972 date. I had an alloy GB stem and Nitto track bars on it, but have since gone back to the original shorter steel stem and inverted the North Road bars. Kept it a 5 speed but with a 14-32 Suntour freewheel and Cyclone derailleur. Also went with alloy 700c wheels. I'll try to throw a pic up before it gets dark.

When lining the lugs with the pen I kept leaving a perpendicular line whenever I lifted it. They cleaned up easily with a fingernail, though. The pen itself was fantastic. I kind of have a peeve about too thick lug lining, and I am happy about the flow and thickness of the lines these pens put down. I am toying with the idea of box lining on this bike. The three pack of pens came with gold, white, and black.

BFisher

Full frontal of the Humber:

Kdogbikes

decals on the way. Araya alloy wheels.

Sir_Name 

This was a first, nice to add some new skills (and tools) to the bench. Long overdue.

dmarkun

Found in the backroom of Velo Classique in Purcellville VA (great shop)


Stronglight 99 Crank and Suntour VX RD from 1976 Fuji America


Linus rack

bikemig 

I've been working on this 1992 Stumpjumper drop bar conversion on and off for a while this year. It had some paint issues I had to deal with. It needed a new headset, 7 speed cassette, and new cantilevers. But I did manage to reuse most of the original parts (crank, wheels, and derailleurs). I'm running it 3 x 7 with Shimano bar end shifters. The bike is going to be used for winter riding so I'm running 26 x 1.9 Continental Top Contact winter tires. They're not as good as studded for serious snow but they work well for mixed pavement/snow. I'll need to install some fenders as soon as I track down the right mounting bolt.

SurferRosa

Might need to pack my swiss army knife in my saddle bag this winter. I started hearing that loud, awful sound when applying the brake on a descent that a shard of metal was embedded in a front brake pad. I tried my best to stop with the rear, and finally pulled over. Removed the front wheel and, sure enough, it looked like a tiny bit of a razor blade was in the kool-stop salmon pad. Most of it had likely already done its damage to the rim. Did my best to remove the last of it with a fingernail. Seemed to work, and I rode on. When home, I removed the pad and gave it a thorough cleaning. Now there's a tiny little hole in there, probably waiting for another opportunity to pick up something sinister. Winter sucks. No sir, I don't like it.

noglider 

We had some snow that stayed on the ground, so I figured it’s time for winter tires. Putting the front one on was a b*tch, but I managed to do it without tools. (My rims are mismatched.) By the time I got on the road, it was clear so the need was gone. And man, do they ride terribly. They’re 35mm Schwalbe Marathon Winters with carbide studs. I might take them off or think about building a spare set of wheels. My average speed went down by about 2mph on a nine-mile ride.

John E

Answered in my "calling all Carlton experts" thread.

denaffen

Here's a couple of shots of the in-progress Nishiki. I had planned to finish it today, but the new freewheel didn't arrive and I didn't feel like taping the bars when it was 60 degrees outside, so I went for a ride instead. I can finish it tomorrow. Just needs bar tape and the single-speed freewheel (when it gets here).

Cleaning the workroom was also on my to-do list for today, but how could I *not* go for a ride instead, right? I mean, 60 degrees the day after Christmas!

Mad Honk 

I spent this afternoon refurbishing a Super Record front derailleur that has been in the cleaning solution for a week. It was pretty grungy and with some rust on chrome inner shift plates. I am going to return it to the Paramount that came in about 3 months ago. With good luck I will get to start the decal set on the frame. Smiles, MH

mkeller234

I’m close to wrapping up my Christmas break project. All I need are 5/32 ball bearings for the bear trap pedals and derailleur cables.

JacobLee 

Well, that didn’t want to come off!



Sprayed PBlaster in there for a couple of days, filed down a Suntour tool until it fit really nicely, snugged it in with a skewer, clamped it in the vice, and crack!



I’ve never been in this situation, but I guess I have to take the freewheel apart and wrench it off. Any advice?