1970s(?)ish Falcon city/road bike - Beginner restoration

[Barns150]

Great stuff, thank you. Yeah, I guessed the crankset must have been added. I looked Aero Coronado up and from what I can tell it's on a square taper bracket... would that mean I can replace with another - ie are all square taper bottom brackets/cranksets equal? Saying that, the arms and wheel seem fine, and as far as I'm aware the bracket is too, besides the bearings.

I did find a 1990s Shimano 105 set with a two-gear crank and derailleur, plus shifters, brakes, levers & rear derailleur, for £80 online - would that seem a fair price if I end up swapping bits out? I think there are some parts knocking around in the garage too so I'll have a look when it comes to it.

Just had a go at your suggestion and the fork came free easily, thanks. Light rust around the top but otherwise all good.

I had a read of your post - excellent guide and I love the rocket lolly scheme. Thank you. Could I ask how much primer & paint you'd need for a full respray, and what you'd expect to pay for it?

 

[allenh]

What you replace on this bike and how much you spend on it really does depend on what you intend to do with it long term so if it were mine i'd get as much working as possible before any real money is spent and then decide from there.

Yes you can fit another square taper chainset to that bottom bracket but you do have to consider the length of the bottom bracket axle as they come in quite a few different lengths which will push the chain wheel in or our relative to the cogs on the back wheel. Yours originally would have had an SR or Maxy single chainset on it I expect.

Without seeing the parts and their condition of the 105 set I can't say on value but a trawl of the sold items on ebay should give you a clue. That said I'm not sure I'd be spending £80 at this stage and the other thing to consider is that there are at least 3 different types of chainset/bottom bracket fitting in the different sets of 105 and 1990's might be octalink which is different to square taper.

To respray it one big can of primer should do but if the frame is particularly pitted and marked it might take a few coats as you'll have a fair bit of rubbing down and prep to do. The same is true for the quantity of paint and I would always finish it with a 2K clear coat top coat for protection, and the 2K bit is very important as normal rattle can clear coat or paint in general just isn't durable enough.

Your bike I suspect is a Falcon Tempo and below is the catalogue for that period.

 

[ZG862]

The catalogue image is great, Allen. Think my dad had a pearl Majorca from that era.
I can't tell if that Tempo's chains is a cottered steel one. Is it clearer in the original image?
It would be really impressive to restore back to catalogue condition but I can't imagine that decals are available. Nice project though.

 

[allenh]

The catalogue image is great, Allen. Think my dad had a pearl Majorca from that era.
I can't tell if that Tempo's chains is a cottered steel one. Is it clearer in the original image?
It would be really impressive to restore back to catalogue condition but I can't imagine that decals are available. Nice project though.

There's a catalogue accurate pearl Majorca in my garage along with a blue professional (link to some pics in my signature below)
The Tempo had a square taper SR or Maxy single ring and Lloyds do the main decals in black or white but I'm not sure about the model specific names, I have got to speak to them as both of mine will be being restored at some point.

 

[Takingabreak]

Re:

STOP STOP STOP STOP

Think about what all this good advice will do???? It will be on your conscience !!

A fairly low end bike
Don't spend too much
Strip it down, clean it, paint it, replace any broken parts, ditch those levers, ditch those rims, fit new cables and pads.....
It will be a great learning exercise

And we all know what will happen next..................... the bug will bite, this poor innocent Newbie will have an entire fleet of pristine Falcon Bikes hanging around the house. By hanging I mean above the fireplace, on the back of doors, hooks on the kitchen walls.

And of course a garage full of left over scrap parts........

Barney - it's for your own good - run away now

 

[Takingabreak]

Having said that, that frame is crying out for a 5 speed sturmey build, 700c rims and long reach tektro dual pivot brakes...

But because I am a responsible and conscientious person I would never recommend that.

Barney, don't follow this link

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vint ... uilds.html

or this one

https://www.pashley.co.uk/bikes/bicycles/clubman.php

 

[ZG862]

Re: Re:

... this poor innocent Newbie will have an entire fleet of pristine Falcon Bikes hanging around the house. ...

There are worse justifications for divorce filings.
Anyway, think of the immense kudos associated with becoming a regional expert in the original inner tube fitment of Falcon Bicycles, 1978-84 and the fame & fortune likely to flow from it. You can't put the poor chap off now, when he's only just begun the adventure. Wait until he's had a bare-metal media blast and re-chroming first, please.

 

[Takingabreak]

Re: Re:

Wait until he's had a bare-metal media blast and re-chroming first, please.

Slow down, got to source new decals first. Do H Lloyds have them or is it some photos and careful measurements and send off to Gil?

https://h-lloyd-cycles.myshopify.com/pa ... e?q=falcon

 

[Barns150]

Re:

What you replace on this bike and how much you spend on it really does depend on what you intend to do with it long term so if it were mine i'd get as much working as possible before any real money is spent and then decide from there.

Yes you can fit another square taper chainset to that bottom bracket but you do have to consider the length of the bottom bracket axle as they come in quite a few different lengths which will push the chain wheel in or our relative to the cogs on the back wheel. Yours originally would have had an SR or Maxy single chainset on it I expect.

Without seeing the parts and their condition of the 105 set I can't say on value but a trawl of the sold items on ebay should give you a clue. That said I'm not sure I'd be spending £80 at this stage and the other thing to consider is that there are at least 3 different types of chainset/bottom bracket fitting in the different sets of 105 and 1990's might be octalink which is different to square taper.

Yes, you're quite right. Bit of work to get there first. May be getting a little bit ahead of myself!

To respray it one big can of primer should do but if the frame is particularly pitted and marked it might take a few coats as you'll have a fair bit of rubbing down and prep to do. The same is true for the quantity of paint and I would always finish it with a 2K clear coat top coat for protection, and the 2K bit is very important as normal rattle can clear coat or paint in general just isn't durable enough.

Ok, awesome. That's less expensive than I'd have thought. Will have to have a think about colours whilst I'm getting it going!

Your bike I suspect is a Falcon Tempo and below is the catalogue for that period.

Oh brilliant, yes that's it - the left of the two. It does have a "tempo" decal on the frame. Thanks for this

 

[Barns150]

Re:

And we all know what will happen next..................... the bug will bite, this poor innocent Newbie will have an entire fleet of pristine Falcon Bikes hanging around the house. By hanging I mean above the fireplace, on the back of doors, hooks on the kitchen walls.

And of course a garage full of left over scrap parts........

Barney - it's for your own good - run away now

There are worse justifications for divorce filings.
Anyway, think of the immense kudos associated with becoming a regional expert in the original inner tube fitment of Falcon Bicycles, 1978-84 and the fame & fortune likely to flow from it. You can't put the poor chap off now, when he's only just begun the adventure. Wait until he's had a bare-metal media blast and re-chroming first, please.

Chaps, honestly, thanks for trying. Really, thanks. I'm a cricketer so am intimately familiar with the woes of having a hobby consume one's entire life... however I wonder if perhaps you might already be too late. I took apart one of the calipers last night, had a go with a wire brush and steel wool, and I since then I haven't stopped thinking about how shiny it is now