Rebuilding Old Bikes



Sebinho

New Member
Jul 19, 2004
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Hey guys

I've always been interested in road biking since i was a child and now i have an interest in rebuilding bikes from scratch. Basically just use the frame and a few other parts from the bike and build it into a better bike. At my local bike store we have a huge sale on all the bike equipment and with alot of the parts going for 5 bucks cnd and up i thought to myself it would be fun to rebuild old bikes. I just need to know where to start, if someone can give me from tips, or a site that is available for this kinda stuff.

Seb
 
What do you wanna know? Frames? Components? Assembly?

Since you said "old" bikes, do you mean standard geometry, CrMo steel frames?

Part of the fun of cycling for me is assembling and also rebuilding "old" bikes...

Here's some links to get you going...

- Parktool has an excellent treatment on bike maintenance and repair.

- Sheldon Brown also has interesting articles about bicycles.

Just holler if you need help. A lot of the guys here would be willing to help you out.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!
 
I'm in the midst of rebuilding a 1970's vintage racer. Lots of fun, fairly cheap to do, and there's a certain satisfaction in returning this magnificient ride to it's former glory. You sure look stylish on a vintage racing bike, and to tell the truth, it isn't that much slower than the high end bikes of today. Just a lot cheaper.

Most of the parts are coming off of ebay, where top of the line gear from that period is fairly cheap these days. I'm also finding that unless there is real neglect involved, thirty year old Campy components hold up very well.
 
alright well thanks alot, now since i have somewhere to start i can plan it out, but first i need an old bike that i can maybe get for free or pay around 10 bucks for.

Seb
 
Sebinho said:
alright well thanks alot, now since i have somewhere to start i can plan it out, but first i need an old bike that i can maybe get for free or pay around 10 bucks for.

Seb

I would recommend not just grabbing the first bike that you come across. There were a lot of crappy frames made over the past 40 years. If you are going to spend many hours doing this, you should start with decent parts. Also, consider that some materials and styles are a lot easier to find parts for than others. Some ideas:

- stick with a steel frame - the chain stays can be spread, if necessary.
- use a respected brand from that time period (no cheap department store brands).

anyone have any other suggestions?
 
Randybaker99 said:
- stick with a steel frame - the chain stays can be spread, if necessary.
- use a respected brand from that time period (no cheap department store brands).

anyone have any other suggestions?
Schwinn is a 'respected' name,but they turned out alot of ****.No Varsitys!!
 
boudreaux said:
Schwinn is a 'respected' name,but they turned out alot of ****.No Varsitys!!

Good point, I meant to mention that the bike has to be respected in its day - Schwinn didn't get any respect in the 70s because they were **** back then.

The other point I want to make is that the rebuilding of an old bike should be an end in itself. I hope no one has any illusions that a vintage restored bike would have any significant dollar value... I can see the appeal of having a vintage bike as a sort of art piece that can be ridden, but I don't have enough room for the three bikes I already have.
 
This is a project I took on myself this summer and I've enjoyed every minute of it!

Being an old Peugeot fan, I found an early 70's vintage UO-8 for free and started from there. I stripped everything down, tossed the broken stuff, and made a list of the stuff I wanted on the bike. I had the frame soda blasted and repainted in Ferrari Fly Yellow. I pitched the old broken Simplex and Mafac stuff and replaced them with Shimano Tiagra components that I was able to scrounge from the LBS. I had a local decal shop make up some new decals, not original style Peugeot, but my version of it while retaining some of the older "look" lettering.

What I ended up with is what I thought a 2004 Peugeot PX-10 should look like if in fact they still existed! The bike looks & rides great and always gets lots of attention at charity rides etc. "I didn't know they make new bikes!?!" or "Where can I buy one?" are the most common replys I get. :cool:

Cost of this whole exercise? About $350.00 CDN (275.00 US)
Nuts to spend this kind of money on an older bike? Maybe.
Smiles on my face when riding my "new" Peugeot: Priceless! :D

"Record Du Monde" lives on!
 
haha sorry to be asking but whats a "LBS"

yeah thats really neat, now i wanted to repaint the frame to a different colour but does anyone know how to get the smooth shine on the frame?

Thanks

Seb
 
Sebinho said:
haha sorry to be asking but whats a "LBS"

yeah thats really neat, now i wanted to repaint the frame to a different colour but does anyone know how to get the smooth shine on the frame?

Thanks

Seb

LBS = Local Bike Shop ;)
 
Sebinho said:
haha sorry to be asking but whats a "LBS"

yeah thats really neat, now i wanted to repaint the frame to a different colour but does anyone know how to get the smooth shine on the frame?

Thanks

Seb
LBS => Local Bike Shop :)

Assuming that the paint job was smoothly done on a smooth frame, a layer of clear coat (clear polyurethane) is sprayed over the paint job.
 
Sebinho said:
Hey guys

I've always been interested in road biking since i was a child and now i have an interest in rebuilding bikes from scratch. Basically just use the frame and a few other parts from the bike and build it into a better bike. At my local bike store we have a huge sale on all the bike equipment and with alot of the parts going for 5 bucks cnd and up i thought to myself it would be fun to rebuild old bikes. I just need to know where to start, if someone can give me from tips, or a site that is available for this kinda stuff.

Seb
Here are a couple of good on-line sites:

http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/repair/index.html
 
Road Rage said:
This is a project I took on myself this summer and I've enjoyed every minute of it!

Being an old Peugeot fan, I found an early 70's vintage UO-8 for free and started from there. I stripped everything down, tossed the broken stuff, and made a list of the stuff I wanted on the bike. I had the frame soda blasted and repainted in Ferrari Fly Yellow. I pitched the old broken Simplex and Mafac stuff and replaced them with Shimano Tiagra components that I was able to scrounge from the LBS. I had a local decal shop make up some new decals, not original style Peugeot, but my version of it while retaining some of the older "look" lettering.

What I ended up with is what I thought a 2004 Peugeot PX-10 should look like if in fact they still existed! The bike looks & rides great and always gets lots of attention at charity rides etc. "I didn't know they make new bikes!?!" or "Where can I buy one?" are the most common replys I get. :cool:

Cost of this whole exercise? About $350.00 CDN (275.00 US)
Nuts to spend this kind of money on an older bike? Maybe.
Smiles on my face when riding my "new" Peugeot: Priceless! :D

"Record Du Monde" lives on!

Very, very cool!

What did you do about the rear wheel?
 
Randybaker99 said:
Very, very cool!

What did you do about the rear wheel?
The complete rear wheel assembly came off a trashed 2003 Giant OCR 2 that was an insurance write off. The Tiagra goodies were also salvaged off of this bike. The only thing that I could salvage from the front was the wheel hub.

A lady had run over the bike supposedly after her kids were "playing" with it.:eek:

The salvage bike was the most expensive part of the whole deal at $200.00.

As bent as it was, it rendered up a lot of good useable components and all in all, was a very lucky find.

You should have seen my wife's face after seeing what I spent that cash on, especially as it sat in a pile in the middle of the garage floor...;)
 
Randybaker99 said:
The other point I want to make is that the rebuilding of an old bike should be an end in itself. I hope no one has any illusions that a vintage restored bike would have any significant dollar value... I can see the appeal of having a vintage bike as a sort of art piece that can be ridden, but I don't have enough room for the three bikes I already have.

Well, yes and no. A high end bike from the 70's or 80s: 531 or Columbus frame, all Campy NR/SR, Campy fork ends, in clean rideable condition, commands at least $400-500.

About two months ago, an early 70's chrome frame Falcon track bike brought $850 on ebay.

Very clean Schwinn Paramounts can get up into the high hundreds.

You can get them for less in needy condition, or occasionally someone gets lucky at a yard sale and finds a classic for $25, but that's chance.

A good place to start is scour ebay for a bare frame that's Reynolds 531 butted or Columbus tubing. Search the sporting goods/cycling section for 531, something interesting usually turns up.