Cycling UK Forum

There is an encyclopaedic thread on the subject of tubeless tyres on the lfgss website:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/282074/

(Warning: the title is a bit sweary, and could be offensive to some)

Thanks, again.

The complete frame, cleaned up, is here: http://tinyurl.com/3a2faom if anybody is interested in seeing it. I have sent an email to Condor, with the frame number, asking if they can provide its history. My uncle bought it second hand from Neil Orrell in 1980, and subsequently Neil Orrell (using C&F Finishers) resprayed in its current colours. The gear braze-ons are limited to eyes for rear-changer only, which might help to date it, and there are no braze-on gear-lever bosses. It is a racing frame, with no mudguard eyes. I do like lugwork on frames, but I think that the fillet-brazing together with the pastel blue paintwork gives this nice, clean lines.

I checked the history with my uncle. He had it resprayed in its current colours by Neil Orrell, after which he only used it for a few time trials and then used occasionally on a turbo trainer. Since the marks are only in the new paint, and as he never crashed the frame, I think that it is safe to rule damage out as a cause. I put my tool damage theory to him and, although he doesn't remember doing it, he said that it is very possible, since he can be a bit hamfisted!

Sorry if I have wasted anybody's time.

Thanks for the replies. I have had a closer look and the scratches are just in the paint; I T-Cut it and the scratches were coming out, but I stopped because I didn't want to remove too much. Closer inspection makes me think that the marks have been made by the nurled nob on an adjustable spanner, which has dragged across the surface whilst the headset has been adjusted. It occurred to me when I removed the headset because it has two different sizes for the locknut and the top nut, and neither of them is a standard 32 or 36, requiring most people to use adjustables. The marks are roughly parallel, but follow a slight ark, consistent with the rotation of the tool. There is no deformation or other damage, thankfully, so I think that it is OK and that I was being unduly alarmist. I will include the pictures in the sale details as Si suggests.

Once again, thanks for your help.

I am just cleaning up a frame, prior to putting it up for sale. It was part of my uncle's collection which he has asked me to sell for him. Having finally got the plastic BB out (as mentioned in a previous post) I started cleaning the grime off it. I noticed these tiny marks running across the top tube, just behind the point at which it is fillet brazed into the head tube. They look and feel a little like the paint has been scored with a sharp blade, and seem to only be in the surface of the paint. There is a similar line on the downtube (but one only, just before its join with the head tube, and one on the head tube just above that same joint - I couldn't get a decent photograph of the downtube/head tube marks. These lines are much fainter than the first set.

The photos are too large to post here, but I have put them on flickr: http://tinyurl.com/3a2faom

Does anybody know if this indicates possible damage to the frame? I do not want to sell this if it is likely to fail and cause injury.

Many thanks for any advice.

John

The plastic remnants came out ok, and I confirmed that the threads had not been damaged by screwing in a (metal) bottom bracket cup. So that was great.

I have tried the Sheldon Brown home made tool for removing an old campag cup, but it was stuck so fast that even that wouldn't remove it. In the end I took it to a little bike shop near St Albans (after calling two others who had no clue what I was talking about). The chap took it into his secret cavern and came back a few minutes later with the cup removed - only charged me a fiver.

Great - just bashed it out. I drilled a 32mm hole in a piece of oak to support the BB shell and protect the threads, and then one whack with a 2lb lump hammer and bingo! Now I need to get the remaining bits of plastic out.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the advice - I will try bashing it out (I am not worried about saving it, it is already past that) - if I carry on with my current approach it will drive me insane

I did attempt to undo it the correct way, but the problem was that the plastic was so brittle that the lugs just sheared off anyway. Why do/did they even manufacture plastic bottom brackets - it just seems wrong....

I am trying to remove the nasty plastic bottom bracket from a Condor. I got the non-drive side out, but the lugs on the drive-side just burred up. Trying to use anything as a drift just further mangles the plastic.

The spindle and bearings (which were a push fit into the non-drive side) won't pull out (and I can't hammer them out from the other side either). I started drilling 2mm holes around its circumference (I've broken about 6 drill bits so far), avoiding hitting the main BB threads, and am trying to get enough plastic out to be able to get a hacksaw blade in, but it is really slow going - I feel like a prisoner in one of those films where he escapes by drilling a hole through his cell wall with a spoon over a period of years.

Anybody got any ideas on how best to get this thing out?

Thanks

John

[Also posted on RetroBike forum, so apologies to those who have seen this question there]

Praed St is one-way and running in the wrong direction for you. You will need to go south of it, via Old Marylebone Road and Sussex Gardens and then pop up via, say, Spring St [that area around Paddington is a little warren of one-way streets].

This is probably the fastest route, and it is fine if you are confident in traffic. I used to do it as part of my regular commute but I always thought it was a bit frantic and eventually abandoned it for a quieter (but longer) route. If you did want to plan an alternative, and have time before you leave, you could request the free map "Cycling in Central London - Guide 1" from Transport for London, see http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11682.aspx

John

Mick - I have ordered one for you in white, to match your handlebar tape:



Once the bleaching process (shown above) is complete, it will be. ...ahem, 'whipped off', polished up and dispatched. The picture shows a "European" (lhd) version being prepared, but I have been assured that they are a universal fitting. The supplier has redesigned the materials and fixtures to solve the problem of the mirror glass falling out: it is now held in with a U-shaped piece of metal and, the replacement of rubber by a 'bone-type' material enables you to choose from a variety of adhesives for extra stickability.

This has all been achieved without compromising the trademark "Cycl-e-quine" styling.

Regards

Johhnyp

Reece wrote:Thanks for all the reply`s , my 10 year old Dave Yates Audax Populaire is still in mint condition, it`s the best paintjob i`ve ever seen and had, i know he`s moved from the north east so not sure what paint job is now. I`ve also had very good paint jobs with Argos in Bristol. Reece.

I have had a frame built by Dave Yates (he is now in Lincolnshire) - he has his own paint facility. His paintwork was so good that I didn't hesitate to send my Holdsworth to him for a respray (plus various add-ons, of course ) - I was very pleased with the results.

I can also recommend Argos - I have a Hetchins which was resprayed by Argos, and they did a superb job on it.

I got it to raise an error by setting number of teeth on rear sprocket to zero: Warning: <snip>bicycle-gear-inch-calculator.php on line 91

I suggest that you provide some range validation on the input fields, e.g 11-34 on number of sprocket teeth, etc. Once you start to do client side validation in Javascript, you may as well do all the work in Javascript, and throw away the server side php code. The calculations are pretty simple anyway, and it means that then you can just have a simple, static page.

Jonty wrote:It doesn't cost much to have your bike serviced. I had one of mine serviced last week and it only cost £20.

What did they actually do for £20?

It doesn't cost much to have somebody clip your toenails for you, but that's not a reason not to do it yourself.

Jonty's insightful analysis has convinced me.

Despite being competent at servicing my own bikes, I shall throw out all of my tools and have my bikes serviced at the LBS.

Since DIY should not be encouraged, I don't think I'll bother riding them there. From now on I'll get the chauffer to take them round in the back of the Bentley - he is a professional, after all, so clearly a much better driver than me.

Anyway, must dash - time for nurse to feed me my boiled egg and give me my pills.