Viscount bicycles!!

[lebekster]

Hello Busaste & thank you for your amazing reply! This is so interesting & informative & a real eye opener into the twists & turns of bike production. The death forks info has put my mind at ease but you'll have to bear with me, because I know very little about bikes & am not sure of the terms or the bike parts that you refer to!
Not sure I have version 3 of the fork but hopefully you'll be able to tell from the pics, when I put them up.
I've spent the last few hours trolling through Wikipedia to find out about the parts that you describe in your post, & loving it…
I'm starting to understand more about the workings of it but am still confused about the rear hub & length of axle, but I will carry on searching to get a better handle on it. I didn't know what a Derailleur Hanger was until today...
I will post some pictures when it stops raining!
Brian

Hi Brian

Glad to be of help .

Here is the kind of derailleur hanger that you need if the rear right hand side frame drop out does not have one (Aerospace SE):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Rear- ... 336e02c485

Here is a drawing that I have done to help explain the differences between the Lambert and Viscount rear hub axle lengths and the provisions for attaching a rear derailleur (double click on the drawing to enlarge it and then zoom in):

The attachment hub differences 1.JPG is no longer available

Have a close look to spot the differences I can always email the drawing if you want it at a higher resolution (send me a PM).

Hello Busaste & thank you for your amazing reply! This is so interesting & informative & a real eye opener into the twists & turns of bike production. The death forks info has put my mind at ease but you'll have to bear with me, because I know very little about bikes & am not sure of the terms or the bike parts that you refer to!
Not sure I have version 3 of the fork but hopefully you'll be able to tell from the pics, when I put them up.
I've spent the last few hours trolling through Wikipedia to find out about the parts that you describe in your post, & loving it…
I'm starting to understand more about the workings of it but am still confused about the rear hub & length of axle, but I will carry on searching to get a better handle on it. I didn't know what a Derailleur Hanger was until today...
I will post some pictures when it stops raining!
Brian

Hi Brian

Glad to be of help .

Here is the kind of derailleur hanger that you need if the rear right hand side frame drop out does not have one (Aerospace SE):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Rear- ... 336e02c485

Here is a drawing that I have done to help explain the differences between the Lambert and Viscount rear hub axle lengths and the provisions for attaching a rear derailleur (double click on the drawing to enlarge it and then zoom in):

The attachment hub differences 1.JPG is no longer available

Have a close look to spot the differences I can always email the drawing if you want it at a higher resolution (send me a PM).

Thank you Busaste for the drawings etc..will be studying them later. All helps to improve my knowledge.
Putting pics up tonight, if I can get them to upload..brian

[lebekster]

Hello Busaste & thank you for your amazing reply! This is so interesting & informative & a real eye opener into the twists & turns of bike production. The death forks info has put my mind at ease but you'll have to bear with me, because I know very little about bikes & am not sure of the terms or the bike parts that you refer to!
Not sure I have version 3 of the fork but hopefully you'll be able to tell from the pics, when I put them up.
I've spent the last few hours trolling through Wikipedia to find out about the parts that you describe in your post, & loving it…
I'm starting to understand more about the workings of it but am still confused about the rear hub & length of axle, but I will carry on searching to get a better handle on it. I didn't know what a Derailleur Hanger was until today...
I will post some pictures when it stops raining!
Brian

Hi Brian

Glad to be of help .

Here is the kind of derailleur hanger that you need if the rear right hand side frame drop out does not have one (Aerospace SE):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Rear- ... 336e02c485

Here is a drawing that I have done to help explain the differences between the Lambert and Viscount rear hub axle lengths and the provisions for attaching a rear derailleur (double click on the drawing to enlarge it and then zoom in):

hub differences 1.JPG

Have a close look to spot the differences I can always email the drawing if you want it at a higher resolution (send me a PM).

I SEE!! Got it...thanks for the drawing-it all makes sense now. The rear hub axle would need to be longer, because the derailleur hanger wasn't part of the fork on the Lambert frame...hope that's correct. Maybe you might be able to tell me from the pics what Death or no Death forks are on the bike?
Many thanks.. Brian

[triitout]

It's an easy call....no Death Fork!! You've got a nice steel fork.
Michael

[lebekster]

It's an easy call....no Death Fork!! You've got a nice steel fork.
Michael

Thanks Michael..That's good to know.

[ScubaScott8177]

Anyone know of a type 3 fork in rideable condition looking for a home? Steerer tube length of 7.5ish.. The only one I've seen is on eBay and the guy wants too much. My lambert goes to paint in about a week and that'll be the only thing that keeps me off the pavement..

[Sooper8]

Anyone know of a type 3 fork in rideable condition looking for a home? Steerer tube length of 7.5ish.. The only one I've seen is on eBay and the guy wants too much. My lambert goes to paint in about a week and that'll be the only thing that keeps me off the pavement..

Mail him and make him an offer?
I have had great luck this year just naming a price I want to pay. Whether it be my all original Viscount 'Sport or a job lot of Shimano rear deraillieurs I just picked up. I just mail and ask if they'd sell at £x. This year has been a good one for me on a few occasions, they have said 'yes'.

[ScubaScott8177]

Anyone know of a type 3 fork in rideable condition looking for a home? Steerer tube length of 7.5ish.. The only one I've seen is on eBay and the guy wants too much. My lambert goes to paint in about a week and that'll be the only thing that keeps me off the pavement..

Mail him and make him an offer?
I have had great luck this year just naming a price I want to pay. Whether it be my all original Viscount 'Sport or a job lot of Shimano rear deraillieurs I just picked up. I just mail and ask if they'd sell at £x. This year has been a good one for me on a few occasions, they have said 'yes'.

I have sent a message the the seller only to find his bottom dollar to be about 75 USD shipped which is in my mind fairly high as I had offered him 55 shipped. I found another listing where the seller is asking 150 shipped.. Can't understand why they're asking so much since both auctions are described as being "non rideable death forks"

[triitout]

Anyone know of a type 3 fork in rideable condition looking for a home? Steerer tube length of 7.5ish.. The only one I've seen is on eBay and the guy wants too much. My lambert goes to paint in about a week and that'll be the only thing that keeps me off the pavement..

I finally got the Pro together for pictures after putting on some nice test miles and for now at least, the fork stays on. Sorry its not available.....but if it was it would be nice to keep it in the forum family.

Hurricane Sandy slowed down the rebuild process for a good 3 weeks, but when I finally got it rideable, I was a happy boy. My 2 Gran Touring Viscounts just don't ride as nice with the heavier components. It really feels comparable to my modern road bikes (yes I have a carbon bike). I like to think that the very innovative Viscount engineers would have been mixing it up with all the new materials if they were still in existence. What I think we admire about these bikes were that they DID push the envelope of ideas in their time. Life is too short to not take a taste of all the flavors out there! I digress!

For the rebuild, I was able to have my LBS install a NOS BB axle with new 6003's,(thanks Steve!), along with unfreezing the stem binder with an oddball 5.5mm allen. The rest was on my own. I replaced cables, put on a nearly NOS Suntour Pro Compe 14-28 freewheel, new chain, new 44cm shallow drop handlebar with blue cork wrap, new MKS leather covered toe clips, NOS blue leather Lapize toe straps, new MKS AR-2 pedals, new weinman 700c wheelset with blue striped Huthinson clinchers, and my favorite Nashbar saddle. I've got the crankset, fork , stem, brakes, microadjust seatpost, shimano crane, titleist, and shifters as keepers from the old days. I also left the "new" Shimano 105 brake levers it came with. A mix of new and old that works for me.

Here's some pics of the A.P. and a shot of my G.T. for good measure for the holidays! Can anyone explain to me how to upload larger size pictures.????

[ScubaScott8177]

Wow your bikes look so good. I love them.. Hopefully soon ill have one of my lamberts to the point of being ready to assemble.. Hopefully

[Sooper8]

I have sent a message the the seller only to find his bottom dollar to be about 75 USD shipped which is in my mind fairly high as I had offered him 55 shipped. I found another listing where the seller is asking 150 shipped.. Can't understand why they're asking so much since both auctions are described as being "non rideable death forks"

Components seem to sell for a disproportionate amount compared to a whole bike. It's the same with many things.

Bizarrely I've seen bikes sell on forum and eBay/Gumtree for the same amount or less than the chainset/gears/frame would have gone for.

Maybe worth looking round for little used bike with some on?

[Bendo]

@triitout, to post bigger pics, get the embed code ending in ".jpg" from your photo hosting site, paste it into the compose window where you write your post, highlight it, then hit the "Img" button above the compose window. It will put <img></img> on either end of your link. To test, click "preview". Don't post them too big or the forum will cut off the right hand side.

For those doing Viscount restos who don't want to use the really deep drop bars of the era, there are many new alloy bars made with a shallower drop, but without the "ergo" drops as on triitout's build. A good example is the Nitto Noodle bar:


I have to admit, I'm a bit of a "retro-grouch" and favour all the old school tech, but I agree the Viscount engineers would probably be into cutting edge stuff today. And triitout, your build is certainly an excellent blend of old and new. Nice job mate. I'm sure your tri friends give you stick for riding a steel frame, let alone one with toe-clips and down-tube shifters!

BTW, I had a realisation the other day as to why I don't like compact frames, or any frame that has a sloping top tube (except for mixtes), from a purely aesthetic point of view, and it's because they always look like they're riding uphill! Low-pro and TT frames look like they're going downhill, but the also look like the rider might fall over the bars! Dumb I know, but it's horizontal for me.

b

[triitout]

Thanks for your technical help and kind words Bendo. I still needed to enlist my 15 year old to make it happen! My motto is train heavy and race light so Viscount is a great training bike. I hope the larger photo's do them justice better than the mini's.

[Sooper8]

Warning- bike geek question coming...

Triitout, can you tell me (or show close up pic would be even better) of the crank end dust caps please.
Just intrigued.
Cheers
Jem

[drossall]

They look like the old red Sugino ones.

[triitout]

Warning- bike geek question coming...

Triitout, can you tell me (or show close up pic would be even better) of the crank end dust caps please.
Just intrigued.
Cheers
Jem

Hi Jem,

There are no bad questions and I'm sure by now you figured out that this forum is populated by geeks!

The crankset and dust caps are Sakae SR Silstar, original parts on the Gran Touring model. Everything on the bike is stock original exept tires, saddle, tubes and bar tape! It was a nice Craig's list find about 2 years ago. I couldn't resist since I'd "upgraded" and lost all the original parts of my 1st Viscount, a blue Gran Touring bought new in 1976 and this one is even the proper size! The GT came with a steel fork and threaded standard BB so there were no issues on that end.

This forum is and will continue to be great fun and informative. Lots of "new blood" recently keeps it growing. Thanks to Busaste for getting it started only a few short years ago. See, you're not alone! Wishing everyone a very healthy and happy New Year with lots of good riding and rebuilding!