Happy New Year!

Not much has taken place on the bike front; I’m not a winter rider so Helo is happily kept in a nice warm garage until the world thaws.  I’ll replace the bar tape and most likely laquer them again but this time with a brush and not a sponge brush – actually I’ll test that out first and make sure that is what I want to do because the cotton tape feels good on my hands.  I’ll also add the fenders this year and when the time comes I’ll keep my eyes open for a nice diamond frame bike that can be reborn into Libby.

Chester Cycles had a drawing for a free paint job, the caveat being the painter has full artist license on color and technique used.  I was completely game for this process and would love to see what Duane had in mind; however my name was not chosen.  So, I will have more say in the paint job but I think that I will still give more license to the painter this go around allowing more of his artist nature to shine through all those layers of clear coat with a touch of “pizazz” as he calls the mica that mimic my powder that got all over the first chosen paint sample.

I’m also fixing a cruiser that was purchased for my daughter: it needs a new saddle & bar grips and possibly new tubes in the tires.  So the next few months will be more about acquisition of parts then it will be actual work.  Who knows, maybe this spring we will embark on our first family participated organized ride :)

the project bike

yesterday was our villages bike sale; in the center of this photo (taken in 2009) is me.  lots of bikes, lots of people but lots of options.

this wasn’t taken this year but it is more like what our options were, fewer, much fewer.  the main purpose of going this year was to get a bike for my daughter.  earlier this summer she expressed an interest in a pink cruiser style bike, maybe lavender; but definitely a cruiser.  well, yesterday she found a pink cruiser, and it’s a Schwinn (like the other two bikes in the household) so she is a very happy girl.   I need to take care of a few minor repairs, like a new seat, grips and probably tubes; but I am very proud to say that I can do all of that with no help from any other person (i.e. my Dad) I just need use of his tools :)

the village police department sells reclaimed bikes that have not been claimed for more than 2 years and were not registered with the village to begin with.  they range in price, yesterday my almost project bike was $30 and a black origin8 bike was going for $125.  since the bikes were stolen and abandoned it’s a safe assumption that they will need a little work.

so, my almost project bike: it was a vintage Nishiki road bike, diamond frame, all components in tact even though my intent is to convert to a single speed, it even had chrome stays!  but the frame was too tall for me.  I tried a few time to get my leg over the thing and it was not going to happen.  I’m sure there was a way I could have MADE it work for me; but I’m not a big fan of the aesthetics of a frame that is too large for it’s rider (ver low saddle with no visible seat post) not to mention the potential discomfort that could come from it.  so, I walked away.

this is probably a blessing in disguise, I am in graduate school now and really don’t have time for a true project bike which means that I would just be looking at it for about a year.  not to worry, the village holds these sales annually and my affinity for vintage road bikes doesn’t quite match with everyone else’s desire to have a mountain bike or a cruiser.  the bike that I will get will be what most will consider to be a junker bike from the 80’s (early 80-late 70’s is more like it but why bother correcting them).

 

the inevitable

I have no regrets with the refurb of my Schwinn, Helo but I still have a lot of ideas for a bike; just not that one.  then Chester Cycles went 9-5 and then I started thinking that when the village has the bike sales there are always older frames, sometimes missing major parts such as wheels or seats that sit and wait to be “adopted” and then this happened, the first of many sketches, or maybe not, but in any case it is the birth of my second bike Libby Red.

It’s going to be a few shades of poppy/coral/red  with some familiar color banding, deep white rims and most likely black spokes.  I want to use the white seat this time and the flop and chop bars (let’s hope the skeletal bike that I buy still has its handlebars) and is it going to be a single speed.  oh, and a diamond frame.  there, that’s how I avoid the redundancy of having two bikes, I make them functionally different.  with Helo I really did want to maintain as much as possible and really the wheels and saddle are all that were changed;  Libby on the other hand gives me a chance to experiment a bit.  I don’t see me taking a single speed bike on a long ride, but for good old flat Chicago it will do just fine.  another bonus is that my oldest has already said aloud that she has always wanted a black/white/pink bike, a single speed, and this will be pretty close to that.  still not so sure that I’ll let her ride it and there is no doubt that I will prefer the seat higher and the handlebars lower than she prefers.  and so I digress. . .

back to single speed, I think that I really like coasting and should do single speed in opposed to fixte.  this is not going to be a fast paced project, in fact it may take a few years for it to even happen; but I do think that it will happen   :)

hello Helo!

after :)

so the quick spin was good, the bike definitely feels smoother, brakes and derailleurs work, a little tweaking is in order but I think that it’s time you all met Helo, my “new” old bike:

the upgrades are:

• vintage Brooks B72 saddle (I love the chrome rails on the older models vs the black on the new)
• Vittoria Randonneur Reflective tires on Velocity Dyad Halo rims with DT Swiss double butted spokes
• handlebars wrapped in Newbaum’s cotton tape, diamond pattern
• black brake hoods (I really wish that DiaCompe kept their logo from way back when, I don’t like the sound of “Cane Creek”)
• custom paint job by Chester Cycles
• braided metal cable covers, VO
• vintage reflectors, Cateye

still to come: (all from Velo Orange)

• hammered aluminum fenders (rear reflector will mount there)
• handlebar mounted bottle cage
• perhaps a small rear rack

all things being told, I cleaned the components, laced the front wheel, installed both tires, wrapped the handlebars and did the shopping.  my Dad dismantled the bike and put it back together and will be doing the tweaking.  I think that she looks beautiful  :)  and definitely feels like vintage summer so Helo, the girl from Ipanema who inspired the song, is a perfect name  :)

~tchau

a girls best friend

my Dad came by and trued the tires, installed the front reflector (rear mounts on the fenders that I don’t yet own), tightened up the brakes and derailleurs and after he left I wrapped the bars and lubed the chain.  I was going to start shellacking the bars but then I remembered drying time and in truth I’d really love to ride my bike.  

this is the first side, just the cotton.  I really do love the way this looks.  I know that on it’s own the cotton will fade but in truth I’m a little concerned about what shellacked tape even feels like.  I made this decision based on protection to the cotton for both longevity and looks but I prefer to ride without gloves . . . I’m going to stick to the plan and if by chance I hate it I’ll replace the tape next year.

I followed the tutorials, they don’t really say a whole lot about working around the brakes . . . this is my first handlebar wrapping experience so I’m certain that there was a more eloquent way to accomplish what I did but they are done and I’m okay with they way that they are.  I also found that the drops don’t look as good to me as the top, this probably has something to do with the way I dealt with the brakes.  this would be more of an issue if I had used different colors so if that is your goal be prepared.

diamond in the rough

I’m not really sure why there has been a delay in my efforts to finish my bike, maybe because I really didn’t want to take on truing the wheels or maybe because I felt a little intimidate about what I’m going to do (notice that I didn’t say attempt) today.  today I am going to wrap my handlebars using Newbaum’s cotton tape in black, I did and still think that white would look AMAZING on this bike, or chartreuse but I’m more afraid of the look after a season of grubby hands (I know – rewrap) and since they were originally black cotton, to some extend I’m staying true to form . . . okay, I wanted low maintenance and the black really does make the bike color pop!

you might wonder why I am taking the time to do a diamond wrap pattern but using the same color.  well, my handlebars were originally wrapped in black cotton tape, over time it literally disintegrated most likely due to the fact that I did not take care of it.   for a while I rode with raw metal (ouch!) and then in preparation of an organized ride I used black foam.  foam is more comfortable than raw metal if you don’t wear gloves but it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to aesthetics.  so the initial thought was a double layer of cotton or maybe even cotton on top of cork.  that was until I saw an image similar to this one:  

I’m hoping that two layers of cotton will no doubt be better than one.  I’ll still use gloves for organized rides but around town kind of stuff I prefer not to.  these bars have been shellac’d and that really brought out the texture of the tape itself, will it be that noticeable in black, we shall see because in addition to the four rolls of tape I have a jar of clear shellac and a few foam brushes.

I have found a few tutorials online and after a few weeks of procrastination, today is the day!  I am starting at the top and finishing off with the now polished shiny metal bar ends, you can call them chrome, I could too but I’m really not sure what they are made of, I do know that they polished up nicely.  just prior to this post I placed the small strip of tape behind the brakes.

these are the tutorials that I am using:  http://www.wastedlife.org/bike/harlequin/index.html and http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Diamond_Handlebar_Wrap  I also came across this one but he starts at the bottom where as I intend to start at the top:  http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/articles/diamondweave/

the shellac will be another post but I’ll include that tutorial link as well.  I wish I could say that I’m one of those people who already learned this stuff a long time ago and am just now sharing my wealth of information with the world; but I am one of those people who never stopped liking the thrill of learning and there are many things that I am convinced that I can do myself if I could just watch someone else do it.  I’m no bike pro, but I am emotionally attached to my bike and while it may will make me paranoid to lock it up and leave it, I’m really glad that I finally gave my bike an upgrade.  hopefully in a few hours and without much cursing I’ll be posting some pics of my wrapped bars.

you win some you lose some

okay in fairness I haven’t lost anything (better pictures to come tomorrow).  today I picked up my tires, Vittoria Randonneur Reflective.  I know, I already have reflective rims but it was just a few dollars more and now I have a silver stripe in the day time and a double reflective thing going on at night.  I’m excited.

in truth I’ve been excited since I ordered them yesterday; no matter how much work you do on a bike it’s not rideable if you don’t have tires, and that is where I’ve been.  until today.  I know that bikes have been around for a long time and I consider myself to be one of the smarter people of my contemporaries (this may be where I made my mistake) so I took it upon myself to mount the tires.  I watched a youtube video, and then I did it.

first I put the little plugs in the spoke holes, then made sure that I had the tires going in the right direction, I did the first half, added the tube with a good coating of baby powder and then put the second side in.  after both sides were in I checked for potential pinch flats, added a small bit of air, checked again and then when it was all clear I pumped the tire.  sounds good, it was.  and then I realized that checking the direction of the tire when the bike is upside down you need to take into account that the bike is upside down and in that position the tire should be pointing towards the back.  (lesson number one)

so then I needed to let the air out because this needs to be taken off and remounted going in the opposite direction, so does the other tires but since it is not yet mounted it is lesser of a deal.  I take off the second tire and reverse the direction and then I try to let the air out of the finished tires. . . presta valves are a little different from schrader valves and unbeknownst to me you can unscrew the thing a little bit and the air will come out easily.  well if it works to let the air out then maybe it works to let the air in.

(lesson number two) if you loosen the valve too much (or maybe at all) and then try to put air in the tire you will bend the valve – potentially ruining the brand new tube before it is ever used.  yup, that is what I did.  I loosened the valve then tried to put air in the tire, bent the valve and though I’ve tried to bend it back, so far I’ve had no luck with that.

so I have one tire that is on backwards and one potentially messed up tube.

most of what you see is the tire but you can see the rims reflectiveness too

on a positive note the combination of the tires and rims looks great and while the reflective rims are somewhat shy when it comes to the flash on my phone the tires really light up.  my fingers are a little sore right about now so I’m going to fix the mess that I made tomorrow but I’m close to the finish line and it feels really good :)  even if technically this was a loss

guess who laced her first 4 cross!

well actually it’s the first bike wheel that I’ve ever laced and thanks to watching my Dad, getting a starting point from the guy at the shop and having a written description online (only looked at it briefly) oh yeah, and having a properly laced wheel to look at (thanks to the shop guy).  I did place the second set of spokes incorrectly so that they crossed over the valve but after that correction it was easy peasy :)

neither wheel has been trued yet but the rear wheel (done by the professional) still looks a lot neater than mine (on right).  it could have something to do with the fact that the rear hub is larger but I’m guessing that is not the case and that this is the difference between professional and me ;)  I’m hoping that the truing process will make it all right with the world . . .

now I just need to decide on and purchase a pair of tires.  you can see a little reflection action going on from the camera flash but in daylight they will read like charcoal rims so I’m deciding between white side walls or solid black tires???  decision decisions (if anyone has and opinion feel free to chime in)  I guess there is also black with a reflective stripe on the side . . . but the rims already do that.  the rims are 24mm wide and I’ve read that 28mm is the slimmest that I’d want to go with those rims.  right now I don’t know what tires I’m going to get, it’ll come to me.

. . . that didn’t go as planned

the process of getting all of the components necessary to rebuild my bike has been a process in deed.  most recently I obtained spokes, pulley wheels and a rear straddle cable.  the pulley wheels looked the same but in essence were not, they were too small and the size of wheel that I need is no longer available so I’m pretty much s.o.o.l. and just need to hope we can get the rear derailleur back and running as is otherwise it will be a complete replacement.

then there is the rear straddle cable, I guess they don’t make those either (I had no idea exactly how archaic my bike has become) I was able to find one that is a tincy bit shorter (about 1cm actually) and it has this weird quick release thing on it.  I have a feeling that something will go wrong with this once I actually get to the final build, that is a little ways away so I can only hold on to my receipt and hope.

the big problem was what was intended to be the most exciting, the biggest problem thus far is that I have been to the bike shop 4 times to get spokes, consider it 3 really because the first time was to place the order, and as it turns out the front, the rear non-drive side and the rear drive side are not the right length.  I watched my father try for hours to figure out what he was doing wrong when in truth he wasn’t doing anything wrong, they are just not the right length.  too long for a 3 cross and too short for a 4, close but still too long even then tightened all the way.  all I did was sit and watch and after a full nights sleep I’m still worn out from watching him.  so now I get to take the two partially built and all remaining spokes back to the shop with the intent of having this problem resolved.  and for any and all who are wondering; I took both hubs and a rim with me when I placed the order.

when I picked up the initial order I was given spokes for only the rear wheel.  so I went back but the guy who measured them wasn’t around so I needed to come back (and get

the right pulley wheel) so I come back on day #3 to learn the pulley wheel was a wash and was given more spokes.  single butted this time but I figured that it wasn’t a big deal since in truth they were giving me these for free.  I would not have minded any of this is at this very moment I had two built wheels that were just waiting for me to put cool new tires on them; but that is not what I have.  I have two items that I will need to take on the L, that process alone makes them awkwardly sized, and a bike shop that I’ll have to go to after work and not at lunch because the original guy I spoke with comes in after my lunch hour

and this will be the fourth time; but there is a very high probability that I will need to go back for a 5th time to pick up my actual spokes (sooo not nearly as much fun as one would thing).

the positive is that I think the rims do look good now that there are spokes and a hub in there, not as dark as I had thought that they would look or maybe I can now look at them in with the correct angle so that I can see the reflective qualities.  I’m very excited to see the end product but the closer we get to the finish line the more little things keep popping up.

we can rebuild her; better

stronger, faster . . . a few days ago the cables came in and this weekend I’ll go and buy spokes. a few weeks ago my father reattached the fork to the frame, put on handlebars the crank, brake levers, he took apart the old wheels / removed the hubs, repacked the petals and attached the saddle to the post.

I am very close to having all essential parts so that I can once again have a working bike!

the braided cables are just add pretty as I thought they would be. there are still a few items I’d like to get from velo orange, but they are no longer essential items. later this summer I’ll get hammered aluminum fenders and the retro bottle cage to mount to the handlebars. my bike doesn’t have brazes and I neglected to have the frame drilled for them before it was painted. in any case the handlebars will be a good spot foot cups of say ice tea. .