Not as cool as your average retro bike! - 1980 Puch content

[dubnut71]

Ok, you might ask yourself why bother when you see the pics but here goes!

This was my first ever "real" bike. I rode it to secondary school, rode it with my mates and rode it to go fishing where we drank sneaky cans of kestrel and smoked consult fags (the joy of being 16!)

Moving back to my hone town I find that a friend has had it in his shed for 23yrs so back it comes to me!

My problems are numerous though! I have built a few bikes up before but my knowledge of the older stuff is very limited. I have managed to strip the bike down apart from the bottom bracket which means the frame was left at the LBS for them to remove I don't have spanners that big. Bottom bracket is pooped, they will tell me the size but its the crank style if that makes sense, I got the cotter pins out of the crank but the threads on the crank arms are shot so I have asked them to run a tap through those.

Wheels are 27" so I see you can get those for about #40 a pair, plus tape, tubes and nice gum walled tyres!

So i need to know where the best place to buy a BB would be? also I am planned to go single speed ( I already have a fixed bike) as I am not sure that simplex derailluer was any good back when I was 16 even.

If a BB is available then I would like to get the frame blasted and coated in the original red however I am not having much luck finding push decals to replace the current ones. I could always leave the frame as it has a certain patina but its actually growing a bit of rust underneath so a paint might be in order.

I know you might not bother with frankly what is a very poor mans retro bike to start with but as this was mine from my youth and my dear departed father was the last one to lay a spanner on it, means a huge amount to me and i would like to save it!!!

Any help gratefully received, I think I am near my post count for attachments so I will try and add a few pics.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[dubnut71]

I have also bought a 25mm seat post on ebay and found its actually 25.4mm I think I need, does that sound more feasible? The 25mm one may get the distance test across the field at the back of the house unless anyone on here needs one?!

 

[mr_mr]

now that is cool.

 

[dubnut71]

Its certainly old !!

 

[sisyphus]

I recently got a shimano bottom bracket into a similar aged bike - Im guessing that its an old cup and axle type bottom bracket which can be found cheap on ebay and replacing with similar this would allow you to salvage the old crankset too ( it might just need stripping and regreasing???...Might ).
The seat post could well be 25.00 or 24.4 - get some callipers and measure it.
Simplex ok but crude compared to todays stuff.
Id restore it just for sentimental reasons......imagine in another 30yrs time still using the same bike!

 

[dubnut71]

I recently got a shimano bottom bracket into a similar aged bike - Im guessing that its an old cup and axle type bottom bracket which can be found cheap on ebay and replacing with similar this would allow you to salvage the old crankset too ( it might just need stripping and regreasing???...Might ).
The seat post could well be 25.00 or 24.4 - get some callipers and measure it.
Simplex ok but crude compared to todays stuff.
Id restore it just for sentimental reasons......imagine in another 30yrs time still using the same bike!

I know thats the plan!!

Thanks for the heads up on the terminology, cup and axle, I'll go and look for that!!!, single speed is the way to go, I presume I'll need a screw on single cog / freewheel arrangement?