Renovating a bike

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That's not a growth
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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Tue Aug 16, 2016 2:04 pm

I think that's some great advice and really thoughtfully proposed, but after much deliberation I've realised the bike wont fit in my bin so I might as well carry on. I'm fickle like that.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Fri Aug 19, 2016 7:23 pm

Well I am an idiot. Got a new front fork off eBay, and the neck is too long/the thread doesn't go down low enough meaning if I were to ride it the frame would wobble up and down. strawberry float.

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Pancake
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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by Pancake » Sat Aug 20, 2016 7:56 am

Call it suspension and the job's a good'un!

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Sat Aug 20, 2016 10:23 am

Haha, that's something I considered actually.

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OLIN
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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by OLIN » Sat Aug 20, 2016 8:29 pm

That's not a growth wrote:Well I am an idiot. Got a new front fork off eBay, and the neck is too long/the thread doesn't go down low enough meaning if I were to ride it the frame would wobble up and down. strawberry float.

Just stick a spacer between the bearing cup and adjusting nut.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Sun Aug 21, 2016 9:51 am

OLIN wrote:
That's not a growth wrote:Well I am an idiot. Got a new front fork off eBay, and the neck is too long/the thread doesn't go down low enough meaning if I were to ride it the frame would wobble up and down. strawberry float.

Just stick a spacer between the bearing cup and adjusting nut.

It's that really a thing? Where would I get one?
Edit: ah, they're really common. This is strawberry floating brilliant! Thank you!

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Fri Aug 26, 2016 2:55 pm

Spacers bought earlier in the week, had a quick look and they should do the job I think, and I intend to try and finish this project this weekend.

So far today I've taped the handle bars, and cleaned up the break levers and put them back on.

I took off the parts I connected to the frame, and sanded it down. I cleaned up the 'new', slightly rusty front fork and sanded it too. I then coated both in anti rust primer and am now in the process of painting them green. I've done 3 coats so far and going to keep going until the can runs out. Maybe one or two more.

I've also painted another black coat on the wheels and touched up the spokes, and painted the pedals black.

Tomorrow I'm going to paint a clear protective layer on the frame and fork. I was intending to do this today, but read it's best to let my colour layer dry properly first which is a shame. I'll put the pedals back together and also put the wheels back together.

Then on Sunday I'll try and put it together. I've put the main big bits on, it's mainly the cables, chain and gears I'm worried about.

I've been taking a few more photos so will get a few up over the weekend too.

So close now.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by Pan » Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:16 pm

Very interested in these pics, TNAG. Good job.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:34 pm

I'm hoping to do a post tomorrow with pics that shows the progress from start to, hopefully, finish.

Today I put my pedals back together, painted the frame and fork in a clear protective layer - well, about 5 layers - and put the middle bolts back in the wheels. They spin!

I was going to put the wheels back together completely but I kept finding punctures in my inner tubes. This might be due to my lack of skill and finesse with putting the tyre back on causing punctures, but on the off chance it's not I decided to buy some new ones and be more careful. Only problem is I bought the wrong strawberry floating ones so need to go back to the shop tomorrow. Stupid mistake caused by being too tired and not thinking it through and not realising I can't just go to the shop with "26 inch road wheel inner tubes" in my head and get the right thing.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Sun Aug 28, 2016 5:23 pm

Well, it looks like a bike.

Gears don't work yet but I think the brakes are alright. Exchanged inner tubes and got them in the wheels fine. Just got to finesse the cables for the gears now, then I can actually ride and test it. Everything is now on it. Will need to touch up the wheels since I've scratched the paint, but no rush with that, can do that last thing.

I'm very tired, but very close.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Sun Aug 28, 2016 6:56 pm

Well strawberry float this bike. strawberry float it to hell.

Cassette is strawberry floated. Probably from when I was an utter arse and though it would be a good idea to paint it when I painted the wheel instead of bagging it up because I was lazy.

strawberry float strawberry float strawberry float.

Why the strawberry float did I even start this. Urgh.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Sun Aug 28, 2016 10:45 pm

Right, photos so far and a rough time line:

Before:

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My father gave me this bike he's had for over 10 years so I could use it for a triathlon I'm intending to do. It must have been at least 20 years old when he got it, and on the day he gave it me I rode it to the pub with him and realised on a steep down hill it's brakes don't work which got me thinking about what other little jobs I could do. The list grew in my head. So my idea was to take off each part, clean them, the frame and put it all back together again. I figured I would sand and paint the wheels since the rust had deformed the metals surface, and I would use that was a test to see if I would want to pain the frame.

I took photos of the intricate parts so I knew what order to put them back together:

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My first major issue was the stem and front fork fused together. When I tried to twist the handle bars to seperate them I broke where the stem and the handle bard connected. So i sawed the top off in an attempt to get inside, but this didn't help and they're still stuck today:

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While I was trying that I spent my time cleaning up the other parts, the pedals, brake fittings, crank etc. I also took the tape off the handle bars and cleaned them up and put them on a new stem I bought. A little bit of rust returned, but I wasn't too bothered. I taped them up and put the cleaned up levers on.
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I ended up buying a new front fork. I was original not going to paint the frame since I felt it would be a big job after the wheels, but I was unhappy with the amount of new parts there were now so said I'd force myself to do so, so to keep with my original vision a bit closer. I also painted the pedals black because they seemed to rust up over time after their cleaning.

I started on the frame like the did the wheels, sand down. I also peeled off the stickers. I then painted with an anti rust primer, then racing green metal paint in layers and hour apart until my spray can was empty. I then left it over night and repeated the process with a clear protective coat.

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Then comes to today, putting it back together.

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I got new inner tubes for the wheels today, and put the tyres on. I connected everything up except the 4 cables, 2 for brakes and 2 for gears. I first attached the rear then the front brake. I took a few tries to get the sweet spot so they didn't rub the wheels, but the cable was tight enough for the hand lever.

Then came the gears which I had issues with. First, it was very difficult to put the chain back together, I had to punch out a link to take it off and it was very tricky putting it back together even with the right tool. Then there's the springy mechanism by the rear wheel which doesn't rest in the position you want it to be in.

But the main issue is with the rear wheel. When I painted the rear wheel I also painted the cassette, the bit that looks like loads of cogs for the chain to go on. I was never able to take it off the wheel and thought it would look nicer painted. Turns out this made the teeth too large, so I have to file and sand it back down to the metal. But it also feels like it's full of sand now, and will barely freewheel and wants to take the wheel with it when it goes backwards.

So I have two issues, I've strawberry floated my cassette, and I'm not sure if I know how to sort out the cable for the gears. I'm hoping to go to a bike shop tomorrow to sort this out once and for all because I've had enough. I'll then get some close ups to compare against the 'before' photos.

And then burn the damn thing.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by bigcheez2k3 » Sun Aug 28, 2016 11:51 pm

Great post :D

Think of it as a learning experience, next time you'll know what not to do.

Nice to see a pic of the seized stem, thinking of ways I'd have tried now I can see it.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Mon Aug 29, 2016 3:36 pm

Thanks bc.

Called a local bike shop first thing this morning, had to leave a voicemail, no call back yet. Went into town to decathlon, gooseberry fool service and they didn't even have the part I need.

Checked a video online of how to change the cassette myself, give it a go and my cassette is different somehow so doesn't fit the specialist tool.

Fake edit, I was googling trying to find photos to show the difference and it turns out I have a 'freewheel' and not a 'cassette'. I have no strawberry floating idea what's going on. I'm have a cup of tea and playing some rocket league to relax for a bit. Will look more into this after.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by SugarCubes » Mon Aug 29, 2016 5:15 pm

Nice photos, but the frame looks rough and pitted. Did you sand it back to the bare steel?



I used a paint scraper and sandpaper on an old MTB frame:
Image

this will be a beater bike put together for as little as possible, it's getting sprayed with Dulux's finest black gloss paint and fixed up with old spares 8-)

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Mon Aug 29, 2016 5:19 pm

I have now bought a free wheel removal tool and a new freewheel from Amazon on next day delivery. I am a husk of what I once was. Before I would try to clean up the old part and reuse it, to keep the bike as original as possible until I knew there was no other option. That part of me is now dead. I just want it finished. I hate this bike. I hate it more than I've ever hated any person. The hatred is a reflection of myself, laughing back at me. This inanimate object, a collection of my mistakes personified in bike form. I may yet win this, but what have I lost in doing so? I no longer care.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Mon Aug 29, 2016 5:21 pm

SugarCubes wrote:Nice photos, but the frame looks rough and pitted. Did you sand it back to the bare steel?



I used a paint scraper and sandpaper on an old MTB frame:
Image

this will be a beater bike put together for as little as possible, it's getting sprayed with Dulux's finest black gloss paint and fixed up with old spares 8-)


No, and that is something that's annoying me. A few of the tutorials i read said you didn't need to sand it all off, just rough it up enough so the paint has something to stick to. It seems they were wrong, and I'm not going to redo it any time soon.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by That's not a growth » Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:12 pm

It is now a bike.

I rode it and everything, albeit for a few metres. Gears still need some fine tuning, and the air in the front tyre has gone down for some reason a bit, but I was able to change the freewheel and get the new one on which works perfectly.

Tomorrow evening I should get it to a ridable state, if not thurs, and I've got Friday off so got a few hours to really make sure it's alright before I go away for the weekend, which would be a nice deadline to hit.

Phew.

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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by OLIN » Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:44 pm

That's not a growth wrote:

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Bike's looking good, nice one!
If you have a vice you could probably have removed the stem from the fork by sticking the fork in the vice and hammering a steel bar/ big screwdriver up through the bottom of the fork, assuming it's hollow there - most are - a bit of heat or oil would help progress. If you don't have a vice, it probably would've cost more than new stem & forks anyway, especially if you don't have a bench to bolt it to.

As for air going down in the tyres, I use the slime filled inner tubes - you can have problems with them sometimes but it's all down to being careful about not letting the slime drip into the valve before you pump it up.

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OLIN
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PostRe: Renovating a bike
by OLIN » Tue Aug 30, 2016 11:54 pm

That's not a growth wrote:
SugarCubes wrote:Nice photos, but the frame looks rough and pitted. Did you sand it back to the bare steel?



I used a paint scraper and sandpaper on an old MTB frame:
Image

this will be a beater bike put together for as little as possible, it's getting sprayed with Dulux's finest black gloss paint and fixed up with old spares 8-)


No, and that is something that's annoying me. A few of the tutorials i read said you didn't need to sand it all off, just rough it up enough so the paint has something to stick to. It seems they were wrong, and I'm not going to redo it any time soon.


Different paint reacts, the old paint on your frame will be cellulose based most likely or even enamel whereas the rattle can stuff won't be - I'm not sure what the rattle cans contain nowadays but the EU or whoever clamped down on spray paint years ago due to toxic emissions - most auto paint nowadays is water based though you can still buy cellulose from paint suppliers as long as it's for a vehicle of certain vintage. It's alway's best to completely strip paint off regardless, there's always a chance of reaction even if it's the same type of paint.


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