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.

Happy Birthday, Old Bike Blog!

Today is one year since I started this blog to record the process of refurbishing my 1971 Columbia Sports III. Several design changes, lots of new content, three new (old) bikes, and many new friends later, here we are. Huzzah!

I may or may not have bought myself a little OBB birthday present yesterday, but I'll save that for tomorrow. I'll give you a hint: it's English.

About the image: while casting about the interwebs for "bicycle" and "birthday" images, I came across this perfect one from the exceptionally excellent BuyOlympia, run online from Portland, Oregon (they started in Olympia, Washington, hence the name) and featuring the very awesome cards of Sesame Letterpress, based in Brooklyn, New York. The image above is cropped from their Happy Birthday Bicycle card. Go buy some. Really. Go do it.

How to Adjust a Sturmey-Archer Three-Speed Hub

Sometimes I actually post useful information. Sometimes.

So, I've kept kind of quiet about it, but ever since I put my Columbia Sports III back together last, uh, November, I've been having trouble getting the hub adjustment right. This is mostly the result of the fact that I experience problems while on a ride, stop to quickly make some stop-gap adjustments, then realizing later that it's still messed up, and just keep repeating the process. Finally, I got fed up with it, and decided to devote some time to getting everything adjusted exactly right.

As usual, Sheldon Brown has the definitive guidance on the subject, but I wanted to make things a bit more explicit and illustrated for you fellow first-timers. So, here we go:

Correct hub adjustment is extremely important. First, it allows you to take full advantage of all three of your gears. Second, it prevents "freewheeling," which isn't nearly as much fun as it sounds. Freewheeling on a 3-speed occurs when the internal gizmos in the hub align so that the pedals can spin forward without engaging the drive. In other words, the pedals are turning, but you're not moving the bike forward anymore. This can be extremely dangerous when you think you're solidly in a gear and pedaling along with resistance and suddenly your legs start spinning uncontrollably. This throws your whole bike/body alignment out of whack and you are certain to at least wobble, and possibly lose total control. Not good for riding in traffic or crossing an intersection, certainly.

Proper adjustment is actually pretty easy, provided you have an ample dose of patience. There are basically only two parts to adjust: the indicator spindle, and the cable tensioner. The indicator spindle is the little rod and chain that emerges from the right side of the three-speed hub. One end of the rod is threaded with tiny threads, and this end screws into the hub itself (see photo). This is where you make your first adjustment.

Disengage the shifter cable from the indicator spindle so that you can unscrew the indicator spindle and take it all the way out of the hub. Check to make sure it's not bent or damaged. If everything is okay, reinsert the indicator spindle and tighten with just your fingers until it stops, then back it off a half turn. This is really important, because if you back it off too much, the indicator spindle doesn't fully engage with the gearing mechanism inside the hub. This was my problem, and caused me no little amount of frustration before I realized it. If the indicator spindle isn't seated properly in the hub, no amount of adjustment to the cable will help.

Now, reattach the cable to the indicator spindle. Tighten the cable tensioner (the barrel on the end of your shifter cable) by screwing it on to the indictor spindle, and use the little locknut on the indicator spindle to hold the tensioner in place. It should look something like this:

Now comes the tricky part. I'll let Sheldon Brown explain it, with particularly important passages highlighted:

For best results, adjust the cable by tension. When the trigger is in high gear position, the cable should be totally slack. Shift down to middle gear, while watching the indicator chain-it should clearly move as you make the shift. Then shift to low gear; again, you should see more chain coming out of the end of the axle. Sometimes the internal parts line up in such a way as to prevent downshifting. If you have trouble getting the hub to downshift, turn the pedals slightly forwards. Once you are sure you are in low gear, take hold of the indicator spindle chain and try to pull more of it out of the axle. If the adjustment is correct, you should be able to get just a tiny bit more movement from the chain. If it is completely taut, the cable is too tight. Make sure to tighten the knurled locknut on the indicator spindle so that the adjustment will stay as you have set it.

Double check the adjustment in all gears. In low gear, you should be able to see that the sprocket moves faster than the wheel, and the hub should not make a ticking sound while being pedaled forward. In middle gear, the sprocket should move at the same speed as the wheel, and you may hear a slow ticking as you pedal. In high gear, the wheel should turn faster than the sprocket. The same slow ticking may be audible in high gear.

If you hold the trigger halfway between middle and high gear, the hub should disengage so that you can spin the pedals forward without going anywhere. If it freewheels forward in high gear, the cable is to tight or has too much friction to release properly. If it freewheels forward in middle gear, the cable is too loose.

If you're anything like me, you will have to make many minute adjustments to the cable tension until you get it just right. The key points again: 1) properly seat indicator spindle in hub; 2) freewheel in high gear means cable is too tight; 3) freewheel in middle gear or low gear means cable is too loose; 4) there should be no ticking sound when pedaled forward in low gear; 5) hub should freewheel between 2nd and 3rd gear.

If you would like to read Sheldon Brown's original article in its entirely, go here. Sheldon also has lots of other great information about three speed (a.k.a. planetary, or epicyclic) gearing, including diagrams that show what's going on in there.

By the way, my experience related here is based on the Sturmey-Archer AW hub that is original to my Columbia, I have no experience with other S-A models or other hub-geared systems.

There, I Fixed It

Just came across the blog There, I Fixed It, which seems to be some sort of cousin to FAIL Blog. In any case, I thought my readers might appreciate some of the "fixes" that people come up with. I like this one. Fire bicycle. Very clever.

I recently wrote a post at The World Awheel that's sort of relevant to the idea of creative solutions to problems, which readers here might also find interesting.

Will You Join the Throng?

Columbia Bicycles Advertisement, 1895

WHEREVER HE MAY APPEAR

The Wheelman on a Columbia Bicycle is an object of admiration. He is gracefully and naturally posed on a wheel which is perfect in construction and of elegant design and finish. Will you join the throng?

I dearly love my 1971 Columbia, but it's not quite as stylish as this one. For more stylish gentlemen a-wheel, see my other blog, The Cycling Gentleman.

Do You Ride in San Diego?

Then take the City of San Diego bicycle user survey, which will help the city update its Bicycle Master Plan. Click below to take the survey.

Take the bicycle user survey!

Old "Bikes for the Rest of Us"

In the last two minutes (ah, the speed of information!), I've been honored to notice that prolific bike-blogger David has just joined the ranks of OBB followers. I've been a fan of Bikes for the Rest of Us for a while now, and upon perusing it just now, noticed this post from a few days ago, in which David's co-blogger Freewheel posts a classic article on buying a used bike. Good stuff, check it out.

The Runwell: Day, Uh, 13? 14?

Honestly, I've lost track of the days. I've been working on sanding/chipping the old paint off the fenders, and priming, painting, and top-coating them. I'm about half-way through that process now. I also gave the frame a rubdown with rubbing compound, which really brought out the shine and deepened the color. No more pictures of the frame or fenders (well, maybe the fenders) until I'm all done--don't want to spoil the suspense!

My cork grips from Velo Orange arrived yesterday, and I promptly set about cutting them down so they would fit on the Runwell's smallish handlebars. Because I lopped about two inches off the end of each grip, I was left with open-ended grips that needed bar plugs (it was an aesthetic choice not to take the two inches off the already-open end of the grips). To match the color of the cork grips (and boost my DIY cred), I whittled two plugs out of some scraps of 1" wooden dowel I had laying around.

I'll varnish these separately, then put the grips and plugs on the bars and varnish them both together to create a good water-tight seal. I'll be running to the bike shop this weekend to hopefully get my tires, tubes, rim tape, chain, and new spoke. Then, it's an order from Harris Cyclery of rod-pull brake shoes, new block pedals, and perhaps a new seatpost (to replace the original angled post that seats me too far forward). Once all that is assembled, I'll give the frame a couple coats of polish and I'll be done. I won't say when that will be, for fear of jinxing the whole operation, but soon, I hope.

Digitized Catalogues at the National Cycle Library (UK)

WARNING: Clicking on the links below will almost certainly lead to sleeplessness, extreme feelings of envy and/or desire, and potential loss of marriage.

Doing some research on Phillips today, I found myself checking in with the website of the British National Cycling Collection. It has been a while since I visited, and to my great surprise and delight, I found that they've digitized much more of their library than they had previously. Of particular note are the scanned catalogues, which provide an excellent reference for period restorations of many British-built bicycles.

Although it doesn't add much to my knowledge of my Raleigh-built 1955 Huffy, the image below of the "genuine" Raleigh equivalent (the Sports Light Roadster) is kind of neat to have as a reference. Now, if only we could still order from these catalogues...

Gallery of Old Bicycling Images

The Chicago Tribune has put up a sweet little gallery of bicycles and bicycling from its archives.

What she's really saying: "Son of a bitch, this thing weighs a ton!"

LINK

Bicycles in the Kibbutz

Our friend Yanek of bicyclog in Israel has just posted a lovely photo essay of bicycles on a kibbutz.

Retro Peugeot Site

I know I haven't been so much with the blogging lately, but here's a very cool site for all those old Poo-show lovers out there: www.retropeugeot.com. They've got galleries, old brochures and catalogs, and lots of info to help with dating your bike (that is, establishing the date of manufacture, nothing kinky). Looks like mine is definitely a UO-8 model and it falls in the 1974-1977 range, based on the chunky plastic headbadge. My favorite lines from the 1977 Owner's Manual:

"We hope we have caught your attention on the importance concerning careful maintenance of your machine for both your safety and pleasure. But we must remind you that your dealer is at your service, to advise you and to perform all the repairs requiring a certain technical competency and special equipment."

Seeing as how my "dealer" was a second-hand store down the street, I really doubt it. More posting soon, I hope.

How to Crash Your Pennyfarthing

So, this isn't really a bike history blog, but being a historian in "real" life, I can't help but be drawn to bicycling history. Today, the Blog Gods (Bloggods?) smiled upon me with a happy coincidence. Last night, I saw this image of Pennyfarthing trick-riding at BibliOdyssey, which made me smile:

And then this morning, I saw this video posted at The Bicycle Diaries, which brought history to life:

Pennyfarthing Crash

Taken together, I suppose they're a cautionary tale against thinking that our early cycling forefathers were a bunch of dandies and fops. No sir, they were hard-core.

That Must Be Heavy!

Those of us who ride old bikes are used to hearing this phrase, frequently spoken by spandex-clad "scorchers" (as they used to call speeding cyclists) nodding derisively at our old three-speeds or cruisers. I usually say, cheerfully, "Yup!" and toodle off down the street on my "clunker." Well, if it makes you feel any better, here's a quote from School Recreations and Amusements (1896) that advocates, quite sensibly, a heavier bike:

Except for track riding or racing, do not make the mistake of getting too light a machine. The wheel that is to stand the roughness of country roads and the unevenness of city pavements, that is to be solid, reliable, and trustworthy in all conditions, must have some weight. For road work, twenty-four to twenty-eight pounds is a convenient weight.

The volume (the title of which does a disservice to its contents) also goes on to say:

The common rule of life seems to be hurry and rush, making work (and hard work) even out of our pleasures; but in the case of bicycle trips for pleasure, no course could be more unwise. Do not attempt to make so many miles a day. Stop when you like. Enjoy all that you can in the way of natural scenery or observations of life, and thus store up a host of pleasant recollections for after years.

Good advice in 1896, good advice now. Read the rest at Google Books.

Reader Projects Gallery

Now that we've had a few Reader Projects features, I've put together a little gallery of the "before" pictures and added a cool little slideshow gadget in the navigation bar to the right. Just click to view the gallery, also available here.

Right now, I've just got the full side-view photos of the projects up, but if readers would prefer, I can add all the detail shots, too. What do you think?

Also, if one of your bikes has been featured here, and you've since finished working on it, send me the after photos, too, and I'll post an update and add them to the gallery. And, of course, if anyone else would like to have a bike featured as a Reader Project, I'd love to have it. Just send me an email with a few photos (before or after) and a description of what you'll be doing/did to get it fixed up.

Schwinn Resources

Now that I'm working on another Schwinn (we have two now, my wife's 1977 Suburban and this one), I'm taking them a bit more seriously. I'm not sure why, but I haven't always been the biggest fan of Schwinns. Now that I've spent some time with this one, I'm really coming to appreciate their quality and style--especially the quality.

So, here are some links I've been collecting over the last couple of days. Please suggest more in the comments if you have them. There is a real community of Schwinn fanatics out there ("enthusiasts" doesn't seem like a strong enough word!), and I know a lot of visitors end up here at the OBB looking for Schwinn stuff. The few posts I've done on my wife's Suburban are by far the most visited.

Eventually, I'll create a dedicated section of links in the sidebar for Schwinn resources. Until then, here are a few good ones. I get the feeling I'm just scratching the surface here, so please give me more!

Schwinn Serial Numbers

Schwinn Forums

Schwinn Lightweight Data Book

By the way, I keep accidentally typing "Scwhinn", so if you catch one that I haven't corrected, do let me know, since it will affect how people find what they're looking for on my blog.

Live Music Aboard a Moving Bike

Via YouTube via Neatorama.

How to Fix a Bent Seat Stay

I am now officially hard-core. Or at least medium-core. The Mundo's right seat stay was bent when I bought it, the result of a rear rack being affixed to it, and evidently getting whacked at some point while the thing was in the previous owner's shed. It was almost a deal-breaker for me, but I figured I'd see what I could do. In researching how to fix such a problem, I happened upon Dave Moulton's Bike Blog. Former frame builder and interwebs bike guru, Moulton has all kinds of helpful articles on all kinds of topics. Just so happens, he had one on this.

Mind you, this only works with *steel frame* bicycles (see how I emphasized that?), which are more flexible than carbon fiber, aluminum, etc. and can be bent back into shape (within reason) without loss of structural integrity. So anyway, go read the article, then come back here and check out the pictures below. Go ahead, I'll wait.

So here's my setup:

Instead of wood blocks, which I didn't have in the right size, I used a couple of landscaping bricks with (very dirty) towels over them for padding. I also put supports under the head tube and bottom bracket so the frame wouldn't wobble around. I used a piece of 1" wooden dowel, cut to size, as the spacer between the dropouts. You can see that the bent stay is on the bottom, ready for my foot.

Then, as Moulton says, I stood on the stay where it was bent. But either I'm too light, or this frame is too strong, because it did not bend as easily as Moulton suggested it would. In fact, after several tries, and some adjustments to the spacing of blocks, I ended up having to stand on it with 230 lbs. of force (my own 180, holding 50 lbs. worth of weights). After several attempts, during each of which the stay straightened a wee little bit, it came out straight enough to my satisfaction.

Actually, it still seems a tiny bit skewed to me, and I'm not sure if this is just my mind playing tricks, or if it needs a little more. Looking at the photo below, what do you think? (it's the right one). The alignment checks out with the string test, which Moulton also recommends.

Now I just need to get the seat post unstuck. Any suggestions on that? Besides heating it with a torch? I'm not averse to that, it's just that that seems to be the main suggestion for various stuck things, so I'm saying it now to get it out of the way. Oh, and penetrating oil, I know about that, too. Anything else?

The Coolest Chainring Ever

...was posted today on Bicyclog: an Israel Cycling Manufacture (ICM) bicycle from the 1970s, and I just had to bring it to everyone's attention. Yes, that's a camel. How cool is that?

See more photos here.

The First "Issue" of The Cycling Gentleman Is Up!

The first few posts are now up at my other blog, The Cycling Gentleman. Included in this "issue" are reflections on the consistency of trouser clips, an bit of fashion humor from the cycling past, the failure of BMW to make cycling unattractive, and a sporty fellow spotted in Boston.

Go check it out, I'll wait here. It's okay, go on...