Gazelle Champion Mondial

[Elev12k]

Looks delicious!

Tire not flat anymore. We haven't seen pics of your puncture yet

 

[jCymbal]

We haven't seen pics of your puncture yet

Ahahahah!

 

[jCymbal]

Just arrived home and had this waiting for me!

So here's a big public THANK YOU SO MUCH to our own retrobike forum member Tel who was generous enough to mail me Gazelle's last missing part.

 

[henrybikeman]

Great job, I wish I had your patience I've got a lovely old Mercian which is pretty good but not as beautiful as your Gazelle.

Just for the record, although you got the quill stem out "the hard way" by cutting along it, in my experience with both ally seatposts and stems stuck in steel frames, provided you are willing to re-paint (not so in this particular case), a gas or electric paint stripping or soldering torch applying moderate heat to the steel will always loosen it as the ally actually expands more than the steel when heated, then they cool differentially and this breaks the bond. Always works. If you had access to dry ice or liquid CO2 you could do the same thing by cooling, without risking the paint. And the seized bit is usually only the top 30 mm or so from water/sweat running in there.

Anyway, enjoy it and be proud of it.

 

[jCymbal]

Thank you for the kind words.

ps: Since finding out about Mercian I still day dream about getting one. I've spent too much (but fun) time in their online frame builder. Some day I'll order mine...

 

[jCymbal]

I was out again today and half way through my ride I stopped to admire the scenery, stretch and drink some water. I picked up the front wheel to see if it was still true. No problems there. Then did the same for the rear. Picked it up, put some spin to it and to my surprise spotted a strange "bump" on the rim's edge where it meets the tyre. At first I thought I'd hit something that bent the rim outwards. When I got home I've deflated the tyre and tried to bend the rim back in. After putting some pressure on the tyre the "bump" returned. It seems the old rim wall is collapsing. After all these years the rim's wall just got too thin and can no longer support the tyre's pressure. You can actually see a "line" along which the rim is bending outward.

I suppose I just have to get some new rims... where am I going to find a pair of NOS lambda clincher rims now?...

 

[jCymbal]

R.I.P.

 

[jCymbal]

The NOS rims have arrived. Now to rebuild the wheels.

 

[gmac123]

well spotted, happened to a friend of mine years ago, rim exploded up a country road 40 miles from home, before mobile phones etc.

 

[J8B]

Great read. Love the detailed step by step progress. Job well done! I think I'm going to have to post my Gazelle built here as well