Ultimate single speed bicycle (for my mammy)

[maxo]

She's a character--rides bikes when she's overseas like she was born to,
but refuses to here since American bikes confuse her. I'd posted
last year when I fixed her up a Japanese shopping bike--but no go. Hand
brakes are the devil's lever as far as she's concerned. She wanted a
normal bike like everybody has in Sweden. You know, four
generations old, step through, coaster brake.

Found a specimen in an alley on top of a garbage pile. German "Sport2000".
Frozen hubs, bottom bracket, headset and pedals? Check. Chrome bubbled up
from rust on wheels? Check. Brown corroded handlebar and crank? Check
check. LOL

Took it apart to the bearings. Degreased--and surprise--all of the bearing
races and bearings are super high quality (for this type of bike) and
clean up great. Service Sachs Torpedo hub--quite cool these to take apart.
Added lighting, basket, bell, and lock. Sanded, masked, and painted
wheels, new IRC tires. Partial cork tape on bars for extended hand
positions. New black/silver chain with two gold links for luck.

Rides really nicely--rolls like there's no resistance! I must have done a
good job with the bearings.

Best of all--I give it to her, she immediately takes off on the
not-so-impressive looking beast, comes back fifteen minutes later and
says: "I told you this is what I wanted in the first place!"

Mommas are always right. LOL

The rustbucket in question:

http://photos21.flickr.com/33474605_bf9f9d6fb0_o.jpg

http://photos23.flickr.com/33474601_bfef7c7a17_o.jpg

http://photos21.flickr.com/33474602_864c5059e7_o.jpg

 

[mark]

"maxo" wrote ...
> She's a character--rides bikes when she's overseas like she was born to,
> but refuses to here since American bikes confuse her. I'd posted
> last year when I fixed her up a Japanese shopping bike--but no go. Hand
> brakes are the devil's lever as far as she's concerned. She wanted a
> normal bike like everybody has in Sweden. You know, four
> generations old, step through, coaster brake.
>
> Found a specimen in an alley on top of a garbage pile. German "Sport2000".
> Frozen hubs, bottom bracket, headset and pedals? Check. Chrome bubbled up
> from rust on wheels? Check. Brown corroded handlebar and crank? Check
> check. LOL
>
> Took it apart to the bearings. Degreased--and surprise--all of the bearing
> races and bearings are super high quality (for this type of bike) and
> clean up great. Service Sachs Torpedo hub--quite cool these to take apart.
> Added lighting, basket, bell, and lock. Sanded, masked, and painted
> wheels, new IRC tires. Partial cork tape on bars for extended hand
> positions. New black/silver chain with two gold links for luck.
>
> Rides really nicely--rolls like there's no resistance! I must have done a
> good job with the bearings.
>
> Best of all--I give it to her, she immediately takes off on the
> not-so-impressive looking beast, comes back fifteen minutes later and
> says: "I told you this is what I wanted in the first place!"
>
> Mommas are always right. LOL

Bicycles were pretty widely used in Germany for basic transport until the
end of the '60s, and working people still used them to a great extent into
the '70s. Maybe ntot as extensively as the Dutch or the Danes, but I can
remember cycling past a factory north of Cologne and seeing hundreds of
employee bicycles in the bike sheds outside a large factory. Stands to
reason that a utility bike like the one you found would have good quality
components, even if it was a bit heavy and clunky looking.
--
mark

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
maxo <[email protected]> writes:

> Best of all--I give it to her, she immediately takes off on the
> not-so-impressive looking beast, comes back fifteen minutes later and
> says: "I told you this is what I wanted in the first place!"

Of course there'll be some weisenheimer riders who will
be pathologically compelled to blow past her, so they
can feel like really fast athletes ;-)

I'm glad she likes it. Ya done good.

Good score, too.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[maxo]

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 01:02:16 +0000, mark wrote:

> Stands to
> reason that a utility bike like the one you found would have good quality
> components, even if it was a bit heavy and clunky looking.

You said it--I was expecting horror when I cracked the bottom bracket,
The frame itself is rather crude and unremarkable, but found silky smooth
gorgeous races, just needed a bit of tlc and grease. This thing was built
to actually be used. I even reused the ball bearings as they showed zero
pitting or corrosion (and I was too lazy to go buy some )

FWIW, The Swedes too, make lovely utility bikes of excellent quality. If I
could afford a new Skeppshult, I'd order one tomorrow.

 

[maxo]

On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 19:05:28 -0700, Tom Keats wrote:

> Of course there'll be some weisenheimer riders who will be pathologically
> compelled to blow past her, so they can feel like really fast athletes
> ;-)

"Dude, did you see me blow past that lady with the groceries in her
basket? I musta been doing' TWELVE or THIRTEEN!!!! Duuuuuuuuuuude, that
ROCKS!"

 

[[email protected]]

maxo wrote:
<snip>
> Found a specimen in an alley on top of a garbage pile. German "Sport2000".
> Frozen hubs, bottom bracket, headset and pedals? Check. Chrome bubbled up
> from rust on wheels? Check. Brown corroded handlebar and crank? Check
> check. LOL
<snip>

For my money, that's a beautiful bike.

I get a great buzz out of fixing up and giving away old skip
(dumpster?) finds and abandonned orphans. You can get a better bike
for free, excluding lube, a few hours tlc, and the odd
tire/tube/bearings.

Much better deal than a €99 department store special, in price and in
quality/longevity. Also, on the "vaguely environmentalist" side, it's
good to recycle, and a shame to see good (in some cases, very good)
kit, with lots of like left in it being thrown out for want of a little
attention, and a few € worth of parts.

Good find, nice job of fixing it up, hope she gets many miles out of
it...

Regards,

bookieb

 

[Earl Bollinger]

"maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> She's a character--rides bikes when she's overseas like she was born to,
> but refuses to here since American bikes confuse her. I'd posted
> last year when I fixed her up a Japanese shopping bike--but no go. Hand
> brakes are the devil's lever as far as she's concerned. She wanted a
> normal bike like everybody has in Sweden. You know, four
> generations old, step through, coaster brake.
>
> Found a specimen in an alley on top of a garbage pile. German "Sport2000".
> Frozen hubs, bottom bracket, headset and pedals? Check. Chrome bubbled up
> from rust on wheels? Check. Brown corroded handlebar and crank? Check
> check. LOL
>
> Took it apart to the bearings. Degreased--and surprise--all of the bearing
> races and bearings are super high quality (for this type of bike) and
> clean up great. Service Sachs Torpedo hub--quite cool these to take apart.
> Added lighting, basket, bell, and lock. Sanded, masked, and painted
> wheels, new IRC tires. Partial cork tape on bars for extended hand
> positions. New black/silver chain with two gold links for luck.
>
> Rides really nicely--rolls like there's no resistance! I must have done a
> good job with the bearings.
>
> Best of all--I give it to her, she immediately takes off on the
> not-so-impressive looking beast, comes back fifteen minutes later and
> says: "I told you this is what I wanted in the first place!"
>
> Mommas are always right. LOL
>
> The rustbucket in question:
>
> http://photos21.flickr.com/33474605_bf9f9d6fb0_o.jpg
>
> http://photos23.flickr.com/33474601_bfef7c7a17_o.jpg
>
> http://photos21.flickr.com/33474602_864c5059e7_o.jpg

That turned out very nice.
I am partial to those older bikes myself too..
Thanks for the story and pics I enjoyed it.

 

[wafflycat]

"maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...

>
> Mommas are always right. LOL
>

Indeed we are ;-)

Anyhow, nothing wrong with that bike. Looks fit for purpose which is more
than can be said for the £79.99 supermarket specials type of bike!

Cheers, helen s

 

[littledog]

Ya done good. That's a really nice bike. It should of been taken care
of by its previous owner. But now it has a new life and will give many
miles and years of service and pleasure in riding by an appreciative
owner. Thanks for sharing the photos.
littleodg

 

[araby]

>
> Found a specimen in an alley on top of a garbage pile. German "Sport2000".
> Frozen hubs, bottom bracket, headset and pedals? Check. Chrome bubbled up
> from rust on wheels? Check. Brown corroded handlebar and crank? Check
> check. LOL
>
> Took it apart to the bearings. Degreased--and surprise--all of the bearing
> races and bearings are super high quality (for this type of bike) and
> clean up great. Service Sachs Torpedo hub--quite cool these to take apart.
> Added lighting, basket, bell, and lock. Sanded, masked, and painted
> wheels, new IRC tires. Partial cork tape on bars for extended hand
> positions. New black/silver chain with two gold links for luck.
>
> Rides really nicely--rolls like there's no resistance! I must have done a
> good job with the bearings.
>
> Best of all--I give it to her, she immediately takes off on the
> not-so-impressive looking beast, comes back fifteen minutes later and
> says: "I told you this is what I wanted in the first place!"
>
> Mommas are always right. LOL
>
A classic example of disgraceful North American throw away society. It
looks almost new!
There are millions of folks around the world who would give their eye teeth
for something similar.

Good recycling (literally!)

Cheers,

Roy

 

[wafflycat]

"araby" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> A classic example of disgraceful North American throw away society. It
> looks almost new!
> There are millions of folks around the world who would give their eye
> teeth for something similar.
>
> Good recycling (literally!)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Roy
>

Not just North America, we in the UK seem to be closely following. One the
local CTC rides I've been doing is a guy who gets his bikes from the local
rubbish tip... He is cuurently riding a rather nice Bottechia (sp?) MTB with
a set of decent Rock Shocks (sp??) on the front. Apologies for any spelling
errors - I'm not an MTB person - but I can see by looking that the guy got a
good bike for free

Cheers, helen s

p.s. I feel a trip to the local tip coming on ;-)

 

[John_Kane]

maxo wrote:
> She's a character--rides bikes when she's overseas like she was born to,
> but refuses to here since American bikes confuse her. I'd posted
> last year when I fixed her up a Japanese shopping bike--but no go. Hand
> brakes are the devil's lever as far as she's concerned. She wanted a
> normal bike like everybody has in Sweden. You know, four
> generations old, step through, coaster brake.
>
> Found a specimen in an alley on top of a garbage pile. German "Sport2000".
> Frozen hubs, bottom bracket, headset and pedals? Check. Chrome bubbled up
> from rust on wheels? Check. Brown corroded handlebar and crank? Check
> check. LOL
>
> Took it apart to the bearings. Degreased--and surprise--all of the bearing
> races and bearings are super high quality (for this type of bike) and
> clean up great. Service Sachs Torpedo hub--quite cool these to take apart.
> Added lighting, basket, bell, and lock. Sanded, masked, and painted
> wheels, new IRC tires. Partial cork tape on bars for extended hand
> positions. New black/silver chain with two gold links for luck.
>
> Rides really nicely--rolls like there's no resistance! I must have done a
> good job with the bearings.
>
> Best of all--I give it to her, she immediately takes off on the
> not-so-impressive looking beast, comes back fifteen minutes later and
> says: "I told you this is what I wanted in the first place!"
>
> Mommas are always right. LOL
>
> The rustbucket in question:
>
> http://photos21.flickr.com/33474605_bf9f9d6fb0_o.jpg
>
> http://photos23.flickr.com/33474601_bfef7c7a17_o.jpg
>
> http://photos21.flickr.com/33474602_864c5059e7_o.jpg


Looks a bit like the bike I learned to ride on except yours is newer
Mine looked like surplus from the Wizard of OZ.

 

[John_Kane]

[email protected] wrote:
> maxo wrote:
> <snip>
> > Found a specimen in an alley on top of a garbage pile. German "Sport2000".
> > Frozen hubs, bottom bracket, headset and pedals? Check. Chrome bubbled up
> > from rust on wheels? Check. Brown corroded handlebar and crank? Check
> > check. LOL
> <snip>
>
> For my money, that's a beautiful bike.
>
> I get a great buzz out of fixing up and giving away old skip
> (dumpster?) finds and abandonned orphans. You can get a better bike
> for free, excluding lube, a few hours tlc, and the odd
> tire/tube/bearings.

I picked up a decent 24' 'mountain' bike at one of the local dumps last
year, plus a pair of good 26' tires. One lad was building himself a
road bike bit by bit at one dump. I even got a fish poacher and a bio
of Douglas-Bader at one local dump.

Great places to go shopping some times.

John Kane
Kingston ON


>
> Much better deal than a €99 department store special, in price and in
> quality/longevity. Also, on the "vaguely environmentalist" side, it's
> good to recycle, and a shame to see good (in some cases, very good)
> kit, with lots of like left in it being thrown out for want of a little
> attention, and a few € worth of parts.
>
> Good find, nice job of fixing it up, hope she gets many miles out of
> it...
>
> Regards,
>
> bookieb