Advice about a 1976 Falcon

[alfeng]

...a little attention to the rust, some careful attention to bearings, new brake cables, new freewheel and I will have myself ride which could most likely last me til the end of my days...

... I feel that I can tackle the repacking of the hubs and the replacement of the freewheel (assuming I can FIND one new, or new-ish) prbly not the BB, but I know a great bike shop that will inspect/replace for a modest sum.

I guess I need to source and buy the supplies and parts I need to git at these repairs..

actually, the chain busted yesterday JUST as I crested a hill the wife and I are training on. I can assure you this chain, whatever its age, owed me nothing. it looked old in design and had serious rust on its links..

Okay, let me try this again since you (geardad) are clearly choosing to not pay attention (which is absolutely your prerogative!) ...

The BB that is generally used with that particular (barely used, based on looking at the backside of the chainrings) crankset (i.e., the one the Campagnolo sells for the crankset) on your Falcon is a cartridge BB ... it is generally NOT serviced ... certainly, not by someone like yourself who has yet to understand regular lubrication of any-and-all EXPOSED moving parts (i.e., the rusty chain!) is important -- your chain is/(was) a moving part that needs to be lubricated!

FYI. Based on the fact that the prior owner had changed so many components, I would presume that s/he had re-packed the hub bearings at that time (the last few years) and they are probably NOT in need of immediate (or, in the next few years) service (unless the bike was sitting in the bottom of a swimming pool OR river/lake) BUT your chain apparently was!

This is stating what should be obvious, but I'll mention it since you do not seem to have a signficant amount of prior mechanical experience -- you will need at least TWO CONE WRENCHES (they come in different sizes) + light "automotive" grease to re-pack your bearings. CONE WRENCHES are amongst the tools you probably do NOT already have in your toolbox, so you need to buy them from your LBS, mail-order (e.g., Nashbar), or eBay -- you need to know the size of the NUTS on the particular hubs.

While you can glean ALMOST ALL the information you need through the PARK TOOL website & other venues, do yourself a favor and buy one of Zinn's maintenance books -- at this point, the one related to ROAD BIKES would be the better choice for you.

REI used to have "seminars" (a small fee is involved, AFAIK) on bicycle maintenance ... if there is an REI near you, then you should call to see if they still have them & plan on attending one if they do.

BTW. Freewheels are legion ... and, will be generally availble for the next few dozen years if not in perpetuity.

Have you replaced the rear derailleur cabling & housing, yet, OR did you go for a ride with the bike as previously pictured?!?

When you do change the rear derailleur cable & housing, lubricate it with a thin layer of grease.

 

[geardad]

Okay, let me try this again since you (geardad) are clearly choosing to not pay attention (which is absolutely your prerogative!) ...

The BB that is generally used with that particular (barely used, based on looking at the backside of the chainrings) crankset (i.e., the one the Campagnolo sells for the crankset) on your Falcon is a cartridge BB ... it is generally NOT serviced ... certainly, not by someone like yourself who has yet to understand regular lubrication of any-and-all EXPOSED moving parts (i.e., the rusty chain!) is important -- your chain is/(was) a moving part that needs to be lubricated!

Alfeng;

I thank you for the multi-color, multi-fontweight response to my mechanical feebleness. I am glad to know about the BB cartridge.

In my own defense, I'd say that I do in fact understand the need for lubrication; the chain and other parts were rusty as I got them; I picked up this bike on Saturday.

It's had 36 years prior to that to be neglected by other people, but I intend to change that.

While I do have an entry-level set of bike tools (which includes cone wrenches), I do not, as you point out, possess significant mechanical experience, but I'm hoping to change that, or at least learn about it in a way that doesn't harm this bike.

Thank you!

geardad

 

[Camilo]

Alfeng;

I thank you for the multi-color, multi-fontweight response to my mechanical feebleness. I am glad to know about the BB cartridge.

In my own defense, I'd say that I do in fact understand the need for lubrication; the chain and other parts were rusty as I got them; I picked up this bike on Saturday.

It's had 36 years prior to that to be neglected by other people, but I intend to change that.

While I do have an entry-level set of bike tools (which includes cone wrenches), I do not, as you point out, possess significant mechanical experience, but I'm hoping to change that, or at least learn about it in a way that doesn't harm this bike.

Thank you!

geardad

Geardad: go to a book store and look at their bike maintenance books and buy one that seems the most applicable to the stuff you're doing. Way back in the 70s, I had a 60s/70s vintage road bike and knew nothing about nothing. I bought a "complete guide to bicycle maintenance and repair" (Glenns for those of you who know about it), and without any other advice or instruction, completely dismantled that bike, lubed everything, and completely reassembled it and rode it for many more years. I would then repack all bearings yearly until I got tired of it .

On one minor issue - I would NOT assume that since the prior owner replaced so many parts that he/she did bearing service. I probably wouldn't have, unless it was something I knew how do do and thought the bike needed it. There is no reason to assume that just because someone can muddle through putting on new derailleurs and cables (and I emphasize "muddle" because - look at that rear derailleur cable!) that he/she knows anything about bearing service.

Good luck and I'm envious of your find. I'm now lookign for a good quality old school frame to restore into a commuter.

 

[alfeng]

In my own defense, I'd say that I do in fact understand the need for lubrication; the chain and other parts were rusty as I got them; I picked up this bike on Saturday.

It's had 36 years prior to that to be neglected by other people, but I intend to change that.

While I do have an entry-level set of bike tools (which includes cone wrenches), I do not, as you point out, possess significant mechanical experience, but I'm hoping to change that, or at least learn about it in a way that doesn't harm this bike.

HMmmm. Okay, but between Saturday & "yesterday" you could have lubed the chain ...

Compare the "Tin Man" before being oiled, and after!

Unlike many in the Forum who like to use more exotic lubes, I generally prefer simple OIL for my chain -- but, if I were riding a MTB along a muddy trail, I might consider something more/(other) than oil.

BTW. The recent replacement of several key components suggests that the bike wasn't quite as neglected as you suggest -- all things considered, the rust is minimal, and the components are certainly good-enough (Tiagra is at the low end of the upper echelon of Shimano's road components, BUT most Shimano components are pretty good, if not actually equally good).

You know, IMO, other than the pedals, the only truly sub-standard component on the bike (as recently pictured) might have been the brake levers (even with the "suicide levers" removed) ... but, the ones that are on the bike probably aren't that bad, and in the end it partly becomes a matter of preference.

I don't know what the hubs/rims are, but (based on the nipples) I can see that the rims were apparently (re-)laced to the hubs with DT spokes ... all-in-all, a nice bike with more-than-good-enough-components as you received it.

FWIW Those "entry" level toolkits are fairly good for what they include & ARE a good value for people who do not have any bike tools. The cone wrenches that are included MIGHT BE the only tools that you'll actually replace at some point in time since the steel is not hardened (AFAIK) ... but, the rest are generally LIFU, and those are actually pretty good quality.

 

[alfeng]

On one minor issue - I would NOT assume that since the prior owner replaced so many parts that he/she did bearing service. I probably wouldn't have, unless it was something I knew how do do and thought the bike needed it. There is no reason to assume that just because someone can muddle through putting on new derailleurs and cables (and I emphasize "muddle" because - look at that rear derailleur cable!) that he/she knows anything about bearing service.

Good point.

 

[kdelong]

All of the previous posters have given you some great information but I'll add my two cents in anyway. A great book that is readily available nation wide in Barnes & Nobles, Borders Books, and a lot of bike shops is The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road & Mountain Bikes, by Todd Downs. It is published by Rodale Press and runs $20 $25.

The grease that I have found best for lubricating wheel bearings and headset bearings is white lithium grease. You can pick up a tube of it at any Lowes or Home Depot, or auto parts store. Don't get the spray on lithium grease as it is not the same stuff.

When you get your new chain, you can lubricate it with almost any oil but there are many chain specific lubes out there that you might want to try.

BTW-Nice bike. I have an old Raleigh Grand Prix from that era but it needs completely stripped and repainted. Right now I am looking for authentic looking decals for it.

 

[geardad]

A great book that is readily available nation wide in Barnes & Nobles, Borders Books, and a lot of bike shops is The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road & Mountain Bikes, by Todd Downs. It is published by Rodale Press and runs $20 $25.

I had, at one time, a copy of richard's bicycle book, by richard ballantine..dunno if it's on par with the titles you're all mentioning, but IIRC, it was pretty good.

I think such a book would be a very good investment..I'd like to be more capable of dealing with bike maint. than I am...

geardad

 

[Camilo]

I had, at one time, a copy of richard's bicycle book, by richard ballantine..dunno if it's on par with the titles you're all mentioning, but IIRC, it was pretty good.

I think such a book would be a very good investment..I'd like to be more capable of dealing with bike maint. than I am...

geardad

I HAVE a copy of Richards that I can actually put my hands on. It's in my box of misc. bike parts in the garage. It might be perfect for bearing service for a bike your age. It might not be applicable to the modern parts on your bike. I don't believe my Richard's addresses index shifting for example.

I don't have my Glenn's any more. My Richard's is the size of an average paperback book. Glenn's was like a mid-city phone book. Another book I had back then was called "Anybody's somethingoranother"

Anyway, a new book is probably in order, but you may find Richard's good for some things as well.

You can find a lot of this instruction on line - e.g. Sheldon Brown or Park Tools. But, I find I need to print those pages out to use them and then, in spite of my good intentions, have never put them in a notebook for later use. Therefore, I have to find and print them next time I need them. I'm about to go to Barnes and Noble to buy an actual, modern book.... although I pretty much have the basics down on a modern brifter type road bike or indexed shifting V- or cantelever brake MTB.

 

[garage sale GT]

You need to go to a library for a book on fixing older stuff.

You may need a fw remover to repack the rear hub unless you want to try my method from another post in which you remove the lh cone and tap the axle out gently to the right. Don't forget to check the rear axle for straightness by rolling it across something flat, whatever you do. The method does not work on later Shimano 7-speed fw hubs.

 

[kdelong]

I HAVE a copy of Richards that I can actually put my hands on. It's in my box of misc. bike parts in the garage. It might be perfect for bearing service for a bike your age. It might not be applicable to the modern parts on your bike. I don't believe my Richard's addresses index shifting for example.

I don't have my Glenn's any more. My Richard's is the size of an average paperback book. Glenn's was like a mid-city phone book. Another book I had back then was called "Anybody's somethingoranother"

Anyway, a new book is probably in order, but you may find Richard's good for some things as well.

You can find a lot of this instruction on line - e.g. Sheldon Brown or Park Tools. But, I find I need to print those pages out to use them and then, in spite of my good intentions, have never put them in a notebook for later use. Therefore, I have to find and print them next time I need them. I'm about to go to Barnes and Noble to buy an actual, modern book.... although I pretty much have the basics down on a modern brifter type road bike or indexed shifting V- or cantelever brake MTB.

The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road & Mountain Bikes is great for beginners and experienced mechanics alike. It does a really good job covering older style non-sealed bearing hubs, cranksets, and headsets as well as the current sealed bearing versions. It also covers friction shifting as well as index shifting. It covers freewheels and freehubs. It even talks about the old Maillard Helicomatic hub which hails from the same era as the Falcon. There are step by step instructions for nearly any repair or maintenance that your bike requires. It even has step by step instructions for building wheels for those of us who feel adventursome. It is really a great resource.

Just to let you know, I am not receiving any kind of compensation for pushing this book. I have no connection to Rodale Press other than being a very satisfied customer. I just think that this is the most comprehensive and easy to use book availble for bicycle repair. The text is easy to understand and there is a glossary for any terms that you don't understand. It is not full of jargon and terms that no one has ever heard before.The illustrations and photos are clear and well captioned. It also has two pages of contact information for companies associated with bicycling, from Cannondale and Trek to Loose Screws (great on-line store for those hard to find parts), and something called Cars-R-Coffins which I am going to have to check out.

 

[geardad]

wanted to follow up about this bike...

this morning, my wife and I did the 45-mile loop of the Tour de Cure in our area...

the falcon proved itself to be a worthy ride.

few things I'll want to improve over time, like better derailleurs, but the wheels and hubsets are *nice*..

I had to brake frequently going down hill in a pack where nobody's pedalling.

I did have the bike serviced minimally this past week...money well-spent.

it's an honor to ride a bike of this quality and vintage, and which has managed to survive until I could get it.

gd

 

[kdelong]

Glad to hear that it is still pretty much intact. It is a very nice ride and I am happy that it is good for you. Now if I could only find a vintage bike as nice in my size I would be happy.

 

[531Aussie]

***********! I thought this was about cars!

 

[artemidorus]

***********! I thought this was about cars!

I was waiting for that! Is it yours?

 

[geardad]

***********! I thought this was about cars!

Oy, cobber!!! this 'ere's the cycling forum!!

that ride looks like something from me yoot; mebbe a '69 sumpin or other...izzat a chrysler product??

gd

 

[531Aussie]

nah, not mine.

It's an Aussie 1976 Ford Falcon GT

I think it's what used in the first Mad Max film

 

[garage sale GT]

I think your falcon looks similar to our '70-'74 torino. The car called falcon in the US was a fairly ordinary compact which, when restyled,became the first mustang in 1964.

No interesting cars from '76, due to emissions, insurance, increased concerns about gas (though the CAFE law mandating economy came in '78.)

 

[kdelong]

I think your falcon looks similar to our '70-'74 torino. The car called falcon in the US was a fairly ordinary compact which, when restyled,became the first mustang in 1964.

No interesting cars from '76, due to emissions, insurance, increased concerns about gas (though the CAFE law mandating economy came in '78.)

Since we are off the subject anyway, I beleive my grandfather had Ford Falcons all the way up into the 1970's. Are you sure that they ended in 1964? Whoops, update, just remembered that there is a 1967 Falcon for sale right down the road. The guy must want a fortune for it though as it has had the For Sale sign in it for nearly six months now.

 

[oldbobcat]

Since we are off the subject anyway, I beleive my grandfather had Ford Falcons all the way up into the 1970's.

I believe the last US Falcon made it through 1969. It was replaced by the Maverick in 1970. The US Falcon was a "compact," sitting on a 109-111" wheelbase. "Hot" Falcon GTs were produced in 1963-64, but were discontinued when the Mustang came out.

 

[garage sale GT]

Since we are off the subject anyway, I beleive my grandfather had Ford Falcons all the way up into the 1970's. Are you sure that they ended in 1964? Whoops, update, just remembered that there is a 1967 Falcon for sale right down the road. The guy must want a fortune for it though as it has had the For Sale sign in it for nearly six months now.

I didn't say it was discontinued, just that it served as the basis for the Mustang in '64.