Photos of East Hill's bikes

[East Hill]

Well, when I get more organized I will post separate photos of the Dolce, because otherwise I think this thread would get too large, you know?

But just as an update, I have finally got the Nishiki's tubulars on the rims. They aren't glued on yet, they are just stretching.

I'm glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the photos, we need more older steel bikes here!

DebW, the crankset is Avocet. It's a 52/42, but drilled and tapped for a third ring. I believe the rear freewheel is Sun Tour. I haven't sat down and counted the teeth yet, but the largest cog appears to be rusty steel, the next two are some kind of bronze? and the smallest two are non-rusted steel! I do know it's a two spline doohickey...

East Hill

[DebW]

But just as an update, I have finally got the Nishiki's tubulars on the rims. They aren't glued on yet, they are just stretching.

DebW, the crankset is Avocet. It's a 52/42, but drilled and tapped for a third ring. I believe the rear freewheel is Sun Tour. I haven't sat down and counted the teeth yet, but the largest cog appears to be rusty steel, the next two are some kind of bronze? and the smallest two are non-rusted steel! I do know it's a two spline doohickey...

I didn't remember that Avocet made cranks. And a removable 3rd ring - really sweet. Yes, SunTour made 2-notch freewheels, later 4-notch. Regina made an inverse-2-notch (a raised ridge with 2 notches missing). Be sure to back the freewheel tool with the QR when you pull it. You could make custom SunTour freewheels and mix sprocket types/colors. The bumblebee (gold/silver/gold/silver/gold) was popular. Inner 3 sprockets are splined, outer 2 threaded.

Are you using new tubulars or did the bike come with some tires? Stretching is a good thing. Save an old rim for stretching if you can. I've got some I could share. If using new tires, spread a layer of glue on the rim tape and let it dry. Do this to your spare too.

[East Hill]

Ah, I like the idea of a bumblebee set of cogs. Perhaps that is why the current set up on the Nishiki looks the way it does? I know when I got the bike I was shocked to see the biggest cog a solid mass of rust, but the appearance was deceiving. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought at first. I've shined it up a tad, but I haven't really done much with the rear end of the bike as I am working front to back.

The bike came with some really old tubulars. They were falling apart and I could not get them to come back to life. So, I removed them, went out and bought new ones (Continental Giros). Unfortunately I do not have any spares yet, I bought out the LBS's entire supply of tubulars! All two of them . He should have gotten in some more by now, although I will wait until the weekend before I worry about heading over there. It's actually progressing rather nicely though. It looks much prettier with the new tyres on and without the accumulation of over 15 years worth of dust.

I did manage to scavenge an old spare rim from the LBS in anticipation of needing to have a spare tubular ready to go. I will probably be able to scavenge another as well. It's a slow moving project, so I don't think it will kill me to not ride the bike for another few weeks. It still needs to have the brake cables and brake cable housings replaced before I even think about getting on it. I also need to replace the chain as it is an almost solid mass of grease and I think I would spend more time attempting to clean it than necessary. It's odd, the pulleys are quite dirty, the chain is disgusting, but the cogs themselves are virtually without a sign of wear on either front or back.

I'm still debating about the brakes. Currently the Pro has Coureur Plus both front and rear. Do you have any nuggets of wisdom to impart about these brakes?

The hubs both front and back are Campagnolo Record, by the way. Fiamme Ergal red label for the rear rim, and Fiamme Ergal gold label on the front rim.

It's a really, really interesting mix of components...

East Hill

[DebW]

I'm still debating about the brakes. Currently the Pro has Coureur Plus both front and rear. Do you have any nuggets of wisdom to impart about these brakes?

The hubs both front and back are Campagnolo Record, by the way. Fiamme Ergal red label for the rear rim, and Fiamme Ergal gold label on the front rim.

It's a really, really interesting mix of components...

East Hill

I'm not familiar with those brakes, never even heard of them. Is this from the same GB that made stems? I recently discovered the vintage bike parts area at ebay (Sporting Goods > Cycling > Road Bikes & Parts > Parts & Accessories > Vintage Parts). If you want replacements, that would be a good place to look.

I've used Fiamme Red Label rims, a good work-horse/training/general use rim. The Gold Labels are much lighter.

[East Hill]

Thank you for that guidance DebW. I didn't know you could look at just vintage parts on e-bay. I want gold anodized toe clips to go with the gold Nishiki Pro now! Well, perhaps that would be too much. I did just realize that the reason I don't think the original owner had DT shifters was because she had a Zefal HP pump installed on the DT (the Zefal pump NIB was the first thing I saw there on e-bay). You can see the chrome fitting on the photo.

Yes, Coureur Plus are made by GB. The brakes themselves appear to be in good condition, I had just never heard of them (even if I am English!), and so was curious if they were any good or if anyone knew of potential problems with them. They are marked "British Made", but I haven't found anything on them to indicate date of manufacture.

I was surprised at how light the rims were. I have never had the opportunity to hold a racing rim before. When I first was unwrapping the front rim I threw it up in the air a couple of inches just to see how light it was and almost hit the roof of the garage because I didn't expect it to be THAT light.

Can you tell I'm learning a lot of new stuff with this bike?

East Hill

[DebW]

I did just realize that the reason I don't think the original owner had DT shifters was because she had a Zefal HP pump installed on the DT (the Zefal pump NIB was the first thing I saw there on e-bay). You can see the chrome fitting on the photo.

The Zefal came in only one length and was probably too long for the seat tube of that bike. The pump wouldn't preclude downtube shifters but might have forced them to an awkward spot on the tube that missed the brazed-on stop.

I was surprised at how light the rims were. I have never had the opportunity to hold a racing rim before. When I first was unwrapping the front rim I threw it up in the air a couple of inches just to see how light it was and almost hit the roof of the garage because I didn't expect it to be THAT light.

The Fiammi Yellow is definitely a racing rim. Most racers had a set of Red label rims for training and Yellow label rims for racing. It's odd that you have a mix, but better the yellow is on the front. How smooths are those Campy Record hubs? Note that Record hubs generally take 7/32 balls front and back, not the more usual 3/16 front and 1/4 inch rear. You can still get replacement cones for those hubs.

Can you tell I'm learning a lot of new stuff with this bike?

Sounds like you're having fun.

What kind of headset came on the Nishiki Pro?

[DebW]

Here's what you need on that Nishiki: Campy downtube shifters with integrated pump clip. Currently for sale on eBay (search "umbrella" under "vintage parts")