mkeller234

The satisfying end of another rehab, the photo thread .

I wish I had taken more before photos, this one was rougher than I thought. The whole frame was speckled with small rust spots and all of the aluminum was as rough as I have seen. I am assuming this bike was built somewhere around 73 based on catalog images and specs, the serial number format is not familiar to me.

The frame has butted Reynolds 531 main tubes and plain gauge 531 fork and stays. It came with a cool mix of French and Japanese components. This is my first stronglight 93 crank, it's one of the prettier crank I have run across. The Atom 440 pedals are neat but the are not serviceable. I like the stem and seat clamp bolts with the "R" on them.

Anyone know how to brighten up the white Carlton hoods?

Before:


You can see some of the rust on the frame in this photo. I used Oxalic acid to remove the rust then treated it with framesaver:


After:






I added these gold bands with a paint pen. Not a pro job, but I am very happy with the outcome:


I found these NOS Bluemels at my favorite lbs for $20.00!

mkeller234

More pics:

Brooks Professional saddle, I love how this saddle has aged:


Suntour V-GT Luxe rear derailleur. I really like how large and mechanical it looks:


Some really odd gearing, there is an 8 tooth difference in the middle of the freewheel This atom may get replaced in the future:


Normandy high flange hubs:

sciencemonster

Beautiful bike. I think the Gran Sports look their best with white fenders. Mine is identical, except with the Brooks B17 and the reverse paint job. Same bars, bar ends, etc... Are you sure it's not '76? I always thought mine was '76.

Are you sure those pedals are not rebuildable? On mine, I managed to pry off that rounded end cap. It pulls out, doesn't screw out. Then the whole things disassembles like any other pedal.

mkeller234

I am not sure about the year at all. I assumed the suntour shifters and derailleurs were upgrades over the simplex equipment. I will have to take a better look at the pedals, I thought about prying at the cap but I worried I would mar it up.

Sixty Fiver

Nice work and great score on the Bluemels too... the Gran Sport is such a nice bike and not one people should overlook because it is not something like a Professional.

That Atom freewheel is too cool... if you aren't gonna keep it I know a guy here who collects all kinds of weird parts who would like it.

delicious

great job! the wheels look really good - what was your process for cleaning them up?

mkeller234

They took a lot of time to clean up. It's never fun to clean wheels that are already built... but here is what I do:

-remove the axle and bearings to be cleaner later
-place wheel in large wash tub
-I use a soft toothbrush and dish soap to get the main gunk off the hubs and rims.
-I use a white scotch brite pad and soap on the rim braking surfaces
-Then I grab an old cotton shirt and some aluminum polish and work my fingers to the bone.
an easy way to polish the hubs:
place a gob of polish on the hub, then wrap your cotton shirt around the hub shell. Grap each end of the shirt and pull back and forth quickly. It's easy on the hands and works well!

Thanks for the compliments.

mkeller234

Thank you, I will definitely let you know if I get rid of it. I do agree that it looks cool, but it really takes out my favorite cruising gears.

delicious

thanks! one other thing: what brand paint pen did you use? it looks perfect and i've been wanting to restore the gold lug-lining on an old claud butler.

mkeller234

The paint pen is nothing special, it's Elmer's brand (like the glue)

It has a medium and a fine tip on it. The fine tip was still pretty thick so I shaved it down with an exacto knife. I masked those lines off with clear packaging tape, surprisingly masking tape did a terrible job.

USAZorro

Nice result!

Brighteninging the Carlton hoods? Scotch-brite pad and mild bleach solution. Wear gloves.

mkeller234

I have to admit, I was thinking about selling this bike... until I added the fenders. I thought is was too plain Jane before.

cudak888 

Those Bluemels Popular mudguards make the bike - it doesn't look right without them. Smashing!

-Kurt

redneckwes

Matt,

That is one absolutely stunning machine.

wanlogan

For the hoods, Goo-Gone works very well. After letting it soak for a minute or two, just wipe the residue away with a cloth/rag--works wonders.

Great job on the restore!

stausty

Great job on the restoration. Those white fenders really do make the whole bike. The Gran Sport is a great bike and sadly one you don't see too often. It's in that funny spot in the line-up - too cheap for the serious people, too expensive for the casual cyclists. I cleaned one up and sold it not a month ago. Not trying to steal your thunder or anything, but figured I'd share.

cudak888 

^
That's one of those '71/2 Zeus-dropout'ed examples that you picked up a while back, right?

Might I ask what the serial # is on the one you kept? Since the date of this machine is reasonably pegged, it can be fit into the serial chart without much effort.

-Kurt

bikemeister

Really nice job!
Gotta agree....the Atom freewheel is a gem and a workhorse. I've got one in a corncob configuration I'm holding for a classic rebuild of my own.
Cleaning rubber and plastic: Use Quik N Brite. A pink paste, available on-line. 100% natural, non-toxic, biodegradable, works like a charm on most materials. Used some the other day to clean up some old white rubber pedals - came out looking great. And I've used it to clean tires (bike and car) - works wonders!

mkeller234

Wow, that looks really nice! Yours has the same fork crown as mine, they seem to be different than the norm. Even with the many similarities there are some pretty notable differences, yours must be pre-73 because of the script decal. Even the fork bends look different between the two.

I am glad you posted that, did yours still have the original lug lining? What lugs were lined and do you have a picture of them?

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Sixty Fiver

One more for the appreciation thread we have going here... mine when she was built up with a 600 Arabesque group and Dura Ace centre pull brakes.

Curbed out at 21 pounds here...

mkeller234

Wow, that is lighter than my Professional. My Gran Sport weighed in at just over 26 pounds, not to shabby really.

I have been commuting on it this past week but have not done any long rides. Still, the short rides on it have been nice.

Sixty Fiver

mkeller - Correction - It was that light when I was running vintage 27 inch racing wheels with avocet tt30 folding tyres... the wheels in that pic were a fair bit heavier (but more robust) and it is a 50 cm frame so that also shaves a few grams.

I think the stock weight of the Gran Sport was almost 26 pounds and a lot of weight can be removed with lighter cranks, wheels, and tyres.

Now the bike is a fixed gear with a decoupage finish as it's paint and decals were pretty much done in but looked okay from a distance... the last time it was run as a fixed gear it curbed out at 19.5 pounds which was pretty sweet.

With the rack and saddle the bike now weighs just under 21 pounds and one day it might just have to be restored to it's original condition but until then the bike is giving me a great deal of joy.

Panthers007

Nice Haight-Ashbury paint-job there. Looks great! I love those old Raleigh's. Middle-ground and tough as nails. Working on them - restoring them - is so much fun!

Grand Bois

What's the difference between Bluemel's Popular and Club Specials?

due ruote 

Really nice job. I wish my Gran Sport still looked like that, but alas, it bears the scars of my youthful impulses. Still a great riding bike, though. I'm quite certain mine is either a 72 or 73 (I'm the original owner but the memory fades) and had the same coloration as OP's originally but has an integrated RD hanger. Same fork crown as well. I'm pretty sure BF member Stronglight also has a nice GS, btw.