Strawbunyan

This thread will chronicle the life and times a 1980s Austro Diamler SLE...In my quest for better mental health I decided I needed an addiction. Since drugs and Alchohol are out of the question I needed something I could pass off as a hobbie.....enter vintage bikes.
I met a great guy on here that got me my first hit for next to nothing.....

Seriously though. jdawginsc has been great. Probably the coolest guy ive ever met online. He was more than generous with his parts and peices and bits...he went way out of his way to put a lot of thought, effort, and debt into a build for a guy he has never met....as he discovered, i dont live somewhere that has stuff like this an obtainable manner, and when i messaged him it was with a big ask to send me everything i needed to completly build the project..not only did he come through but he came through even bigger than anyone could anticipate.No way I could ever say enough good stuff about him (maybe i wont feel that way in 20 years when I have a garage and yard full of bike parts and start blaming him for being so darn nice)When the package arrives we will open them together here. Until then... lets chronicle the adventures of this bike as it began on Bike Forums in 2021

This was her debut on BF. For sale as a complete bike.

And another one from her debut....look at that emblem..LOOK AT IT!

when I originaly messaged dave it was about the centaur frame he had to go along with his groupsets. After I sent the message I saw the post for this frame(this one was mentioned but unpictured in his groupset post) At about the same time i saw it, he mentioned it and a love story was born. These are a couple of the photos from the original sales post for this frame. The color, the lines....who can resist? Well...lots of people did for a long time actually..shame on you all leaving this gorgeous frame an orphan.

Look again at that front emblem...just do it.


To go with the frame a shimano 600ex bronze was selected. Dave kept threatening to build this frame up with this gearset so i think he is glad to see them going to live together with me.




A couple parts and peices needed some tweaking and swapping to work properly and insyead of letting me suffer through the hard way, dave just took care of it...keeping me fully informed on the what and why of everything along the way( stand up guy)

And that brings us to today when i got some more dopeamine.....

Getting dressed for her new home.

Are those cables not going to be the absolute hotness on that frame? And i am really excited to put those pedals on...i hope the clips leave visible marks on my shoes so i can be reminded of them when i look down.....i may not have a bike nostalgia problem...i might just really miss seeing toe clips on bikes 😆😆

So that is where we are today. I am going to bring you all along with me on this journey as it unfolds. It is notnoften science gets to document someones downward spiral into insanity in real time.

Strawbunyan

jdawginsc if you want to chime in at all with any of the intracesies(someone spell this word correctly) or technical details of what you went through putting all of the parts together I am sure people could use that fix and i cant give it to them 😆😅🤣

jdawginsc 

I will just add...

It finally has a new forever home! And someone else gets to solve the mystery of 1982 AD quirks.

Seriously, it has been a labor of love (and an N-1 reduction!).

Most importantly, I have hopefully conjoined a new CVer addicted through my enablement.

Strawbunyan

I am married and have 5 young kids so I can easily justify 6 more projects....i havent even gained possesion of my first project and I am already researching mixties for the wife and eldest daughter....luckily I cant afford any more bikes right now.

daverup 

Mixte's are often very affordable options. There are many brands and quality levels to choose from. When you find one, post it and get opinions before you buy.
Enjoy that AD, they are great bikes!

Strawbunyan

will do. Probably going to make it a father daughter project to get it built to her spec, should be lots of fun and maybe i can pass on the love of tinkering and she will take my pile when i die 😆😆

John E

Looking good so far.
Best wishes from a fellow fan of Austrian bikes (see signature -- mine are about 20 years older than yours).

Kabuki12

Excellent !! Enjoy this very affordable hobby ....with benefits. I have about a dozen bikes and have less $$ in everything than some folks with one or two modern carbon fiber thing a magigs. I have a few really high end bikes , one in pristine condition . They all came to me very reasonably priced so 45+ years of acquiring, tinkering , and riding light weight "10 speeds " has been affordable. Joe

Strawbunyan

First question.


As far as bike specific tools go all I have are tire levers and a crank arm puller. Aside from that I have all the standard mechanical tools one might expect another person to posses. What else am I going to need along the line here mechanically? What will i need as far as grease and oils and what not?

jdawginsc 

Hang on to that question, the answer might change once the package arrives...

I use Park green and Finish line white grease. I find both to be good. Then 3 in 1 oil.

Most of the lesser used tools can be made using standard bolts and ingenuity!

Strawbunyan

thats a good copy thank you.
I am full of ingenuity...we did all of our BMX work as a kid with 2x4s, a hammer and some channel locks and got on just fine 😆😆😆 I have some 3 in 1 because it works for everything...I even use it as coffee creamer when im feeling stopped up.

Strawbunyan

ARRIVAL DAY! It took me a while to get into everything but here are a few photos.

The brakes are in fantastic condition.

No braze ons on the frame so he sent me these great, ornate set of arabesque shifters.

I would wear these pedals off my bike if i could.

When i said "everything i need" he heard me...even sent me a bottle and cage.

Just wanted to see it with the wheels on.

Photos dont really do any justice to the color of these rims. I am really excited about these.

One more mock up for fun....yes my bike shop is a closet and yes my wife was okay with it and no...i dont know why she didnt call a lawyer.


Just a couple of things to pick up and Ill be ready for the build.... BUT.... these tools wont be one of those items because Dave showed me ALL the love and sent me this...




does anyone know the best place to get my hands on jockey wheels for the 600ex SIS RD?

Mad Honk 

If the jockeys are the ones that need a 6mm clearance for the mounting bolt there is a pair of those damned things laying on my work bench. They are old skool Bull's Eye sealed bearing that I took off of some Campy stuff. Lemme know, Smiles, MH

Strawbunyan

i dont know about the clearance requirement but i have photos if that will help....

jdawginsc 

If you pop the bushings out, and clean then grease they should spin smoothly. Shimano jockeys are pretty tough and durable.

I sanded a few burrs off the plastic on Bumblebeena’s jockeys and they work very well (Same 600 EX).

Everything looks like it arrived well.

Strawbunyan

they seem to spin well. I will clean them up and grease them. One of them has a split tooth and i didnt know how much it was going to effect its performance or how long it would last so i figured id start looking for a backup.

I got the new tires on. These skinny tires are a much bigger beast than my MTB tires....i actually needed my levers on these. Really nice tires, i think they will do very well where i ride....thank you dave, I really appreciate these. Hopefully i got my valve just off center enough to drive someone nuts...

My hand pump wont fully inflate it...time for a floor pump.

Does the rim tape on the inside keep the tube from being popped by the spokes? I thought the tape was for tubeless setup, I guess it is just on all rims. when i removed the back tire the rim tape came off with it in about 15 peices, should i make sure to tape that back up before inflating and using the tire?

jdawginsc 

Yes. Without rim strips the tube presses down into the spoke holes and pop goes the weasel.

AdventureManCO 

Wow, going right to town! Love it. And yes, there are some solid dudes on this forum, and Dave is right up there w/ the best.

Strawbunyan

Got the tire back off, got the rim tape on and reinstalled the tire. Got everything installed for its preliminary install except the chain and the cables...it is going together pretty smoothly. After this install I will ride it around a touch and go from there. I cannot believe how light weight this thing is compared to my MTB. I love it.

The frame is an even more beautiful color in person BTW. The pics dont do this bike any justice at ajdawginsc did a great job matching the color with the nail polish...you would never know unless you inspect it and no body around here is about that life.

jdawginsc 

AD paint seems to polish up really well. I had to Amazon the nail polish since it’s not your ordinary garden mill plum color... it is some sort of dark mystical plum!

Those metallic braided cable housings are easier to cut if you have a dremel...Diagonal cutters tend to mangle them. Really good stuff though.

Im excited to see your maiden voyage with it. I think you’ll be surprised!

ollo_ollo

".yes my bike shop is a closet and yes my wife was okay with it and no...i dont know why she didnt call a lawyer"

Your wife is a gem for allowing bicycles inside, plus gave you workspace. The late Mrs. ollo offered our spare bedroom. I was the envy of my friends when they saw shelves full of parts, a row of bikes + 1 on the work stand. It also contained a small engine I was rebuilding for my tractor. Her only requirement was everything be spotlessly clean prior to entry. No Problem. Don

Strawbunyan

Got the chain on before work today....WOW was that a pain in the booty...getting that pin stuck back into that hole was an adventure, i enlisted my daughter because i needed 4 hands and 3 tools to do it.i guess that is why they make quick links? Nothing left to do now but cables and tuning and getting some more air in the tires...

Strawbunyan

I dont know how we got so lucky. i will say that i have already been warned that if i use petroleum products again that i am not allowed to bring that part back in the house until it airs itself out...seems fair.

Strawbunyan

Not the best pics...it is really bright outside right now.

Piff 

Beautiful sports tourer!! Looks like you're ready for a good ride, almost