SantaHul
Retro Guru
Thought I'd post up a few pics of my ongoing resto.
I bought the bike off eBay without seeing it and thought from the photos that the frame needed a dent filling followed by a touch up to the paint. Other than that I assumed a rack and mudguards would finish it off nicely. Tbh if I'd realised how much work it would eventually need I wouldn't have bought it. Here's a photo of it as it came.
The bike has basically been converted to racing spec, but I was strictly after a tourer. The first thing I noticed was super-narrow wheels and tyres. The front wheel in particular was very tired, the rim was extremely thin and certainly not up to touring duty. I got some stainless steel mudguards for it but I didn't have any tools with me (just moved house) so I took it to a bike shop to get them fitted. They did the guards but the brakes were in such a bad way that they refused to re-fit them, so I stuck that on the list too. I've replaced the wheels with Mavic A319's. The rear with a Deore hub was a tenner off eBay in mint condition, the front has a (top-of-the-range) Shimano dynamo built in and was £72 from Switzerland brand new. Couple of bargains there I was very happy with.
The frame has been to see Jon Aston at Chicken's Frame Emporium to get sorted. It's been drilled to take modern brakes, a snapped off cable guide on the bottom bracket has been replaced and he's had a go at the dents (I found another on one of the chainstays). The dent on the top tube was beyond full concealment and on closer inspection the whole tube dips slightly in the middle suggesting it took a really hard whack. Therefore this tube will be replaced when it comes time for the respray.
Here's the bike as it stands in my living room right now, wearing new brakes and wheels. I'm going to build it back up and ride it for a month or so to make sure it really fits and suits me before I continue spending money on it.
The forks will be modified to take a lowrider and the seat tube will be drilled to take a bottle cage. I'm also thinking about some sort of work to allow a concealed dynamo cable, but not decided on that yet. Colour will probably be a slightly paler red with a white head tube, although whenever I see this photo I want to do it sky blue instead. Thinking I'll match the red to a honey Brooks saddle and bar tape.
Love to hear any thoughts. This is my first restoration and I'll hopefully be using the bike for commuting, shopping, touring, everything.
I bought the bike off eBay without seeing it and thought from the photos that the frame needed a dent filling followed by a touch up to the paint. Other than that I assumed a rack and mudguards would finish it off nicely. Tbh if I'd realised how much work it would eventually need I wouldn't have bought it. Here's a photo of it as it came.
The bike has basically been converted to racing spec, but I was strictly after a tourer. The first thing I noticed was super-narrow wheels and tyres. The front wheel in particular was very tired, the rim was extremely thin and certainly not up to touring duty. I got some stainless steel mudguards for it but I didn't have any tools with me (just moved house) so I took it to a bike shop to get them fitted. They did the guards but the brakes were in such a bad way that they refused to re-fit them, so I stuck that on the list too. I've replaced the wheels with Mavic A319's. The rear with a Deore hub was a tenner off eBay in mint condition, the front has a (top-of-the-range) Shimano dynamo built in and was £72 from Switzerland brand new. Couple of bargains there I was very happy with.
The frame has been to see Jon Aston at Chicken's Frame Emporium to get sorted. It's been drilled to take modern brakes, a snapped off cable guide on the bottom bracket has been replaced and he's had a go at the dents (I found another on one of the chainstays). The dent on the top tube was beyond full concealment and on closer inspection the whole tube dips slightly in the middle suggesting it took a really hard whack. Therefore this tube will be replaced when it comes time for the respray.
Here's the bike as it stands in my living room right now, wearing new brakes and wheels. I'm going to build it back up and ride it for a month or so to make sure it really fits and suits me before I continue spending money on it.
The forks will be modified to take a lowrider and the seat tube will be drilled to take a bottle cage. I'm also thinking about some sort of work to allow a concealed dynamo cable, but not decided on that yet. Colour will probably be a slightly paler red with a white head tube, although whenever I see this photo I want to do it sky blue instead. Thinking I'll match the red to a honey Brooks saddle and bar tape.
Love to hear any thoughts. This is my first restoration and I'll hopefully be using the bike for commuting, shopping, touring, everything.
Thanks.
