PaintItCeleste

Just wanting to chime in to say that is some find! I've never followed Alps bikes but the detail and craftsmanship that went into that thing is very impressive. And even if you are just posting more pics of the same bike, same components....you'll hear no complaining here. The more, the better! Love that fork!

rhm

Incidentally, @devinfan, I question your initial reaction, to replace the cables. Sure, take them out, inspect them, consider the options; but if there's nothing wrong with them, there's no reason to replace. Grease them, especially where they go through housing, of course.

Bar end shifters and stem shifters work much better with new cables and lined housing, but I doubt it will make much difference with this stuff. And perfect, brand-new cables can fail at the worst possible moment. Replacing them is no guarantee of safety.

devinfan

Thanks rhm for the thoughts. The front brake cable was splitting and frayed, I replaced it with a new one and the brake is operating very smoothly now. I am going to replace the rear because there is a lot of friction somewhere in there and I can't imagine it's much newer than the front was. I think I will LEAVE the derailleur cable as I'm not going to shift it anyway and it seems to work fine as is, now that I know it's not broken.

devinfan

Thanks PaintItCeleste! Most likely I will post better pictures when I'm able to ride it outside and have changed the tires. I've been riding in circles in my living room and the front tire is looking worse by the second, I think it's beyond rescue so I'm going to have to replace it. The rear actually seems to be okay but where in the world am I going to find a matching Wolber Renforce tire. I bet if I did find one on ebay for $200 the rear would self-destruct the next day lol.

devinfan

Just noticed this - kind of cool - the stays are actually attached to the frame via these little round bridges! Wild.

simmonsgc

Beautiful fork crown. I'll just add my general slack-jawed admiration here. Not much left to say. Awesome.

simmonsgc

I'm also intrigued by the outer plate on the shifter, which looks to be fabricated to be adjustable by the human thumb/forefinger combination. Tension adjustment? That thing is an absolute casserole of awesome components.

devinfan

That makes sense! I haven't tried adjusting it because it seems fairly smooth. I doubt I'll ever disassemble it because I'm not sure I'd be able to re-assemble it.

rhm

Now, don't be silly! To fully appreciate this bike, you have to find out how it was meant to be ridden; ride it, and you'll figure it out. Until then, it will be a stranger to you. There is nothing to be afraid of. You're going to love the front derailleur, and will get used to the rear one pretty quick.

devinfan

Okay, I'll shift it once into a gear I like for the magical experience of shifting it and then never shift it again!

rhm

Well, okay, then!

But you should disassemble the shifter. They tend to unscrew themselves anyway, so you need to know how it goes back together. Just unscrew the thumb screw, then remove the pieces one by one and lay them down in the correct sequence and orientation, and see what it needs. I don't know what you'll find; you may find plastic washers, which need to be greased; or you might find something else.

Cyclo Benelux shifters (which are very similar) have a fiber washer or two that provide just the right level of sticktion to keep the thing from ghost shifting. I'm not sure whether they are supposed to be greased. At any rate, to work right, you have to find the perfect level of pressure, which you adjust by the thumb screw as you're riding. Basically, you put it at the loosest setting you can find, and tighten it a little if it ghost shifts. It'll take you about two minutes before it becomes second nature.

devinfan

Will do, possibly with the help of some liquid courage. Be prepared for photos of millions of little pieces and requests for help. The adjusting while riding part I've got down pat from using vintage Campagnolo shifters!

Drillium Dude 

Thanks for the extra pics. And this baby needs neither orange nor drillium

DD

rgver

Beautiful bike, nice buy.

devinfan

An alert from another thread reminded me I haven’t been on here in awhile, I miss seeing all the bikes! Just been too busy with endless projects and 3 kids. Still riding every day though, including this beauty. So smooth and fun to ride. Looks pretty much the same, I really just took it apart to re-grease everything and changed the tires etc. One day I’ll have to post a video of the telescopic Sanko rear derailleur in action, it is something else…


1962 Alps World Ace