Bicycle Restorations, Builds and ...

[Mystic]

these times are gone... and meanwhile I started to hate those "open" sundays. The authorities fix a number of sundays in the year, to shops MAY open. Usually 8 to ten, regional differences. It seems to be that on sundays even more people flood the malls and streets than on weekdays. It is horrible to look out of window in the morning, and see traffic jam, fighting people for parking room... instead of sunday quietness. It kills my weekend. I don't want to go out because it is hell outside. Sunday turns to any day.
But otherwise: Sunday is 90% calm and businesses closed. Except some supermarkets over the city as well as turkish stores that are open all weekend, usually in trainstations or other traffic knots.

That is a stark contrast to Sundays in Alsace-Lorraine, where only a handful of boulangeries, cafes, restaurants and a handful of pharmacies are open. Hardly any traffic at all except on the "A" roads (major freeways), and even that is much reduced as it is mainly folks travelling to visit w/ relatives and/or friends for the mid-day meal.

PS: even the IKEA in Metz is closed Sundays

 

[Dynacophil]

lovely

the thing is, the companies that open have to get People working on sundays ... if free will, ok, but when they start pressing people to, i wouldn't like that. I nearly never used the possibility to shop on a sunday.

 

[enricosonic]

Mr E,

I know you don't stop the AK boards much these days (or the past 2-3 years), but just in case, gotta say on my first "full tour" through our Bike Builds thread, this 'ol Panasonic bike of yours is one of my favourites in the thread. Just luv-a-ly a 'ting, 'tis.

Having installed two new Continental "tubulars", a new set of toothed-flattie pedals (w/ toeclips), freshly oiled the chain assembly and installed an "old-guy gland saver" road-race seat in place of the original, hard leather Brooks-style saddle, I today set out on my restored "time capsule" 1983 Miyata Pro Racing Series 1200 and put her through the gears, steep climbs, and flat 'n' fast roads linking various villages (easy 'n' careful @ the roundabouts) of rural France. Got in ~12k before very light drizzle started up, so I got her back to the maison tres vite. Still a bit of cleaning/polishing up to do @ the frame, etc., but she's gettin' closer 'n' to bing a 'new-old-stock" roadie. It's been @ least 20 years since I last road a roadie and the maxim is true: once you learn, y'never forget.

Stop in and shout "hi" sometime, Enrico.

Howdy! Um, what are you doing way over there?
That Panasonic is still in regular use but I have a new project, a mid-80s lugged steel Trek that I'm working on mainly because of its triple chainrings, lots of steep hills here, (it's also Reynolds 531 which is quite light to me). I'm changing out the bars for mustache-style. Never tried those before. I'll post pics when I can.
Cheers.

 

[Mystic]

Howdy! Um, what are you doing way over there?
That Panasonic is still in regular use but I have a new project, a mid-80s lugged steel Trek that I'm working on mainly because of its triple chainrings, lots of steep hills here, (it's also Reynolds 531 which is quite light to me). I'm changing out the bars for mustache-style. Never tried those before. I'll post pics when I can.
Cheers.

Sounds like a good project.

What am I doing way over here? Um, good question. Affordable and reliable healthcare?

 

[enricosonic]

What am I doing way over here? Um, good question. Affordable and reliable healthcare?

I can't argue that.

 

[Frankie's Market]

I saw this for sale locally, right size for me, is this a decent ride?

 

[MaxxVolume]

I saw this for sale locally, right size for me, is this a decent ride?

What you have here is a very nice, mid-range touring bike, probably from around 1980-ish, age-wise. As long as there are no cracks or other frame damage, just clean it up a bit, re-pack all the bearings, mount new tires on it, and it will be ready for another 35 years of reliable service !

 

[Frankie's Market]

Well thanks for the feedback, turns out that while Iwas waiting to hear back from the seller someone else scooped it up. Dang, keep searching...

 

[mech986]

So anyone on this thread have spare parts? I'm looking for an Italian threaded Campagnolo triple bottom bracket. I recently picked up a Campy Nuovo Record triple crankset to adapt onto an Italvega Super Speciale or Superlight I'm building up for a 2017 Eroica ride in Paso Robles in April 2017. Also looking for some 70's era Campy parts to restore the bike as well, plus maybe a Silca Imperio pump, color to be determined.

 

[Mystic]

What you have here is a very nice, mid-range touring bike, probably from around 1980-ish, age-wise. As long as there are no cracks or other frame damage, just clean it up a bit, re-pack all the bearings, mount new tires on it, and it will be ready for another 35 years of reliable service !

Excellent advice. I have done likewise re: full restoration of a 1983 Miyata Pro Racing Series 1200 and (really) could not be more satisfied/pleased w/ the results. It is a fine bicycle: invest the time, patience, and resources to get it right. Good luck w/ the project.

 

[Mystic]

Well thanks for the feedback, turns out that while Iwas waiting to hear back from the seller someone else scooped it up. Dang, keep searching...

Oops, guess i should have read the entire thread before posting my previous reply.

Sorry you "lost" the Centurion, but there are plenty of fish in the sea, my friend.

 

[Frankie's Market]

Oops, guess i should have read the entire thread before posting my previous reply.

Sorry you "lost" the Centurion, but there are plenty of fish in the sea, my friend.

I hope so! been wanting to get a Centurion or something similar for quite awhile. Any suggestions?

 

[Mystic]

I hope so! been wanting to get a Centurion or something similar for quite awhile. Any suggestions?

My first is that you read this entire thread, where you'll learn about plenty of fine suggestions.

 

[mech986]

I hope so! been wanting to get a Centurion or something similar for quite awhile. Any suggestions?

You might consider Classic Rendezvous

 

[Danddd]

I hope so! been wanting to get a Centurion or something similar for quite awhile. Any suggestions?

There are a lot of nice Japanese bikes from the 70's and 80's. I repaired bikes when I was in college. Cheaper bikes always seemed to have the secondary brake controls and ring protector on the crank gears. So many to choose, Fuji(Still have my '72 Finest), Miyata, Nishiki, Panasonic, Centurian etc. Here's a link to start off on: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/japan.html

I would read up on the different models and look for a nice double butted steel frame for starters.

 

[Frankie's Market]

Danddd, thanks for the advice and the link, time to read up and see what I can find!

 

[ecandle]

 

[ecandle]

Centurion barn find love

 

[MaxxVolume]

Centurion barn find love

Wow....NICE time-machine bike !!! I see that the frame is Tange (the Japanese equivalent of Reynolds 531), and I dig that radically-sloping fork crown. Is that a sealed-bearing headset ? What are the other components comprised of ? Clinchers or sew-ups ? Also appears that there`s a pump peg brazed onto the back side of the head tube ?
That bike is way cool !

 

[Frankie's Market]

Picked up a Alpine Designs Fly Mountain Bike today, pretty lightweight, can't find anything about it. Will post pictures tomorrow. Anyone have information on Alpine Designs bikes?