To Fixie or not to Fixie?

[gnat23]

Long story short: Before I was born, dad was really into cycling and he tried getting mom into it, so bought her a really nice bike. Mom never took to it, has had the bike in the garage for the last 30+ years. I finally asked about the bike, and asked if I could have it:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1217/1327621712_6a123dbf0f.jpg
(That old thing? says mom. Please, take it!)

I originally had the idea of turning it into a fixie: horizontal dropouts, classic styling, and all. I cleaned out dozens of spiders that had given up their lives between the cranks and spokes, extracted what could have been sand or alien eggs from the fork, put new tires and tubes on her, touched up the gold paint detailing. I'm currently working on rescuing the leather saddle (Bim? never heard of it), getting some new handlebar tape, you know... projectbike!

But I had a softness of the heart when I was scrubbing it down. Maybe it was spending way too much time at Sheldon Brown's French-bikes pages, but I started to really respect this thing. The Stronglight cranks are super nice but have a threading size not normally found in nature. The spokes on the wheels are each tapped with a tiny fluer-de-lis. I've fallen in love with the Huret derailers... Just some wonderful details.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismatthews/sets/72157605004571944/

So now I don't know. I'm still restoring this thing as much as possible, but I dunno what the end result should be. I already have a nice roadbike, so it's not like I need another... I am intrigued by fixies and maybe trying track racing... but that derailer!

Any votes or things I haven't considered?

-- gnat! (I at least gave up the idea of painting it pink...!)

[smilingcat]

maybe I'm biased. (I'm old).

Don't turn it into something it's not. I love the details and CRAFTSMANSHIP of things old. You may find that old things work better than you expect. ;)

The only time I would not follow this is that if it is broke and you can't fix it then by all means use something more up to date. And if you have to modify the frame to do so, then modify the frame.

And enjoy restoring the bike. I'm sure your father would greatly appreciate what you are doing.

-----added-----
Hey, that thing isn't that old!! It's from the '70s with center pull brake. sheesh. NOT OLD!! just went to fliker and saw all the photos. looks like it used skewers instead of buterfly bolts. NOT OLD!!

Smilingcat

[mimitabby]

oh what a cool bike! I am so glad your mother gave it to you.
a STELLA!
If it's not broke, don't fix it. That's a good rule of thumb.

I agree with old smiling cat. but i'm old too :cool:

[OakLeaf]

Oh sweet! Another old lady votes for leaving it "as is."

Gotta love those French threads! (and your hair - and your nerve for cleaning a greasy bicycle wearing pink jeans!)

[Smurfette]

it might not be such a bad thing to try turning it to a fixie. especially if you're new to it and want to get your feet wet, you already have this much of the bike for free. and if you end up not liking it, you'll still have the parts.

[SouthernBelle]

How would it would it go as a commuter?

[gnat23]

Ok, I am having way too much fun looking this stuff up!

My folks lived in Madison, WI when they bought the bike, and my dad was a huge fan of the European-style bikes, so it would make sense that he bought the bike from a little importer store called, naturally, Stella Bicycles. That store was owned by a gentleman by the name of Bevel Hogg, and had an employee Tom French (sales and marketing). The original Stella factory in France burned down, so the store had nothing more to import without, you know, changing the name or something. Instead, they were approached in 1976 by a appliance company exec named Richard Burke, they all moved to a red barn in Waterloo, Wisconsin and started a company called....*drumroll*
Trek! :eek::D

Smilingcat: I know it's not THAT old! As far as I can tell, this was a replica made in the 70s of the frame that Louison Bobet won the 1953 Tour de France on. Still trying to get more details, but there aren't a lot of pictures out there to compare against. The serial number looks like it was carved by hand into the bottom bracket. Love it!

OakLeaf: actually, the jeans survived right up until I was painting the frame: I had the entire thing balaced on my lap just right, but I made one false move and the darn chain pressed across my right thigh, scarring it forever. Ooops!

SouthernBelle: I thought about that. I usually use the SuperDuper Ruby Pro for commuting, but a fun steel frame 10-speed might be a nice change of pace. I am growing to the idea now...

-- gnat!

[DebW]

Very cool. I had a Stronglight crankset in 1974. Totally wore out the rings and had to replace it, but I loved that crankset. Can we see pictures of the hubs, rims, and spokes? Please? I looked up those derailleurs: Huret Challengers. A nice step up from the Huret Alvit that came on cheap bikes in the early 70s. I'd guess the bar end shifters are Suntour and didn't come original on the bike (maybe a shop swap at time of purchase). Whatever you choose to do with this bike, it will be sweet.

[pll]

So cool...

Here's another 70s Stella: http://www.classicrendezvous.com/France/stella_bicycles.htm

And a 1974 review:
http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/broderir/Catalogs-Posters/Road-Tests-Reviews/Bicycling-1974-11-A/

[GLC1968]

I had the entire thing balaced on my lap just right, but I made one false move and the darn chain pressed across my right thigh, scarring it forever. Ooops!


That bike is very cool! I love history and therefore keeping bikes in original condition as much as possible...BUT, I think bikes are happier when they are being ridden. If you don't see yourself riding this as is, then a fixie is a nice way to get this bike back out on the road where it belongs!

About the jeans - get yourself some pure greek olive oil soap. Wet the grease mark, rub in the soap, vigorously. Wash the jeans as normal, and I'll bet that they come out clean! This stuff is AMAZING for removing oily stains...even old ones.

http://www.oliveoilsoap.com/varieties/greece.cfm

[gnat23]

Very cool. I had a Stronglight crankset in 1974. Totally wore out the rings and had to replace it, but I loved that crankset. Can we see pictures of the hubs, rims, and spokes? Please? I looked up those derailleurs: Huret Challengers. A nice step up from the Huret Alvit that came on cheap bikes in the early 70s. I'd guess the bar end shifters are Suntour and didn't come original on the bike (maybe a shop swap at time of purchase). Whatever you choose to do with this bike, it will be sweet.

AH! Yes, ok, I knew they weren't the Jubilees, but I couldn't find any other references except the Alvits all over the place; good call! The shifters are indeed Suntour and look kinda forced in with the bartape. To be truly classic, I suppose I could throw on some downtube shifters.

New pictures are up. This thing is starting to feel like a pinup girl to me. :D
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnat23/sets/72157605031222215/

pll: thanks for those links: that '74 review looks so close that it might be it!

GLC1968: I'll try that trick next laundry day, thanks!

-- gnat! (Now: somebody please rescue me off the Shelden Brown pages before I spend WAAAY too much money doing this.)

[DebW]

The hubs are probably Normandy. They say Schwinn approved, but Shwinn didn't make hubs. Weinmann rims and brakes were pretty standard. Those bar end shifters will give you a very slow shift because of the cable length and housing compressibility. The bare-metal housing is original with those shifters, but you'll get a quicker shift if you replace it with modern non-compressible derailleur housing, or switch to downtube shifters. (If you want to get rid of the the bar-ends, I'd buy them. I had a set just like that in 1976, and I've got an older bike I'd put them on.)

BTW, you really need to replace ALL the grease in the bearings of this bike: hubs, bottom bracket, and headset. Old grease becomes hard and very non-grease-like.

[smilingcat]

...

BTW, you really need to replace ALL the grease in the bearings of this bike: hubs, bottom bracket, and headset. Old grease becomes hard and very non-grease-like.

This is where WD40 spray comes in handy. It's a pretty good solvent to desolve that gunky grease. And do wear a rubber glove. ;)

Don't use WD40 for any other use on a bike.