mkeller234

I happened into this Viscount today. I bought it mostly because of the crank (made by TA?) but I would like to know a little more about it if possible.

It appears to be a middle of the road bike with some original parts swapped out. I don't think the weinmann 590 sidepull brakes are original. The seat post is also, way too small... can anyone tell me what it should be? No death fork. The shimano titlist derailleurs are basic but nice looking (IMO).

The decals are nearly gone and some one painted over the headbadge... I am guessing they were touching up the red, is that original?

Anyhow, I'd like to learn a little more about the brand and see pictures of others possibly.



What grabbed my interest:


Crummy Vinyl Brooks and pinched seat tube:

nlerner

The crankset has the same 50.4 bcd as TA and Stronglight 49D, but unfortunately those Viscount spindles didn't have any taper, so those cranks don't fit on anything else unless you do some judicious filing. Otherwise, Viscounts/Lamberts were outfitted with lots of parts labeled and produced by Viscount/Lambert: centerpull brakes and brake levers, sealed-bearing hubs, pedals, stem, and bars. Seatpost is a 26.8mm and would have originally been some sort of straight-pin alloy.



Neal

-holiday76

yup. I have that exact bike at home. I tried polishing that crank up and it came out pretty well. My bike might even be the same size as yours. Yours is in better shape though.

cb400bill

Look around my Flickr account to see the rest of the Viscount and Lambert content.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21098570@N05/page2/

mkeller234

Go figure! I'm not all that interested in the bike as a whole, what a bummer.

Iowegian

Some of the cranks used a tapered spindle although I'm not sure if it was JIS, ISO or something else. I think Viscount figured out the non-tapered version was a mistake and cut-in a tapered version at some point. You'll have to check to know since I don't think there is any visible difference on the exterior.

I might be interested in the frame if you decide to get rid of it. What size is it?

mkeller234

Ah, excellent! I'm assuming mine is one of the newer models because it does not have Shimano dropouts... maybe the crank was changed at that point. I'll have to find an LBS with a TA crank extractor sometime soon.

The frame is actually larger than I thought, it measures 63cm C-C with a 59cm top tube. I do doubt that I will keep it, but I am not sure either way yet. I will keep in mind that you asked about it and let you know if and when that time comes.

rhm

What do you need a TA extractor for? Not the Viscount crank; that fits the standard 22 mm one. I read somewhere it's actually a 7/8", i.e. 22.2 mm, thread; but the Shimano/Sugino/SR/Campy extractor works. Wait until you see the spindle, then it'll come home to you!

I run mine on a tapered spindle, having filed a taper into the crank as Neal mentioned. I didn't measure anything, just took a file and went at it. Works fine! My crank is an earlier model than yours; the chain rings are shaped like TA rings, with regular shaped cutouts rather than those big circles.

And yes, I believe the red is original.

mkeller234

The news keeps getting better! I'm still on the fence about filing the cranks but it's nice to hear from someone that actually has. I remember Kurt had a viscount crank mounted onto a Windsor, maybe he will say something about that. I always liked the crank in pictures but will say that it is less so in person. I still do find it attractive... just different.

As you said, the red is original but it looks like someone added an additional layer of red to mine right over the headbadge. I tried to delicately cut away the red paint from the badge but there wasn't much worth saving underneath. I used nail polish remover and now there is just a shiny foil crest.

Henry III

Also you just can't toss any old bb into those things since there no thread inside the shell. Wacky stuff. Cool find I was eyeball g one exactly like that a big swap meet a few weeks ago.

mkeller234

Yeah, fortunately there seems to be a lot on the web about what options there are. It's a rare case were most of the information comes from other cycling forums... but i'm finding lots of good stuff out there.

I think I am going to try to make new decals on my own for this one. I seem to have all the resources I need... clear adhesive, Epson commercial proofers and Adobe illustrator. I think if I leave the foil shields, I can print the badge on clear material and stick it over top. It's worth trying.

At first blush I wasn't very impressed. I am starting to see the charm in it... still wouldn't call that impressed. I have only ridden it two miles so far... I want to say it's sort of noodly feeling but I guess that is premature. It's interesting though that it seems to be a little different feeling.

rhm

Keep us posted!

So you're going to replicate/repair the original decals, right? I'll be interested to see how that comes out. I considered doing exactly that with my Lambert, but not only were the decals were pretty far gone, just the foil remaining, but they were pretty ugly to begin with. I decided I could do better....

mkeller234

Dumb question, how can I know for sure if the spindle isn't tapered? I took the left crank arm off and was able to fit a Shimano tourney crank arm onto the viscount spindle. Likewise, the Viscount crank appeared to fit a japanese spindle I had in the basement. It's probably obvious but I am not spindle savvy. I'm guessing that the fit is close, but not quite right? Maybe I am asking the wrong question?

mkeller234

I agree, the viscount decals are not attractive. The aerospace pro looks a little nicer, because the downtube decal is larger but the GP's decals look poorly sized and cheap. I really like what you did, is that hand painted? I plan on attempting the original look as unglamorous as it is.

rhm

I had already drawn up decals for a 1950 Norman Invader in CorelDraw (the approved C&V graphics program) for a bike I ended up not getting, so I rearranged the letters and drew a couple more letters and printed the black lines on waterslide paper, backwards. I colored that in by hand and applied the decals to the frame backwards. A little white glue helps.

I haven't decided whether I'll eventually do the headbadge and seat tube badge using the same technique to apply color to the foil things (which are original) or if I'll hand paint them. I also want to put a decal on the crank arms.

mkeller234

That is a lot more of an art than I had in mind. Your method sounds better, maybe I should consider that because it looks much better than the clear plastic sheets. I have been in printing for 10-11 years, right about the time CorelDraw was losing favor. I have used it in past jobs and liked it better than dreadful Macromedia Freehand. I still use Quark sometimes and it's awful compared to indesign. I loved Quark back in the days of pagemaker so I guess thats why I still hold onto it.

That black sticker on the Viscount cranks leaves a lot to be desired. I thought about either removing it or making something new. My only hesitation is that I feel like a temporary owner and feel responsible to leave it alone if possible.

Chombi

The spindle end is obviously tapered per what I see in the first picture. You can see it from the slightly angled lines going fronm the tip of the pindle towards the BB.

Chombi

mkeller234

I should take a picture next to the other spindle that I have... I can now see a difference. Picture coming in a few minutes...

mkeller234

Ok, here is a JIS Shimano cartridge compared to the Viscount spindle. The shimano taper seems to be longer.


Here is the Shimano Tourney crank on the JIS spindle. It nearly touches the BB.


Here is the viscount crank on the same JIS spindle. Is clearly sits further out on the spindle and illustrates the difference.

mkeller234

I've got the cartridge bearings removed. Any tips on how to press new ones in without damaging them?

nlerner

I used my bench vise and blocks of hardwood.

Neal

cudak888 

The Viscount spindle looks tapered in the photos; it isn't. Measure the width of the flats at the ends and their deepest point. Those Viscount spindles are prone to breaking at the C-clip - combined with their lack of taper, they aren't worth the trouble to bother with.

Find a framebuilder with Italian thread taps and thread the BB, then swap the arms for TA, Stronglight, Sugino, VO, Electra, or whatever 50.4 BCD arms suit your fancy.

-Kurt

mkeller234

That's fine enough, but also can be expensive. I'm not sure if I even want to keep this bike for long so I will give the Viscount spindle the chance to break.

mkeller234

Where is my mind? That sounds like a good idea.... now I just need to replace my broken vise. I've got a great big C-clamp that would probably work along with some wood.

cudak888 

Very well, but if you find someone willing to do it, have it done. I had a Viscount frame threaded to Italian when it became obvious that I couldn't support the space it took up in my shed. It went out as a SS with Nevar arms paired to a Sugino ring of unknown model (have to check Velobase on that one, come to think of it):



FYI, that's a Suntour Perfect freewheel body with a single cog. I figured that would facilitate the conversion of this thing back to a geared bike if and when someone with the parts got a hold of it.

-Kurt