52telecaster

Waaay better than a bottle in my experience.

JaccoW

Took a look inside the structural chaincase of the Gazelle Friiik today. It's honestly ingenious in its simplicity. Like a derailleur from the Sturmey Archer parts bin, using lots of SA AW hub parts.
Barely any wear for a 10 year old commuter though.

VintageSteelEU

I use friction on my "Sunny Sunday ride" Motobecane (though I might actually ride it tomorrow to check a few things after adjustments) because it's kept with late 70's / early 80's components (mostly, need to replace the saddle, which is still San Marco Tuono, so from the 90's). Derailleurs are Huret Success and so are the shifters. And they are not that great or I'm not used enough to them yet. I might actually try swapping the washers between them, NDS seem to be staying in place whilst the DS creeps down a bit (the screw is very tight already). I do have some Suntour Power Shifters, but I wanted this bike to have original Motobecane parts only, so I guess I will have to suffer a bit I had some retrofriction Huret shifters, but didn't like the quality of them (they are NOS, but gosh, do they feel flimsy), so went back to the original ones.
My personal preference is for 2x7 Shimano indexed. Not that I remember last time I used small chainring in front and two largest sprockets at the back, but indexing is useful to have and 2x7 components are plentiful and relatively cheap. Also, Shimano 600EX group is in my opinion their nicest looking indexed one from the 80's, apart from DuraAce 7400 (but that's barely compatible with itself and way overpriced), and I find it very reliable. So that's what I have on my daily rider Motobecane. Now that you mentioned friction, I might actually do some experiments and switch the shifters into friction position to see how I can improve on the other one.

bargo68 

After rolling it over 10000 miles a couple months ago, I gave my daily driver a full tear down to the frameset yesterday. It's the orange bike on the stand on the left. New cables, housing and bar tape. Chain and cassette still have some juice left.
It was a glorious fall day; low 60's and brilliant sun all day! Nothing like hanging in the yard, just you and your thoughts and maybe a little Thelonious Monk playing.



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VintageSteelEU

Another day, another thing to look into. I was replacing mudguards on one of the bicycles, which required taking the rear wheel off and I have noticed some play in the rear derailleur. Good thing it was before anything serious happened. I guess I will have to check it every now and then, but I can't say I'm a fan of Huret nut and bolt derailleur attachment system.
Yes, the chain is loose on the upper pulley, photo was taken before I connected the links.
The bolt visible to the left of the hub axle is my high-precision, homemade wheel centering spacer. Essentially it's a piece of aluminium filed down to fit inside the dropout with two steel washers on both sides and a flathead screw going through. Another washer goes on that, then the mudguard stay, then another washer and a nut. The frame doesn't have mudguard eyelets and I didn't want to send it to a frame builder for modifications.

mosinglespeeder

Heres some pics, if your wanting anything specific let me know

uncleivan 

Awesome! Thanks! Beautiful bike. I have a Willi Moore frameset that I am almost certain was built by Mike Mullett. I'll post a couple pics soon.

Dirt Road Blues 

Nearly 6 weeks since procuring the frameset and aside from a pair of fenders which haven't shipped yet, I've collected just about everything else I need for the Trek build. Gave it a mock up assembly a couple nights ago just to have a peek at its basic form. I like it. I'm liking it. Fingers crossed that the bb isn't too short, I'm gonna move forward with the project and hopefully have it on the road much sooner than later.




And this morning the Peugeot is getting new tires, and a little bit of much needed tcl. I've also only had this bike for about 6 weeks. Besides riding it, the only thing I've done with it up to this point is adjust the saddle height. It'll finally get a basic wipe down, drive train lube, and some brake tuning. Might replace the hoods, rewrap the bars, and swap out the post too if time allows.



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noglider 

@JaccoW that's super cool. Keep showing us, and tell us how it works when you can.

VintageSteelEU

Got a Tiagra RD-4400 in post today. Initially I got it just for parts, I was planning to canibalise some parts, cable adjuster, cable bolt etc. But when it arrived and I started cleaning it I noticed it's actually in a fairly good condition underneath all the grime. Pulley wheels had hardly any wear and the springs seemed to be working perfectly.



It was filthy as hell for sure, but for around 5 bucks, can't complain. I've seen much worse.


So I decided to be a bit more thorough with it than initially planned, took it completely apart, cleaned, polished a bit, regreased, and put back together. I could go for a nicer, more mirror-like finish, but I think it looks decent enough. This will go on the commuting bicycle I'm building (and will probably sell) instead of the current RD-6208, which I'd rather keep. Tomorrow probably will swap FD-6207 for a basic Huret Eco (again, I want to keep FD-6207 just in case I have problems with the one I'm currently using on a different bike). I seem to have way more of those than I might ever need and their front derailleurs are still perfectly usable. Now time to put this on the bicycle and adjust.

Rooney 

I finally finished building up my commuter, intentionally left ugly. Originally began as a full/mostly original 520 but most of the parts were destroyed due to a previous owner's sweat/lack of maintenance. Luckily, I sourced a 790 fork and got other used parts to slap this together. The only parts I bought new are the handlebars, wheels, and chain. Everything else was either from my parts bin or from the shop I work at. It is supremely comfy. I need to find some clamp-on grips. Planning to get some Velo Orange Zeppelin fenders and then shove some 700x40ish tires in there. I also foresee a narrow-wide chainring in this bike's future. NYC is pretty flat.

Bianchigirll 

Finally a chance to unwrap this…





I got a little carried away cleaning and forgot to take before and during pics. Cleaned up, a liberal coating of lemony pledge, my turtle wax seems to be missing. New dropout adjusters, stainless water screws, seatpost binder and unfortunately a new headset. All ready to start building. Oh after I get some chrome polish.




The camera, even on my iPhone doesn’t do this sparklie green justice but it was too cold to out.

Kabuki12

Bianchigirll , nice! My favorite hubs and I love the color, but ….slow reveal. Patience grasshopper!

Sierra

What is the large chainring on the Peugeot?
It looks different than the Super Record large rings that I'm used to seeing.

Schweinhund

It was nice in the valley too, 65 or sommat. a little cool for this time of year, but better than overbearingly hot like we tend to get.

Love that orange!

SurferRosa

Overhauled, polished and painted these KKT Top Run pedals with aluminum cages. Think I'll spray a thin coat of clear before mounting.

SurferRosa

Finished polishing this Lyotard MB right-side pedal (for now). The left one shows the surface rust. Unfortunately, and I don't know if this was the intent, the barrel revolves in the cage a little bit. I think I'll use some JB Weld to fix it in place.

Dirt Road Blues 

Good eye. Both the 52 and 42 rings are Ofmega. You can barley see the branding at the upper right here:




It was interesting to me that the bike was sold to me with the installed crankset as it is. But along with a few extra goodies, it also came with a NOS pair of NR rings.

VintageSteelEU

Nice job! What did you use for polishing?
I have a pair of these, just checked, the barrel sits snug in the cage, there's no play there, at least in case of mine.

SurferRosa

WD-40, a 3m Scotch-Brite pad, and 600 grit paper.


Lucky. And thanks for the info. On the left one, one of the supports was loose, and I was able to free the barrel altogether. Made it a lot easier to clean/polish and should also be easier to JB Weld.

Bianchigirll 

Thank You. Well the slow comes partly from not quite having all the parts and the weather so no need to rush. I love those hubs and used to have 3 or 4 pair of wheels now I’m down to two. This pair of wheels is pretty nice, at I think so, those beautiful Phalange Grande’ hubs laced to Mavic Montherly Route rims 3x rear and radial front. I built them around ‘91/92 and for their age they sadly don’t have near the miles they should. However if I still don’t have a FW or two cruising around their almost useless.

VintageSteelEU

Yeah... I don't think they are supposed to do that.

Thanks! I guess I need to put some elbow grease into mine and get them nice and clean. Didn't try WD40, but obviously it's a good idea.
I find them a bit narrow for the shoes I usually cycle in and keep them as backup. Though I like the design,

stedge 

No pix but took a deep breath and spread the rear of an old trek frame i bought from this forum. 126 on the money and aligned. Phew.

frame was refinished anyway, so figure flexibility trumps originality at this point. Now to next step of my first build. Gonna pinstripe it, then clearcoat. Didnt want to do that till i knew i spread it without destroying it…..

VintageSteelEU

The frame was a garden find in a place I lived in a couple of years ago. Originally it had Ofmega crankset and Ofmega decals on the fork. A bit rusty, but I restored it and rode it for a while before the BB failed and I upgraded to Motobecane Grand Sprint. Recently I decided to rebuild it as a city commuting bike, with a flat handlebar and 2x7 Shimano drivetrain. Mostly because I had a lot of spare parts and nothing to do with them. I got the Tektro R559 brakes for it finally this week and rode it the first time today. Waaay too comfy for me. Not that it's a bad thing, but despite having only 700x25c tyres, it seems impervious to pot holes and just glides. "Rides like a sofa" was my first impression. Not in a bad way, not sluggish, on the contrary, very responsive and shting is very smooth. Just way too comfy, way too relaxed for me.
The rear derailleur is Tiagra 4400 managed by Alvio 7 speed rapid fire shifter. front one is Huret Eco managed by Shimano Tourney friction thumb shifter, Tektro R559 brakes with Kool Stop pads and Shimano Sora brake levers. Crankset is Shimano 1056. So it's a bit of a Frankenbike, really, but not too bad at all. In hindsight, I should have probably gone for 1x drvetrain.
Today my friend's bike got damaged (probably parked into, or a failed attempt at theft got the frame bent), so I gave this one away.

Drillium Dude 

Davidson: rear dish tweaked, new tubulars taped up, and the short test ride was successful in that the tires neither rolled nor crept:



The damage resulting from the car/bike collision is now completely repaired (but for the last bit of cosmetic touch-up to the lever body), and tomorrow I take it out for a spirited, comprehensive test ride to ensure the gearing is responding correctly under load..

As for the Medici, some funky new rubber arrived yesterday, and I wasted no time in mounting it. Found this pair of Vredestein tires on Ebay for less than 70 bux shipped. Surprisingly, I didn't even need levers to get them on. An interesting aesthetic:





I'm almost afraid to ride it; if red bikes are fastest, what about red bikes with red tires? I guess we'll find out soon, because I'll be giving them their first go tomorrow, too; I only did a quick scrub-in lap around the neighborhood this afternoon. They feel as though they have loads of grip, but I'm assuming they'll also wear quickly. We shall see.

DD