Shifty Shifter

Yesterday, I disconnected the shifter and took it off. The bike is now cable-free, like the fixed gears you see all over the place these days. I actually like the clean look, but I'm not willing to give up gears and brakes to get it.

The picture on top is the shifter that was on there. Note the rust, broken plastic, and the cable casing that has peeled away. The cable itself is also in pretty sorry shape down near the indicator spindle (look at me, showing off the internal gear hub lingo--it's the little chain that comes out of the right side of the hub).

The picture on the bottom is the new trigger shifter and cable I'm going to order from Harris Cyclery. One thing to note is that my original cable isn't adjustable like the one shown here, which can be trimmed to fit, then the anchorage added. Since I'm not attempting a completely authentic restoration, the universal cable and the more modern-looking shifter don't bother me, but if you were doing a hard-core restoration, you can still get the original cables at Harris Cyclery, although I think their quantities are limited.

"Before" Paint Detail

Here are some "before" pictures of the rough shape the paint is in.

Nothing too exciting today. I removed the rear brake assembly and discovered that it was even dirtier than the front brake assembly (see yesterday's post). So that was fun. It is very satisfying to clean all the parts, though. See if I still feel this way next week.

Everything is Dirty

As in filthy. Grimy. Gross. Accumulated road guck.

I took a little break from work at noon today (I work at home) while my lunch was warming up, and removed the front brake assembly. I'm doing everything incrementally, one step at a time, because I'm not at all confident in my ability to remember where everything goes. I'm taking pictures of everything as I do it for later reference when I try to put it all back together, then bagging everything in labeled plastic zipper bags. I know, it sounded anal to me too when I read this bit of advice online, but so-help-me, it has SO helped me. I'd never remember where all the little washers and nuts and doo-dads go if I didn't label everything.

The main point of all this is that every piece that I take off is really dirty. I clean up the surface of everything fairly regularly, but I've never delved into the guts of the bike, and as I'm doing that, I'm realizing how filthy everything is. I'm also realizing that whoever had this bike before me did a lot of "improvising" when it comes to little parts. There are a lot of washers that don't seem to fit quite right, some nuts that are cross-threaded on bolts, etc. Anyway, I haven't cleaned the parts I took off yet, maybe tonight. Then I'll really know how dirty they were. The photo above gives some idea of the grime.

Priming: The Fork

I had planned to paint the fenders and chain guard today, but I decided to let them sit a while yet with the primer on them, just to make sure they're good and dry. I'm sure it's overkill to let them sit this long, but you never can be too careful. I did prime the fork today (Photo #1), which went fine. I also masked off the headbadge and bearing cups on the frame (Photos #2 and #3). Photo #4 is the "bicycle butcher shop" (a.k.a. the laundry room where I've hung everything up).

It's probably going to be the weekend before I can get back to the bike, so everything should be nice and dry. By Sunday night, I hope, everything will be painted.

Sanding the Old Paint, Part II

Well, I've got the entire frame and fork sanded now. The fenders I just roughed-up with a sanding sponge, since they have so many dips and contours, and I'm still working on the chain guard. If your fenders are just smooth, it might be easier to sand the paint all the way off, but with mine that would be a study in frustration.

So, here's what I did:

On the frame and fork, I found that 100 grit (medium) sandpaper worked best. It took the paint and undercoat off quickly and didn't scratch the metal. One problem with just using a folded sheet of sandpaper is that I couldn't get all of the little nooks and crannies completely sanded down. After the sandpaper, I took a sanding sponge and sanded off all the remaining spots of old primer and worked the edge of it into as many corners as possible. Picture #1 shows how successful (or not) I was around the area where the seatpost slides in. Picture #2 gives you some idea of how the frame looks all stripped down. In the places where I wasn't able to get the paint all the way off, I did manage to rough it up a bit so it will take the primer. Picture #3 shows the tools used for the sanding (not pictured are my hands sans fingerprints).

Next step is masking off the bearing cups and head badge (I never was able to get them off), and then it's on to primer!

PS--Sorry for the crappy picture quality; could not take a clear picture to save my life today.

More Before Pictures

While I'm working on the paint, I thought I would post a few more "before" pictures that I found the other day. These were taken about a year ago, I think, a couple months after I bought the bike. Right after I took these, I painted the underside of the seat, rubbed the rust off the front rim, and removed the remains of a reflective sticker from the rear bumper. I'll post the after pictures of the same parts when I'm done with the whole project. A little cosmetic work goes a long way.

Removing the Stem and Fork

Well, the bike is all apart now, with the exception of the stubborn bearing cups on the crank and headset, which I guess I'm just going to have to tape off when I paint, 'cause they're not going anywhere. The last things to come off were the stem and fork, which I did yesterday. I should take this opportunity to mention that I'm going largely from the book How to Restore Your Collector Bicycle by William Love (Bicycle Books, 2001). It's not perfect, by any means, but it's proving to be a good general guide.

I have to admit that as a new-comer to this, I was most confused by the headset assembly; and after taking it apart, I still don't quite get how it works. As a result, I meticulously documented every step with the digital camera just to make sure I could put it all back together in the right order. These are some of the more useful photos.

Photo 1 shows the stem after I removed it, with the expansion wedge at the bottom. To take off the stem, back out the bolt at the top of the stem about 1/2" and give it a good whack with a wooden or rubber mallet, or a regular hammer and piece of wood. This will dislodge the expansion wedge--it's very obvious when you are successful, as the stem will just slide out.

Photo 2 is probably a "well, duh" image for more experienced bike folks, but I wanted to remember the correct order for the hardware at the top of the headset once the fork was removed.

Photo 3 is looking down at the bearings at the top of the headset after removing the stem and hardware (and my feet make an appearance, as well).

Photo 4 shows the bottom bearings resting on the bottom bearing race.

Photo 5 shows the chrome plate on top of the fork removed. There is a tiny lip on the front side of the chrome plate that holds the plate to the fork. You can see where it attaches by where the metal on the fork is worn. I took this for my reference so I would remember later how to fit the plate black on.

Most of the hardware I've taken off now has been cleaned and bagged for reassembly. I took the front hub apart today, but didn't take any pictures, since it actually is pretty self-explanatory once you start it. Next, I'll take as much of the rear hub apart as I can, although I will not be venturing into the more intricate mechanics of the internal hub. I'll just be cleaning the dirt and grease off the external components and cleaning the bearings. I will take some photos of this and post them soon. Then, cleaning the frame in preparation for sanding.

The Crank

I finally went to the hardware store and bought a big enough wrench to take off the crank. For future reference, I needed the 10" adjustable wrench for the 1 1/8" inch nut.

The photo on top is the "before" picture of the crank assembly. In this photo, the bike is upside down and we're looking at the left side crank.

The second photo shows the "exploded" assembly after I took it apart, with the bearings exposed. The bearings come out, too, but were left in for the picture. One note here: everything I've read on removing the crank says that a spanner wrench is needed to remove the bearing race (a.k.a., adjusting cone), but mine came off just by turning with my fingers. Is this bad? I don't know.

In the third and fourth photos, I've circled the groove in the threads and the little tooth on the crank plate and washer than fits into it. These should be lined up for reassembly.

The fifth photo shows how dirty and grimy the inside of the crank assembly was. Shown here are the bearings for the right side. The old bearing grease has dried up and gotten gummy and dirty, which was probably dramatically affecting the ride of the bicycle. The last photo shows what fell out of the inside of the crank assembly--one very greasy, very dead insect.

Once I clean things up, I'll post some new pictures, just for contrast. I also have some thoughts on painting to post soon.

Bike-Saw Puzzle

It's been a few days since I've had a chance to get back to the bike, so today I did a bunch of stuff. I was only planning to take off the crank, but then I realized that I didn't have a big enough wrench (isn't that always the way?). So, instead, I took off the wheels, chain, kickstand, and fenders, which I then arranged artfully and took a picture.

While I had the bike upside down, I wiped off the accumulated dirt in preparation for the really thorough cleaning I'm going to do before sanding down the bad spots on the paint. I'll head to the hardware store this weekend for a bigger wrench and finally get the crank off, and maybe the stem as well. It's starting to get interesting.

Tip: When I tried to remove the rear fender, I found that the screw holding it to the frame was rusted tight, so I sprayed a little WD-40 on it and let it sit for about ten minutes. After that, it turned quite easily. This is the only time you should use WD-40 on a bike--never lube the chain or gears with WD-40. The problem is that WD-40 is formulated to resist water (WD=Water Displacement) and stay on whatever you put it on for a really long time. The longer it sits on your chain and gears, the more gunk gets stuck to it, and the gummier everything becomes. Use a specialty bike lube from your local bike store for your chain and gearing mechanism.

"Before" Pictures

This is my project bike. It's a 1971 Columbia Sports III with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub. It's not really all that special, I guess, but it's a real workhorse. And I really like the styling--straight lines, upright seating, almost a European look. To me, the style looks older than it really is, with reflections even of pre-1920s bikes.

These are the ultimate "before" pictures. They were taken over a year ago by the previous owner of the bike. Actually, these were the images from the original Craig's List posting. I've done some stuff since then in the way of cleaning it up, general maintenance, and some minor cosmetic stuff (like painting the rusty underside of the seat), but it basically still looks like this. The paint used to be a deep cherry red, which you can still see on the inside of the chain guard and in some spots on the frame, but in many places it has now faded so a sort of sickly pink color. The rear fender is really bad, almost a salmon color in some light. The paint is also badly dinged and scratched all over, and there's some surface rust. The cables all look to be original, and are in bad need of replacement. The trigger shifter is also in pretty sorry shape, and it's preventing the gears from shifting the way they should. When I ride it, I just keep it in the middle gear.

In terms of what I'll be doing (or trying to do), I don't really see this as a "restoration" project, because my goal is not really to bring it back to mint condition. I have no interest in the original decals, for instance, and it won't bother me at all that the new shifter will look a little more modern. I see this as more of a "refurbishing" to get the performance and look of the bike back up to where it should be. This is my bike, I use it, and I want it to work properly. I'm doing the work myself because I believe everyone should be able to fix and maintain their own bike. At the very least, they should know how it works. I'll admit that I don't really know that much right now, but I want to learn, and what better way than to get my hands dirty? Basically, I'll be taking the bike apart, piece-by-piece, cleaning everything, oiling and greasing the parts that need it, repainting it, and putting it all back together (God willing and the creek don't rise).

I'll have more "before" pictures as I go, and I'll take pictures of every step in the process. I'll also probably rant about various roadblocks (where is that squeek coming from? how can I stop it if I don't know where it's coming from?), and "challenges" that inevitably crop up with this kind of project. You will delight in my misery, but hopefully also get to enjoy the fruits of my ultimate success with me.