Robvolz 

SOLD
frame n fork plus bb and headset
58 cm CTC

the brake bosses seem high, but what do know

bboy314

Looks like braze ons for direct mount center pull brakes, as opposed to cantilever brakes.

Hobbiano 

Nice. Those are centerpull brake bosses. Not for cantilevers. Frame is chrome under the paint. GLWS! I type too slow.

abdon 

Those center pull studs makes it the first year of the pro tour, 1978. One of the earliest production touring bikes for the US market, the only competitor at the time was the Fuji America.

I'm glad it is too big for me :}

BertoBerg 

PM sent

Robvolz 

Hey all,
listen up.

it’s been pointed out to me that the DS fork brake boss is cock-eyed. See pic.


I hadn’t noticed. Even when pointed out I assumed an optical illusion. I was wrong.

So, I next asked head mechanic who worked for years the Ironman races in Hawaii. He said he would rather not, especially as a mechanic and not a Framebuilder.

my next step is to either visit my friend Bob of Bantam or Sasha, formerly of Speedvagen/Vanilla and get their opinion.

if they say scrap, I will.

or, if you are a Framebuilder yourself and know this is something you can handle with aplomb, I’ll take $50 off.

a public shout out to an eagle-eyed friend who pointed this out!!

robert

bboy314

Before scrapping it, I’d replace the fork or even cut off the mounts and use a regular caliper or center pull brake. But any frame builder can probably just replace the bent mount (and repair/repaint).

Robvolz 

You said repair/repaint. On a donated frame at a co-op. That we are trying to sell for $250.

The whole attraction to this frame is it's historical significance being the first touring frame sold in America, and the quirky brake bosses.

yes, I could swap the fork but then I'll just make it into a $150 townie to sell in the shop. Or place it in the pile to be distributed for those who can't afford a bike.


To have a long campy dropout replaced on a Colnago, I went to two different frame-bulders who wanted $400 and $450.

I went with the $450 because he said it could be done in 60 days. It wasn't.

Five months later I got it back. Now its been at a painter for a year. As a joke, I sent the painter an anniversary card.

Robvolz 

Ok
i heard from my Framebuilder buddy. When asked if the boss could be bent back….
he states: Not really. Not anyway to keep it round when bending it back… if you can still thread a bolt all the way in, maybe it’ll work. But I wouldn’t count on it.
And replacing it is problematic because of the chrome.

but, he also said maybe a brake bit could still work if the shoe is angled in.

if someone REALLY wants this….$200

otherwise it will go away.

BertoBerg 

Taking “squeaky wheel” to a whole new level! I love it.

Robvolz 

I do honestly like my painter. We get together often on Mondays over a stout and catch up. Some of his stories have made me cry from laughter. Then at the 8 month mark, I asked how my frame was coming along. Bad idea.

He lashed out a lil about "this is why I don't take private people's paint jobs, that dealing with professionals is so much better because they don't harass me."

We still meet for beers. I just don't bring up my frame. Thought this would be a "cheeky" way to nudge him and let him know its been a freaking year already.

unworthy1

Has anyone looked into a repair "kit" for this bent brake boss? I know they were made to repair mangled MTB bosses so perhaps work for the CP bosses too? And did not require brazing or welding AFAIK, at least the ones I'm thinking of.

clubman 

There's gotta be an acceptable Mcgyvor. 'What bends out must bend in' is my motto. Give er'

Vintage_Cyclist

There's cockeyed and there's cockeyed.

Bolt an old centerpull onto it and see if it fits and the calipers move freely.

Robvolz 

I got a second opinion, and they basically said the same thing, using a hardened bolt, thread into the boss, and pull like a mofo

jdawginsc 

I straightened canti bosses this way. It didn’t require too much pulling and it seemed to still be okay.

if they are the upgraded solid all around it might be a heftier pull.

bwilli88 

One thing would require a good machinist, cut off the bent part, drill and thread the old boss on the fork, get a new Canti/Vbrake braze on, cut it down, and thread it to screw into the fork.

panzerwagon 

Maybe I’m under-thinking this, but if the threads are still good, why can’t we bolt a cheater bar (angle iron etc) and bend it back? (brace the dropouts with an old hub or threaded bolt/nuts to prevent blade twisting, and clamp the fork in a vice with 2x4s on both sides of the crown)

clubman 

Of course a closer look-see to make certain it wasn't made that way. Unlikely for a Centurion but still.

abdon 

Honestly it should bend back with little issue. Heck trying should not hurt anything.

You want the correct bolt at the end of a long (2 feet or so) cheater bar. I would weld the bolt to the bar. The longer the bar. The least amount of energy you need to apply to bend. At that point you can gently bend it back.

Replacing that stud should be trivial for any frame builder but I would try to bent back into shape first.

mountaindave 

I'm in the just bolt on a set of centerpulls and see how they look camp. There is no brake bridge holding the two arms of the center pulls; brake pads can be adjusted to meet the rim properly. The only thing that needs to be checked is if the two arms interfere with each other or not. The one issue might be getting proper brake sleeves for the arms - it's been too long since I swapped my brakes to remember what all is needed.

If I didn't already have one (in my size), I'd be hitting you up for this bike. It's fully chromed under that paint (with hand-painted lug lines and pin striping!), it rides really well (even unloaded), and is unique in the touring bike boom. It came with 27" wheels, but 700c fit easily and opens up your world to tire suppleness and size (I can easily fit 38's on mine, but haven't tried fenders yet). I could go on...

I know the paint isn't in great shape, but there's a lot to work with on this frame.

Mountaindave

nlerner

With those various bend-it-back approaches, I’d be worried about twisting the fork blade unless one had some sort of jig to hold it in place.

jdawginsc 

I did it with a wheel in place and grabbed the rod through the spokes. Another possibility is an axle and then into a vice?

Still could twist though I guess rotationally.

abdon 

That stud would give up the ghost long before the fork would feel it. Not that I would do it without securing the fork first.

Bianchigirll 

I bet it's been like that since new. Too bad it's so far away it's a great looking frame.