MuddyFred
Dirt Disciple
Started fitting new and original parts today.
First up was a new Shimano bottom bracket
And with the help of some new fancy grease...
...the headset
Getting the upper and lower head-tube races in the frame was easy enough using a G-clamp and a couple of large square washers, but the crown race looked like it was going to be tricky to fit onto the fork, until I found a length of steel pipe that's been in the garage for years, one of those things you daresn't throw away 'cos it looks like it might come in handy one day.
And it just happened to have an inside diameter just over 1", so a good fit over the steerer...
...and after about half a dozen good solid taps it was seated good and proper.
So with the races and crown in place, new bearings and grease were put in place and the fork fitted.
The bike came with with a horrible rusty chrome quill stem and a separate bracket for the front cable. I have since got hold of an Orange Stalk stem with integral front cable bracket, which meant that there's now a 7mm gap between the top of the upper race and the locknut. I've ordered a black alloy spacer to the bridge the gap.
Next, clean up the original LX brakes (one of the few original parts that were on the bike) with a miniature wire wheel in the Dremel and some GT85. Once cleaned up, all parts where coated in ACF-50.
Unfortunately, whilst cleaning the brakes, I discovered that 3 of the arms are missing the plastic dust cover ring that goes on the top of the mounting hole.
Is that a part that's easy to source, or will I have to get some donor brakes?
Well that's all for now. Next it'll be the chainset and the wheels.
Cheers,
fred
First up was a new Shimano bottom bracket
And with the help of some new fancy grease...
...the headset
Getting the upper and lower head-tube races in the frame was easy enough using a G-clamp and a couple of large square washers, but the crown race looked like it was going to be tricky to fit onto the fork, until I found a length of steel pipe that's been in the garage for years, one of those things you daresn't throw away 'cos it looks like it might come in handy one day.
And it just happened to have an inside diameter just over 1", so a good fit over the steerer...
...and after about half a dozen good solid taps it was seated good and proper.
So with the races and crown in place, new bearings and grease were put in place and the fork fitted.
The bike came with with a horrible rusty chrome quill stem and a separate bracket for the front cable. I have since got hold of an Orange Stalk stem with integral front cable bracket, which meant that there's now a 7mm gap between the top of the upper race and the locknut. I've ordered a black alloy spacer to the bridge the gap.
Next, clean up the original LX brakes (one of the few original parts that were on the bike) with a miniature wire wheel in the Dremel and some GT85. Once cleaned up, all parts where coated in ACF-50.
Unfortunately, whilst cleaning the brakes, I discovered that 3 of the arms are missing the plastic dust cover ring that goes on the top of the mounting hole.
Is that a part that's easy to source, or will I have to get some donor brakes?
Well that's all for now. Next it'll be the chainset and the wheels.
Cheers,
fred
