Old Bike Blog

My New Web Comic: Biseekell

2010-05-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

I've started "drawing" a little web comic that's part XKCD and part Yehuda Moon. I'm calling it "Biseekell" after the way I used to pronounce bicycle when I was learning to talk. Since I haven't really advanced in terms of my drawing skills since then, I figured it was appropriate. I have three strips up now, and hope to be adding new ones each week. I don't have a publishing schedule yet, but I'll try to get at least one posted per week.

Biseekell

My New Blog

2010-02-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

Since making my blogging debut in 2007, I have been self-consciously a “bike blogger.” Bicycles are an important part of my life, but they are not the most important, and in fact, I spend comparatively little of my time riding, working on, or thinking about bicycles.

Over time, I’ve begun to realize that being a “bike blogger” is no longer something I’m interested in, at least not at the level I once was. This does not mean that bicycles are not a part of my life; indeed, I would like to emphasize that they are only a part of my life.

In fact, although bicycles themselves are objects that provide me with a sort of satisfaction, I find that I am more interested in what bicycles represent: a more humane and more intimate means of moving through and interacting with my surroundings, both human and material.

In any case, it is very likely that I will no longer be posting at the Old Bike Blog, or at The World Awheel. Both blogs will remain up, although dormant for the foreseeable future. This is especially so for the Old Bike Blog, my first and most useful blog. I hope it will continue to be a resource for other old bike enthusiasts for many years.

I will be blogging regularly about bicycles (and a lot of other things, too) at my new blog, Do Right & Fear Not. Come by, look around, stay if you like.

Cheers,

Thom

Comments Are Posted

2009-12-20T10:56:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting recent comments, I've just started my winter vacation, and have been away from the computer. This will be the situation through the end of the week, so if you leave a comment before December 27, it may take a day or two to post. Thanks for your patience!

San Diego Tweed Ride!

2009-12-18T10:09:00.001-08:00

Photos from the First Annual San Diego Tweed Ride, in which my wife and I rode (sort of, see link below) with our 1955 Huffy Sportsman and 1977 Schwinn Suburban. It even rained, which is pretty rare here.

I posted a ride report here, and there are many more photos at the Velo Cult Bike Shop Blog. Good times!

As the Sprocket Turns

2009-11-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

One of the really wonderful things about writing this blog for the past two and a half years has been watching the different evolutions it has undergone. What started as an amateur's uncertain ramblings has become a genuinely collaborative endeavor, with readers posting questions in the comments, e-mailing me for information and advice, and sharing their own projects. I'm so glad that so many people have found this a useful and friendly place to visit on the Interwebs.

As you have probably noticed, postings here and at The World Awheel have slowed down in recent weeks. I have been devoting more time and energy to advancing my professional (that is, non-bicycle related) goals, and have consequently spent less time both in the garage working on bikes, and at the computer writing about them. This will be the situation for some time to come.

This, however, does not mean that either of my blogs will be shutting down. Rather, they will both be undergoing a bit of a shift in content and frequency of postings. I will also be instituting a fairly strict policy of not responding to technical questions or age/value/identification questions by e-mail. As much as I enjoy offering my advice and opinions and hunting about the Interwebs for useful facts to share with people, I just can't take the time to respond to all of them any longer. I will still welcome Reader Projects submissions, however, and updates from those of you with ongoing projects.

So, I'll keep posting if you keep reading, and I'll look forward to whatever new directions the blog ends up taking (it has always had a bit of a life of its own).

Reader Project: Pete's Mystery "Aircycle" Bike

2009-11-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

Edit: Bernard of Cyclone Coaster has answered in the comments that this is a 1939 Roadmaster built by Cleveland Welding Co. (CWC), USA. Thanks Bernard!

Yeah, I'm still here. Just busy with non-blog and non-bike stuff lately and for the foreseeable future as well, but I'll try to get back to semi-regular blogging here. Thanks to my loyal readers and lurkers for being patient.

This first post after my hiatus is long overdue, I'm afraid. Thanks for your patience, Pete.

This bike was picked up at a garage sale, and could be a Dutch(?) version of a balloon tire cruiser. The tires, in fact, are of Dutch origin (Swift). Pete doesn't think the fenders, chainguard, or rear rim are original, and he knows the Schwinn saddle isn't, but otherwise, there's a lot of interesting stuff here that I don't know anything about. I'm posting most of the photos Pete sent me in the hope that someone out there will know what this is, where it came from, and roughly how old it is.

Digitized Catalogues at the National Cycle Library (UK)

2009-10-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Clicking on the links below will almost certainly lead to sleeplessness, extreme feelings of envy and/or desire, and potential loss of marriage.

Doing some research on Phillips today, I found myself checking in with the website of the British National Cycling Collection. It has been a while since I visited, and to my great surprise and delight, I found that they've digitized much more of their library than they had previously. Of particular note are the scanned catalogues, which provide an excellent reference for period restorations of many British-built bicycles.

Although it doesn't add much to my knowledge of my Raleigh-built 1955 Huffy, the image below of the "genuine" Raleigh equivalent (the Sports Light Roadster) is kind of neat to have as a reference. Now, if only we could still order from these catalogues...

Photos of My Workshop

2009-10-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

Really, it's more of a cave that sort of passes for a garage. We rent a small cottage on a lot with two other houses, a fairly common situation in Southern California. The property is on a hill and the garages for all three places were added as an afterthought sometime in about the 1930s or 1940s. They were sort of carved out from beneath the property and have never been finished or had electricity run to them, so they're pretty primitive. This space is exactly big enough for one car, but I've got five assembled bikes (and three disassembled, presently) in there. I've been working on bikes down there for about a year and finally this summer got around to organizing a workshop of sorts. I cleaned it up yesterday after finishing dismantling the hub donor bike, and though it looked about as good as it was ever likely to, so I took some photos.

Salvaging a Hub, Part II

2009-10-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

The final cleanup on the salvaged Sturmey-Archer TCW III was accomplished by scraping the remaining rust off with a razor blade, then several rounds of polishing with rubbing compound and Brasso. Some areas of the chrome have been cosmetically damaged by the rust, but not the scraping. There has been no structural damage to any of the exterior pieces of this hub. In fact, all cleaned up, many of the bits are in better shape than those on the Huffeigh. I don't post this to gloat (okay, maybe a little), but to demonstrate that even a hub that looks as bad as this one did may be worth a try to salvage and make useable again. Don't give up on bike or on salvage parts just because they look a little rough!

Sweet Ride: The Bicycle Art of Christopher Koelle

2009-10-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

I have a pretty hard and fast policy on not doing commercial posts of any kind, but I also really like to promote the work of independent artists doing interesting work. I mentioned Kara Ginther's hand-carved Brooks saddles briefly in another post recently, so I wanted to give a little blog time to Christopher Koelle, too, especially since his work may be of particular interest to readers of this blog. From his Etsy profile:

My name is Christopher Koelle and I love drawing people with bicycles, especially from the early days of cycling.

The original Sweet Ride art zine sparked in me an ongoing fascination with the history of travel and roads, from the Good Roads Movement of Horatio Earle to the epic, sprawling interstate highways we love and hate today. Sweet Ride is now just the beginning of a progressively larger ongoing body of work about these histories.

Salvaging a Hub

2009-10-11T14:56:00.001-07:00

I know I have lots of updates to give on various projects, which I will hopefully get to this week, but in the meantime, here are some photos of my latest project, which is really just a side project for the Phillips roadster.

My friend Mauricio tipped me off to a cheap junker bike at a local estate sale. I picked up what's left of this 1964 Huffy Sportsman for $10, and I'll probably be able to salvage a few things, but the main thing was the rear hub. It's a Sturmey-Archer TCW III, a three-speed coaster brake hub. Sheldon Brown says the TCW series is unreliable as a coaster hub, citing possible failure of the brake if the cable is not properly adjusted, but for the money, I'm willing to give it a try.

My wife has hinted that perhaps she would like to ride the Phillips when it's finished and she really liked the idea of a coaster brake. I, however, wanted to put a three-speed hub on it, so here's the compromise, which suits all parties. True, it's not period-correct for the Phillips, but the correct K Series Sturmey-Archer hubs seem to be hard to come by and somewhat expensive, and not available in a coaster brake model. We'll have the rod brakes, too, just in case there's a problem with the coaster brake.

Here's a little photo series on my efforts to salvage the hub:

The before photos:

I had to cut the spokes with a pair of aviation snips because the nipples were too corroded to turn and the spokes too rotten to reuse.

Below, the top layer of gunk and rust has been scraped off:

Below, rust removal continues with fine steel wool, penetrating oil, rubbing compound, and even very carefully applied sandpaper over the worst rust spots, never used directly on the chrome.

The external cleanup on this hub is probably about half-finished. I'm hoping for near-pristine by the time I'm done, but it's going to take a lot more elbow grease to get there. I took a peek at the internals, and everything is surprisingly clean in there, so maybe I can get away with not dismantling it entirely.

Mobile Museum of Material Culture

2009-10-11T10:25:00.001-07:00

Artist Kara Ginther has been on the Interwebs a lot lately. You might have seen her hand-carving on leather saddles at To Be, Inspired, or BoingBoing, or Chic Cyclists. While her leatherwork has been getting most of the attention (and rightfully so), I'd also like to mention that Kara has a very neat side project going called the Mobile Museum of Material Culture, which as you can see from the photo above, is powered by an old tandem.

Kara and the MMMC are touring about the Madison, Wisconsin area this fall, so if you're in the area, check out their schedule, and if you're not, see her Flickr set.

Brief History of the Runwell Cycle Company of Birmingham

2009-09-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

Note: There is no official history of the company, and no collection of company records, with the exception of a few scrapbooks at the University of Warwick (UK). Since the author of this article did not have access to these scrapbooks, much of this information has been gathered through Internet research. If you believe any of this information is inaccurate, or if you would like to add something, please feel free to submit corrections or contributions.

For most Britishers, the name Runwell today connotes a mental hospital and community of that name east of London. However, between 1904 and the 1960s, it was also a small bicycle manufacturing firm located in Birmingham. The Runwell Cycle Company produced bicycles of several makes to meet the high domestic and export demand for bicycles in the first half of the twentieth century. By the post-World War II period, the ascendance of major manufacturers like Raleigh, and the declining popularity of bicycling, had forced many smaller companies like Runwell out of existence.

The Runwell Cycle Company was founded by William Henry Jennings (born 1873 in Derby, England). When Jennings was twenty, he moved to Leeds, where he was listed as a “clothier’s traveler.” By 1904, he had moved to Birmingham, where he founded the Runwell Cycle Company on Lawson Street.

Jennings’s granddaughter remembers her grandfather as a kind, generous, and good-hearted man:

My earliest vivid memory of my grandfather is of my grandfather’s 60^th birhday party in London before the war. Grandpa was a member of the Magic Circle and entertained all his small children (grown-ups, too!) with conjuring tricks, to their great delight. During the war, he stayed in London (14 Great Eastern Street) and I visited him there when the war ended.

In 1945 my father had settled in the country in Warwickshire and it was then that grandpa gave me and my brothers a Runwell cycle each, which gave us the much appreciated freedom of being able to roam the countryside during our teen years. Grandpa wrote to us, too, and also gave us very generous birthday presents. I always remember him as being kind and generous and I believe his staff thought this too.

The Runwell Cycle Company started small, but “through sheer hard work and business acumen,” Jennings expanded the business until he had depots and branches in most of Britain’s large towns, and an overseas depot in Java.

One of Jennings’s daughters recalls that:

Father knew all of his workforce by name and never employed anyone who belonged to a Union. There was always a happy atmosphere and we enjoyed going round the factory talking to the people and watching them tune the spokes in the wheels. He used to leave us on the a.m. train and came home twelve hours later and brought work to do on the weekends.

The Runwell company relied on the strength of its bicycle frames and the quality of their construction to sell bicycles, rather than their brand name alone. In their advertising, they advocated quality workmanship and affordability as virtues of a good bicycle. Runwell originally manufactured only bicycles, but by the late 1920s seems to have also begun manufacturing toys and sundries, and by the 1950s had also begun manufacturing parts and accessories for the auto industry. While still focused on building quality bicycles, their earlier advertising claim that, “we concentrate our energies on bicycles alone” fell by the wayside. By the 1960s, the firm was known primarily as a parts and accessories supplier, and no images or examples of advertising could be located after 1961.

The Runwell bicycle in the author’s collection features a distinctive design element of the Runwell brand that was most likely in production in the 1930s: an unusual “rigid safety frame” design that includes an extra angled support connecting the head tube and top tube. Other features of the author’s late 1920s or 1930s model are provided here for reference purposes: rod brake on front wheel, Perry single-speed coaster brake hub on rear wheel, Westwood rims front and back, bottom bracket oiler, hub oilers, 32-spoke front wheel, 40-spoke rear wheel.

I have gathered a gallery of images of Runwell bicycles and advertising here. Hopefully it will grow over time.

*All quotations from original correspondence with Julia Jennings, 28 October 2008.

Here's a Surprise

2009-09-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

It turns out that the Phillips was originally a deep red, not black like I had assumed. The fork steerer tube gives a pretty clear indication that this was the original color. It seems, in fact, that the base coat was black with the red on top, which creates a rather striking and rich red. This could mean that the bike is not pre-war, since most specimens from the 1920s and 1930s seem to have been black. However, at least one pre-war Phillips that I know of had a rather more striking original color scheme. In other words, the color doesn't do much to help date the bike, but it certainly did come as a surprise to me.

Also, I've managed to scrape the yellow paint off the head badge. This will be black, red, and gold when finished, like this one.

My New Project: Phillips Ladies Roadster

2009-09-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

I just picked up this Phillips loop frame ladies roadster. A few bits of the rear rod brake mechanism are missing, the pump braze-ons are broken off, the wheels are wrong, the saddle is after-market, the rear hub was swapped out and replaced with a Bendix single-speed coaster (original would have been a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed, most likely), the mudguards are missing, and it's been painted a horrific yellow (original was black, I'm hoping the decals might still be under there somewhere so they can be reproduced). But the chrome is in good shape and I'm absolutely smitten with the lines. It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of patience to get all the missing bits together, but in the meantime, it's going to be a privilege to have this classy lady in my garage.

PS -- The previous owners told me this was pre-war (which is what they were told when they bought it), and I'm inclined to agree, but I do not have independent confirmation on this. Does anyone know if there is a Phillips serial number guide or any scanned catalogues out there somewhere?

Reader Project: John's 1963 and 1964 Huffy Sportsmen

2009-09-16T09:09:00.001-07:00

Remember John's 1955 Huffy Sportsman that was a brother of a different color to mine? Well, by some strange twist of fate, John came upon two more Raleigh-made Huffys, an almost-identically matched pair, in fact, and decided to restore them as a wedding present for his nephew and bride (the men's is 1963, the women's 1964). The results are astonishing, and John did a fantastic job of documenting his work. We hope the happy couple will spend many enjoyable hours awheel on these lovely bicycles.

Reader Project: JP's 1968 Robin Hood

2009-09-15T10:23:00.001-07:00

Before

One of the great and terrible things about the Interwebs is that you get to meet people of like mind who you wouldn't have had a chance to meet otherwise, and then spend a whole lot of time online discussing the finer points of brake levers, chain guards, and fender stays.

After

Flickr user the-macnab has been working on this 1968 Robin Hood (a mid-level brand of Raleigh) for quite a while, and his friend williamhutchinson was also working to restore a Raleigh Sports, all about the same time I was working on the Huffeigh. The three of us exchanged comments, tips, and frustrations as we worked, and engaged in a sort of long-distance race to finish our respective projects. I believe I finished first, but my project was decidedly less ambitious than either of theirs, and I cut a lot of corners (like painting rusted chrome parts silver instead of replacing them). I'll do another post on William's amazing work on his Raleigh, but this long-promised post is all about the J.P.'s Robin Hood, and it is well-deserved.

Check out his full Flickr set on the restoration process.

Making a Saddle Bag, Part IV

2009-09-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

No real substantial update this time, but I wanted to share some photos of the entire bag finally all stitched up. The top edges haven't been finished yet, the top flap needs some work, and a few spots on the sides need to be reinforced and tightened up, but hey, it's starting to look like a saddle bag finally!

Previously:

Making a Saddle Bag Series

Making a Saddle Bag, Part III

2009-09-09T08:04:00.000-07:00

I've finally had some time in the evenings again to work on this project, but I haven't made a lot of progress. I have one side fully stitched in now, which means the bag is finally taking its proper shape. I ended up getting most of the other side done before I realized it wasn't going together very well (the seam was kind of loose), so I took it out and started over. I'm mostly finished with the second side now too, I just need to stitch up the front edge.

I'm still using a simple back stitch, which seems to be working fine. To sew the sides in, I ended up going with a small curved upholstery needle. Since I'm basically sewing from inside the bag, I find that this needle is really quite necessary.

My earlier suspicions that I somehow made the top flap too short have been confirmed. I'm trying to decide just how I'm going to fix the problem. I think I will probably just try to extend the side flaps (which have yet to make an appearance) around the front, but I'm not sure if I can do that in one piece, or if I should use a separate piece.

Previously:

Making a Saddle Bag, Part II

Making a Saddle Bag, Part I

Can I Make My Own Saddle Bag?

Out of My Way

2009-09-02T11:25:00.001-07:00

On the way home from running some errands this morning, as I approached my turn to go home, I decided that I wanted to keep riding, just for the sheer joy of it. I only went an extra block, but it got me thinking about the difference between riding a bicycle and driving. Whenever I'm driving, I really don't like having to go out of my way, even if it's just a block. As a driver, I've been conditioned (as most have) to expect convenience, and anything that inconveniences me in the car seems like a massive hassle. On a bike, though, a detour just means more time on the bike, and (usually) more fun. When was the last time you decided to drive your car an extra block just for fun?

PS -- One of the errands was to get a different needle for my saddle bag project. Updates on that, and other things, coming soon!

Temporary Interruption to Bike Bag Project

2009-08-29T15:55:00.001-07:00

I know a lot of you are anxious to see how my saddle bag turns out, so I wanted to let you know that my project is temporarily on hold until our current very warm weather passes. About the last thing I want to do of an evening is sit with a heap of wool on my lap. I think it's supposed to be cooler in the next few days, so I'll probably get back to it soon. Never fear.

Bicycles in the Kibbutz

2009-08-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Our friend Yanek of bicyclog in Israel has just posted a lovely photo essay of bicycles on a kibbutz.

Making a Saddle Bag, Part II

2009-08-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

Boy, I had no idea so many people would be interested in my inept efforts to put a saddle bag together! Things are going slowly, but so far, so good. All I've done since my last post is cut and position the four plastic panels (cut from two cheap three-ring binders) that will form the front, bottom, back, and top of the bag. The sides, with their own plastic panels, will be what actually gives the bag its shape.

In the photo below, I've just pinned the panels into place, but last night I got two panels fully stitched in. I'm using what my wife tells me is a backstitch, which she showed me how to do. I started off pretty slow, but by the end of the evening, I was getting much faster and more confident with my stitches. Once the panels are all sewn in and all the pins are removed, the bag will finally start to take shape as I begin the process of attaching the side panels to the body of the bag.

Previously:

Making a Saddle Bag, Part I

Can I Make My Own Saddle Bag?

New Blog: Bike San Diego

2009-08-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Calling all San Diego bicycle bloggers, riders, shop owners, advocates, enthusiasts, and anyone with an interest in sustainable urban development! A small group of San Diego bicycle bloggers has just launched a new site called, appropriately, Bike San Diego. Drawing inspiration from sites such as BikePortland and Streetsblog, the primary mission of Bike San Diego is simple: to provide a one-stop source for bicycle-related news, events, and advocacy in America's Finest City. This is an all-volunteer effort at citizen journalism by and for bicycle riders in metro San Diego and San Diego County.

BikeSD.org is in pre-launch status right now; the site is up and content is flowing, but the editors are accepting suggestions from the community as the site takes shape. This is your site, riders of San Diego, be the change you would like to see in the world and help us provide content that is relevant to you! Please send your comments, suggestions and tips by filling out the Contact Us form at BikeSD.org.

Monday Pet Peeve

2009-08-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

I think it's just coincidence that these things occur to me on Mondays. I came across a reference to "casual" urban bicyclists today and it started me thinking about how much I hate that word when it's used to refer to people who don't ride for sport. Just because I don't have a racing bike, wear lycra, or clip-in to my pedals doesn't mean I'm "casual." Sure, I ride for fun sometimes (it's always fun, after all), but I also run errands and do all of our household grocery shopping by bike. It certainly doesn't feel casual when I'm grinding up a hill with 30 lbs. of groceries in my baskets, and that's really not the word I would use to describe my assertive lane-taking and hyper-awareness of my surroundings while riding. Non-competitive? Sure, I'll own that. But casual? Hardly.

Making a Saddle Bag, Part I

2009-08-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here we go. The first thing I did (this was weeks ago) was to take some rough measurements of the original bag (I'll post them in a wrap-up post at the end of the series) and translated that into a paper mock-up. Why did I do this? I'm a visual learner, that's why. I needed to know that this was possible, physically in space. Whatever, that's how I think.

Then, after I picked out some fabric, I disassembled my paper mock-up and laid the pieces out on the fabric to cut out the pattern. I cut approximately a 1" seam allowance around each piece. I'm double-layering the bag, so I did two cut-outs for each piece seen below. The small pieces that would have been the side flaps for the top have not been cut out yet, but I'll come back to that later.

At this point, I decided that I was going to need to incorporate some sort of stiffening material, since the wool itself was too floppy. I decided on the flexible plastic cover of a small three-ring binder, cut to fit. I am stitching this stiffener between the layers of wool on the two side panels as well as the front, bottom, back, and top flap of the bag.

Below, I've sewn the stiffener into the two side panels and then pinned the side panels to the piece of fabric that forms the front, bottom, back, and top flap. I did this so that I could get an idea of what size I need to cut the rest of the stiffener panels. I'll do four separate panels: front, bottom, back, and top flap (although I may just triple-layer the top flap so it's not too stiff). In the photo below, I've stuffed the bag with napkins to give it some shape.

What I discovered in the process is that the top flap seems to be a bit too short. I think to fix this, I'll cut one single piece that will be sewn to the top flap, and that will run around the sides and front and overhang just a bit. If that's not clear, I think it will be later on. Anyway, so far, so good.

Previously: Can I Make My Own Saddle Bag?

Bike Entrance

2009-08-18T20:26:00.001-07:00

A very nice photo of my 1955 Huffy/Raleigh Sportsman by Adrienne of Change Your Life, Ride a Bike! Thanks Adrienne!

Cottered Crank Appreciation Society

2009-08-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

I really like cottered cranks. The more I work with them, the more I like them. Maybe it's the contrarian in me, but I like that they are considered antiquated technology, and I like that most bike people have a low opinion of them, or don't have a clue about how they work. I like that they're slightly more complicated than they need to be, and I like the fact that they are also ridiculously simple. I like the collection of esoteric knowledge and the little tips and tricks that you pick up about working on them.

I've had three running conversations lately about working with stuck cotters and other finer points of cotter extraction. This, along with more experience, has made me want to update my "how to" posts about cottered cranks from last year (I'm not even going to link to them because I don't think they're very good). I'll be doing a new series of more detailed posts in the near future, but in the meantime, you are welcome to join my new Cottered Crank Appreciation Society. Our motto: "Oil it, clamp it, whack it."

Can I Make My Own Saddle Bag?

2009-08-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have no idea, but I'm going to try.

This ratty old nylon saddle bag came with my 1955 Huffy Sportsman and was probably originally supplied along with the Huffy's Taiwan-made saddle to appeal to American consumers who wanted the look of an English 3-speed without the cost, or who perhaps just didn't know any better.

Being the thrifty fellow that I am, I just cannot bring myself to hand over $100-$130 for an imitation leather saddle bag made by Brooks, and even less willing to pay almost $400 for a real leather one. And the bags at Velo-Orange and other places, while perfectly lovely in their own right, are just not what I'm looking for.

I'm using the old bag to create a pattern, and I've already made a mock-up out of paper. Over the weekend, I bought a yard of a nice, tweedy-looking wool remnant at the fabric store ($3.98) and I'll track down some leather and buckles to make straps.

I will disclose readily that I have zero sewing ability, although I have had some experience bodging together split seams and popped buttons. I will be trying to do this completely by hand, without mechanical aid. We'll see what happens.

An Analog Mind in a Digital World

2009-08-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

I don't blog about blogging much, but it seems the OBB is getting noticed lately by folks who would like me to take advantage of their services to make my blog better. I usually get a few press releases and solicitations, but not many. Lately, however, I've been contacted by the very persistent folks at the health site Wellsphere, who want to add my blog to their listing. I think it's weird, since this isn't a health blog at all.

I've also been contacted by people at feed aggregation services, who want to make it easier for potential readers to subscribe to my posts. Apparently, I'm supposed to provide them with a description of my blog so that people know what they're getting before they sign up for a feed. Here's a thought: read the blog before you sign up! That way, you'll know what you're getting. Anyway.

All the attention has made me think for a moment about how and why I run this blog. I guess I think of it more like a self-printed newsletter. Instead of printing and stapling thousands of copies and handing them out at the grocery store, I'm putting it up on the Interwebs and letting people find it. Based on the number of times the OBB comes up in my own random Google searches for old bike stuff, it seems like the right people are finding me (right people = those who find my posts either useful or interesting).

So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not going to exert any effort whatsoever to increase my readership, but I'll just keep electronically handing out my little newsletter outside the virtual grocery store and figure that folks will either read it, or throw it away as they see fit. It doesn't bother me one way or the other. That being said, however, I'm also psyched that almost 90 people are now "following" this blog through Google. I like having readers because it means I must be providing something worth reading, but somehow it seems disingenuous to me to actually pursue means to increase my readership. Anyway, if you've made it this far through this Andy Rooney-esque post, you're probably one of my regular readers, so I guess I'll just close by saying thanks for reading.

Oh Portland, What Will You Think of Next?

2009-08-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I really wish I was back home in Oregon. Okay, well all the time, but stuff like this makes me want to be there even more.

Local Bike Shop Runs Cash for Clunkers Sales Promo

[via Bike Portland]

Monday Pet Peeve

2009-08-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

The word bike is derived from the word bicycle. The "bi" part indicates two (as in wheels), while the "ke" evokes the hard "c" in cycle. A bicycle is a human-powered, two-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle is not a bicycle, and thus is not a bike. If we followed the same etymological logic, a motorcycle would be a moke, not a bike. Allowances will be made for the word motorbike, which is acceptable. That is all.

Reader Project: Guiseppe's Vendor's Tricycle

2009-08-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Friend of the OBB, Guiseppe (whose 1973 Schwinn tandem was one of the first Reader Projects) recently sent me photos of his new project, a vendor's tricycle of unknown make and vintage.

"A few days ago I found, beside a dumpster headed for the trash, a fixed gear vendor tricycle. Looks like it was once used to sell ice cream. The vending box is completely rotten, but the frame and all the bike stuff are great. Dirty, a bit rusty and in need of paint, but nothing I can't manage. A good friend of mine is a carpenter, and we plan to build a whole new unit for the front."

It looks like an amazing project, and I hope we'll be seeing some after photos soon.

Rediscovering the Value of Repair

2009-08-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Our local newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune is pretty much a waste of time. Most of the time. Today, they're running a story headlined: "If it's broke, many consumers fixing it." Ignore the grammar, the content is actually okay.

But what the U-T misses in their story about saving money by repairing, rather than replacing broken appliances, household items, shoes, etc. is the experiential value gained by doing simple repair jobs yourself. Of course, this is not something our culture as a whole is very comfortable with. Doing your own repair is often seen as demeaning, a waste of time, or just downright impossible. The attitude, "why should I do it when I can pay someone else to do it" still prevails, even in tough economic times. It's an incredibly priviledged attitude, and it's deeply engrained in the psyche of American consumers.

My advice is to just try to do your own repairs. Start small on something with pretty low stakes. Fashion a new handle for that box fan whose original plastic handle snapped off years ago (that's what I'm about to do), gain some confidence and move on to something bigger. The point is not only to save money, but to gain something more valuable: independence, competence, creativity, and pride in your work. Even if it's just a box fan handle, making something work again in a world that often seems broken is no small achievement. If anything good is to come out of this bad economic situation, it's not consumer confidence, it's consumer competence.

Blog Love: The Mixte Gallery

2009-08-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Boy, it has been a while since I did a blog love feature. What better way to get back into it than by promoting a new blog by an OBB reader. The Mixte Gallery, run by our friend Doohickie, delivers what it promises, and it needs your mixtes; or photos of them, at least. Not sure what a mixte is?

PHOTO: Lovely Bicycle!

Old is the New New

2009-08-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

While I've been taking some time away from blogging, I've been getting emails from a whole bunch of people with old bikes. Some are from readers who want to share photos and stories about their bikes, which I love, while some have been one-liners: "how old and/or valuable is my bike" -- which I hate. Short answers: "I don't know" and "not very."

But anyway. So, I guess I'm back to blogging now. Here are some old bikes from readers. Enjoy!

John's 1969 Schwinn Racer, 1974 Schwinn Breeze, and 1977 Schwinn Speedster:

And Wayne's 1970s Fleetwing and 1964 Raleigh Superbe:

Time for Tweaking

2009-08-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

The OBB is undergoing some design/cleanup maintenance, so please bear with any temporary irregularities in font, layout, etc. Comments will not be affected.

Easy Does It

2009-07-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

I had an experience this afternoon that I suspect is common to folks who work on bicycles, or any intricate mechanical devices. I started what I imagined would be a fairly simple task, only to find myself embroiled in what became a significant project.

Yesterday, while on my weekly grocery run, I sat back on the Columbia on a smooth stretch of bike lane (rare around here) and noticed an odd, rhythmic bump from the back wheel. These things can be hard to notice in San Diego due to the overall wretched condition of the streets, but I don't think this had been going on for very long.

Yesterday was a busy day, so when I got home, I put the bike away and didn't think much more about it. I figured the wheel just needed to be trued (see also: terrible condition of the streets), and I made time to do it this afternoon. When I went to the garage this afternoon, I flipped the bike over (no work stand) and started checking spokes, figuring on maybe a ten-minute task. But then I found the culprit. Not just a rim out of true, but a broken spoke, snapped off at the hub flange. Arg.

Well, it just so happens that one of my idiot neighbors in the building behind us had thrown away a perfectly good 26-inch wheel simply because the tube had gone flat. Right, the whole wheel for a flat tube, I know.

So anyway, I had some extra spokes. Of course, it's no small thing to change a spoke, especially in a rear wheel. First, the wheel comes off, which on a three-speed involves messing up your carefully-adjusted shifter cable, then the tire and tube, then you have to fish out the broken spoke, then take off the sprocket in order to get the new spoke laced in because it's in the way.

The better part of an hour later, I'm sweating, grumbling, aching, my hands are a peculiar shade of blue-black, and I've finally got the whole mess back together with the new spoke laced in. Whoo. So then, with the wheel back in the dropouts, I start tightening it down again. But now I'm having trouble getting the bearing cone adjusted properly and the hub is running stiffly and noisily. The wheel went on and came off about three times, and I kept noticing more little problems. They seemed to be snowballing as I worked. Things that hadn't been wrong before were now mysteriously going wrong.

By now, without realizing it, I was in full crazy person mode: walking around stooped over, smeared with grime, muttering and swearing out-loud. An innocent pedestrian walked by (our garage is right on the street), shot me an apprehensive look, and made a distinctly wide berth around me.

I suddenly became aware of just how badly I was working. Because I had experienced some setbacks and some things weren't going as smoothly as I thought they should, I had started working quickly and sloppily, I was irritated and not enjoying what I was doing. That, of course, is why things seemed to be going wrong; I was causing problems by being careless.

I checked myself, straightened up, wiped some of the grime off, took a drink of water, and adjusted my attitude. This is, after all, supposed to be something I enjoy, not something that turns me into the kind of person others avoid. I had lost sight of my goals, I was focusing only on the problems, and I was getting wrapped up in all the niggling details. As soon as I slowed myself down, the incomprehensible problems before me seemed to sort themselves into distinct categories, and the solutions became obvious.

That moment of pulling back, stepping away, collecting yourself, is all-important, because it’s then that you can literally put some distance between yourself and the problem you are confronting. It’s a moment we often neglect in other parts of our lives, but working on a physical, mechanical problem forces us to acknowledge the need to relax our tight focus somewhat, and to revisit the larger world in which we are functioning, hunched over, covered in grime, swearing under our breath.

I'll not claim to have discovered the secret to happiness while changing out a broken spoke, but this kind of work does lend itself to self-reflection, and I'd like to think I came away with more than just a fixed wheel.

The Wheels of Justice...

2009-07-28T10:25:00.001-07:00

Edit: I've been re-subpeonaed for early September.

...need their bearings cleaned and repacked.

I've been promising a few folks that I would blog about the car v. bicyclist road rage incident I witnessed last year, but the case (in which I was scheduled to testify this morning) has been continued, which means it will come up again, and I'll be subpoena'd again. I don't want to compromise my testimony in any way, so I'm not going to give the details of the incident yet. Mind you, this happened about ten months ago at this point. I'll keep you posted.

See, I told you...

2009-07-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

...that old bikes are just as good as new ones. This caught my eye in a story at the San Diego News Network about two environmental advocates who bicycled from Vancouver to Tijuana to raise awareness of the plastic pollution in the North Pacific Gyre:

“Our bikes are both reused bikes,” Eriksen said of the bike he just rode for 2,000 miles. “The point is that it doesn’t take a huge investment to get a bike and to start riding it.”

I agree.

Read the story.

Another Year Older

2009-07-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

The OBB is TWO years old as of yesterday! I celebrated the event by taking the Columbia, my first restoration, on a grocery run and then I made another one today. Huzzah for transportational bicycling! Thanks to all my loyal readers (81 Followers as of today, plus all the other feed-readers and lurkers), you folks rock!

Bicycle Chic(?) San Diego

2009-07-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

I've been away on vacation, so haven't been posting for a while. Now I'm back, so I'll try to get a post up every once in a while. Summer is a hard blogging season, 'cause I'm out actually doing stuff and have less time to write about it.

Thought I'd share this photo of my wife and I taken on this month's Mid-City Bike Blast ride, which toured community and private food gardens in the City Heights area of San Diego. It was a great ride. In the photo, I've gallantly offered my cycling cap to my wife, who was worried about sunburn, flipped up my collar, and soldiered-on. We actually look pretty happy, no?

Original photo (and others from the ride) here.

Reader Project: John's 1955 Huffy/Raleigh Sportsman

2009-07-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit slow in getting this posted, but John and I have been exchanging emails as he has been busy resurrecting this lovely 1955 Huffy/Raleigh Sportsman he found on Craigslist-- just like mine, only red. Notice the Raleigh-style fork that has been added to replace the original. John finished his work very quickly, especially considering this was his first old bike project. He has lots more photos of his process here.

There, I Fixed It

2009-07-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Just came across the blog There, I Fixed It, which seems to be some sort of cousin to FAIL Blog. In any case, I thought my readers might appreciate some of the "fixes" that people come up with. I like this one. Fire bicycle. Very clever.

I recently wrote a post at The World Awheel that's sort of relevant to the idea of creative solutions to problems, which readers here might also find interesting.

July Mid-City Bike Blast

2009-06-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

Just received the announcement for the July Mid-City Bike Blast ride, and it sounds like an exceptionally awesome ride! If you live in San Diego, or within a reasonable distance, this is one you don't want to miss:

"You are cordially invited to July 11^th Bike Blast! We will meet at the City Heights Farmer’s Market at 10:00 AM, leaving at 10:30 AM. Teaming up with San Diego Food Not Lawns, this month we will be stopping at different gardens: elementary school, community, and private gardens in the Mid City area. People who work on these gardens will be there to show us around, and maybe even let us share their produce! Bring something to carry your veggies: a bag, a backpack, a basket, or panniers. We ask that children under 10 are accompanied by an adult or older sibling. We will be going at a slow, conversational pace, and bring your helmet! We will do our best to stick together, but if you get too far behind, you will be on your own. After the ride, stay and shop at the City Heights Farmer’s Market!"

So Much Park, So Few Picnics

2009-06-28T15:38:00.001-07:00

Balboa Park and its satellite neighborhood parks are so vast, we could have a picnic every weekend for a year and never have it in the same place twice. We just might!

The Favored Son

2009-06-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

As my bicycle stable has, well, stabilized for the time-being, I'm finding that I do not love all my children just the same. I find myself drawn to the Huffeigh even for errands that might better belong to either the Columbia or the Schwinn.

Two nights ago, I ran to the market for beer, a half-gallon of milk, and one of those little watermelons. It ended up being quite a heavy little load of stuff. Instead of taking the Columbia or the Schwinn, which are better-equipped to take this kind of load, I couldn't resist the stately allure of the Huffeigh, with its new Brooks saddle and cork grips and bell and gleaming black paint. I was a little surprised to find that the whole disproportionately heavy load fit quite nicely into the little basket I've mounted on the rear rack, and I had no trouble at all.

The bikes have also fallen into clear roles: the Columbia is the work-horse, the grocery bike, the long-hauler. It sits me forward a bit more, the saddle is higher, and I feel like I pedal it more efficiently -- better for hard work. The Runwell, which has been idle for some time awaiting new tires, is always going to be the older gentleman who doesn't get out much, I'm afraid. And the Schwinn, well, the Schwinn is quite comfortable, but ungainly and heavy.

But the Huffeigh is just the right combination of all three: it can carry a load, it's sufficiently old, and it's very comfortable. I just like it, is all. So now we're about to go on a picnic, and although I probably should take one of the other bikes, I think it's going to be the Huffeigh again.

Bikes in the House

2009-06-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were a kid, and you were so enamored of your bicycle that you wanted to ride it everywhere? And your mother said, "No bikes in the house!" Well, maybe it's the little kid in me who was denied the joy of bringing his bike into the house, but there's something about having a bicycle inside that makes me very happy. I'm lucky enough to have a safe, sheltered place to keep my bikes outside of the house, but I brought the Huffeigh up for a bit of cleaning and adjustment tonight, and I've been enjoying having it in the living room as an objet d'art.

I also take inordinate satisfaction in cleaning, checking, and adjusting all the little bits. Especially with old bikes, which can sometimes be temperamental, it's important to do monthly or weekly safety checks. Because I rebuilt both of these wheels myself, I'm a little paranoid about the wheels, so I check spoke tension and rim trueness, and I'm perennially making adjustments to the brakes. There's something about checking in with the bike, doing all the little maintenance things, that gives me a great deal of satisfaction. It stems, I think, from what motivated me to get into old bikes in the first place: getting to truly know and understand and maintain your own form of transportation. There's something very simple and yet very liberating about that.

Little Help?: Alvia/Express Werke Bicycle

2009-06-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

Mauricio, whose Huffy Sportsman project was recently featured, has also picked up this very unusual three-speed bicycle of unknown vintage. It's sitting in my garage while I do some research on it, and try to determine what it needs for a restoration. Here are some pics and brand names we've found on the bike:

Head badge: Alvia

Seat tube: Express Werke

Shifter/Hub: Tornado (or Tornedo?) Edit: that's a Fichtel & Sachs "Torpedo"

Dynamo and Lights: Schmitt's

It looks to have been set up as a higher-end commuter for its day (whenever that was). The rims are aluminum, as are the fenders, and the bars look like the little riser bars you see today on fixed gears. I'll throw it open to the group. Any thoughts on age? The shifter and hub indicate "Mod. 55" but that doesn't seem to be the year. Edit: the F&S Torpedo Model 55 was used between 1955-1962. There's also a peeling decal on the front fender that appears to be an American Indian. Little help? Anybody?

New Saddle for the Missus

2009-06-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not the only one getting new sits around here. I found a good deal on this Schwinn saddle for my wife's 1977 Schwinn Suburban. The saddle that was on there was a newer and very crappy saddle designed for road bikes. It was too narrow and had no springs whatsoever and was not at all a good match for the bike. As a general rule, the more upright your riding posture, the wider and more heavily-sprung your saddle should be.

The new saddle has only been on a short ride when we ran some errands last weekend, but it has already proven its superiority. When we got home, my wife exclaimed: "Hey, my butt doesn't hurt." Good.

Updates to the Huffeigh

2009-06-09T12:49:00.001-07:00

Or, the trouble with buying leather saddles of largely unknown age and condition on eBay.

Be fairly warned. Towards the end of Sunday's Down Townies ride, my used Brooks B72 broke; tore apart right at the nose rivets. It wasn't dramatic or painful, and I knew exactly what happened right away. At least I was able to put a few dozen miles on it before it broke. And, fortunately enough, I had hinted strongly to my wife of my desire for a new Brooks B66 as a graduation present, and it happened to be ready on the afternoon this one broke. While picking up my new saddle at the shop, I also finally picked up a kickstand.

It's feeling good to get the Huffeigh outfitted as a daily rider. I had hoped, while I was investing many hours of work on it, that this bike would be a good ride, and I haven't been disappointed. Now that it's shaping up to be my main ride, I'm getting exciting about doing all of the finishing touches. I've also put on a salvaged rear rack and basket, figured out how to attach the chainguard without it rubbing, and together with the new saddle and kickstand, it becomes that much more useful and complete as a mode of transportation. Next, I'd really like to find a new retro-ish-looking headlamp and dynamo, and also get a pump for the frame.

How To Dismantle a Sturmey-Archer Grip Shifter

2009-06-05T16:26:00.001-07:00

After another evening of work on Mauricio's 1969 Huffy/Raleigh Sportsman, I took the grip shifter home to try to figure it out. Turns out, it's pretty simple on the inside, but since I couldn't find any how-to guides on the interwebs about it, I thought I'd post one.

The whole works is basically held together by a little spring clip that fits just under the lip of the dial portion of the grip. I used a small screwdriver to pry the clip out of its channel. In the photo below, you see the clip after removal.

With that done, the housing for the shifter (at left above) just comes off (assuming you've already removed the screw that tightens the shifter to the handlebar), exposing the minimal inner workings of the mechanism. There are basically three parts: a small spring, a bearing, and the rotating mechanism to which the cable is attached. The spring sits in a little hole, and the bearing on top of the spring. When the grip is turned, the bearing slides into one of three holes in the rotating mechanism, either tightening or loosening the shifter cable, and thus shifting the hub.

In the photo above, you can see the rotating mechanism at right with the red indicator arrow on it. Below, you can see the spring in its hole, with the bearing resting on top.

That's about it. I haven't put the thing back together yet, but I'm guessing that making sure the cable and bearing stay in place while the spring clip is reattached is going to require at least one more hand than I currently have. I'll have to look into getting another one.

There's a fuzzy diagram here of the whole works, and if you combine it with the photos above, you can get a pretty good idea of how it all works. Apparently, though, this was not a very successful design and seems to have only been on 1960s bikes.

Reader Project: Mauricio's 1969 Huffy Sportsman

2009-06-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ah, the wonders of the interwebs and the machinations of fate. Mauricio happened to take a wrong turn the other day, and when he stopped to ask directions, noticed the white tail of this Raleigh-made Huffy Sportsman peeking out of a garage. He asked if the bike was for sale, and lo and behold, took this lovely specimen home for a mere $10. Pretty good haul for getting lost.

So then, whilst Googling "Huffy Sportsman" he found my blog, and (this is the best part) discovered that we live only about twenty minutes away from each other. Long story short, that's Yours Truly in some of the photos below.

I went over to Mauricio's last night and we got started taking things apart. This is Mauricio's first old bike project, and it's perfect for learning. The cables are all broken, the rust is pervasive, but not impossible, and much of the chrome appears to be nearly pristine under the thickest coat of road/storage grime I've ever seen. It took a fair amount of work to even find the date stamp on the hub. The really cool thing is that this bike is equipped with a Sturmey-Archer grip-shifter, which I've never worked on before, so I get to learn something new.

More photos to come as Mauricio and I get our hands dirty and get his bike ready to roll again.

Images: Except for the one at top, all photos by Mauricio.

Just a Photo to Keep You Interested

2009-06-02T11:14:00.001-07:00

While my substantive blogging slows down. BTW, the rust on the Huffeigh's rims (seen above), which I could not remove (trust me, it's not going anywhere) has proven to be a fantastic benefit in the rain. Anyone with steel rims can tell you they don't brake worth a hoot when wet, but the extra texture of the rust seems to help. In fact, I didn't notice much difference from my normal brake performance.

Schwinn Tire Sizing

2009-05-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

Left: Original Schwinn S-5 Right: Kenda Replacement

A commenter recently asked about where to find tires to fit a Schwinn Racer. This is a common enough question, so I thought I'd do a post about it. I should point out that I don't really know anything about tire sizes on other models of Schwinn, just the 3-speeds that supposedly take a 26 x 1 3/8" tire.

The thing is, a 26 x 1 3/8" English-size tire (or tyre, if you will) is not the same as a Schwinn-size 26 x 1 3/8" tire. I know, I know. Schwinn had a different rim/tire sizing system where rims were sized S-5, S-6, S-7 and so on. My 1961 Schwinn Racer, and other Schwinn three-speeds of similar vintage, came with either an S-5 or S-6 rim, which are the same size and will take the same tire/tube (the shape of the rim is slightly different, but does not affect the size).

The only tires that I could find on the market today in this size are made by Kenda, and they're not at all expensive. Harris Cyclery sells them online here. By the way, the I.S.O. (International Organization for Standarization) number for these is 37-597, which may help if you can get your local bike shop to order them for you. Cosmetically, they're a good match for the original tires (see above).

Clear as mud? For more on Schwinn tire sizing, see a lively discussion here. And, of course, Sheldon Brown weighed in on the topic here. Anyone with other (better) info should post it in the comments below. I just hope Kenda keeps making those tires.

Gallery of Old Bicycling Images

2009-05-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

The Chicago Tribune has put up a sweet little gallery of bicycles and bicycling from its archives.

What she's really saying: "Son of a bitch, this thing weighs a ton!"

LINK

The Good Kind of Traffic

2009-05-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Folks, I'm very happy that the OBB is getting more readers than ever, and I'm always glad to receive reader emails and comments. Back when I was only getting a few at a time, I tried to respond to every comment and write back to every email. I'd still like to do that, but as traffic here picks up, so does the work going on in other parts of my life, so I'm going to post a standing apology to anyone who was expecting a reply to a comment, or who hasn't received an email back from me yet. Sometimes they fall through the cracks, sometimes I miss them entirely, and sometimes I just don't get around to responding for a while. Best to keep bugging me, and eventually I'll respond.

I also mentioned a few posts ago that blogging in general is slowing down for me right now, which is still holding true, so posts here are going to be less frequent than they were for a while. But I'm still here, so while you wait for a new post, go back and read through the archives, there's a ton of good stuff there. Or, better yet, go for a bike ride!

Bayshore Bikeway

2009-05-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

I frequently encounter the perception that old bikes are only good for short runs to the grocery store or the park, and that they're too fragile or slow or clunky to take on longer rides. This couldn't be farther from the truth, and especially so with old 3-speeds, many of which were built to be touring bikes, not just city bikes or leisure bikes. I proved this point today (without really specifically intending to) by taking my 1971 Columbia Sports III on its longest ride yet, about 30 miles round trip.

My route was primarily the Bayshore Bikeway, which you can find detailed with a map here. I packed a picnic, the camera, and lots of water (I sweat a lot) into the rear baskets and set out. There is something so normal, and yet so special about making a trip like this by bicycle. In the car, it would be a chore, but on the bike, it's an adventure.

First, I had to get downtown, which is where the route begins. The best way from my 'hood is to take Park Boulevard down to Broadway. It's mostly downhill and fairly wide. I turned west on Broadway and followed it all the way to the Broadway pier, where the trail starts beside Harbor Drive in a lovely bayfront park. Except for a few taxis whose turn signals apparently didn't work (grrrr), it was an uneventful ride through downtown.

Most of the route down Harbor Drive has a bike lane, if you could call it that. I might as well have been off-road. Just terrible. The photo below shows one of the better stretches.

Anyway, you take Harbor all the way down to National City, then you get on the Sweetwater Bike Path, a separated path with some pretty cool bike infrastructure running under I-5. I wish I'd taken a photo. From there, it's pretty much all seperated bike path down through Chula Vista and Imperial Beach and around the southern tip of San Diego Bay. The highlight for me was the desalination plant with evaporating ponds and giant mounds of salt.

Then, up the Silver Strand on another seperated bike path all the way into the city of Coronado. The path along here is separated from the beach by the roadway and a fence, but in the Silver Strand State Park, there are several tunnels that will take you under to the ocean/beach side.

In the city of Coronado itself, wonder of wonders, is a bike boulevard, with a fully separated, landscaped, and perfectly maintained two-way bikeway. There were so many cyclists on it that I couldn't stop to take a photo (and my panda skills are zilch). I was almost able to imagine what it must be like in Amsterdam or Copenhagen. I wish I had reason to ride this way more often, because it's really wonderful.

Finally, I caught the ferry from Coronado back to the Broadway pier, fought my way east on Broadway (it wasn't that bad, really, but traffic was pretty heavy), then back up Park, which was way less fun going up than down. Total cost for the five and half-hour outing: $3.25 for the ferry, and no worries about filling up the tank, finding parking, finding the right exit off the freeway, etc.

I got passed by a lot of spandex-clad speedsters on very expensive bikes, but it was very clear that they were on a different sort of outing than I was. They were on a "bike ride," while I was just using my bike to get to a new place I hadn't been yet. I saw a few like me, but not many, so while it was cool to see such amazing bicycle infrastructure being well-used, it was a little disheartening to see that the bikeway as transportation idea still has a long way to go around here. Probably it had a lot to do with when I went, and I bet I'd see some commuters if I was there on a weekday morning. All in all, a very excellent day.

Reader Project: Adrienne's 1962 Columbia Roadster

2009-05-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Well, her daughter Úna's, actually. Adrienne is one of the principals at the new blog Change Your Life, Ride a Bike! She found this 1962 Columbia Roadster on Craigslist and overhauled it for her daughter to use. Check out the full photo set on Flickr. Says Adrienne:

"Blue is a 1960's Columbia Roadster. I bought her for $40 from a man named August after deciding it was time to learn how to take care of my own bike. There are 5 cyclists in my family, and with kids growing out of or breaking bikes on a daily basis, my husband is kept quite busy being the family pit crew. So, while James built up our Xtracycle, I took the bike stand next to him and learned how to take apart and rebuild Blue.

The bike Gods looked kindly upon me for this project. I have old and quite serious neck injuries that leave me with less than optimal hand strength. Every time I approached a bolt I did so with trepidation- would this be the frozen one? When I picked Blue up, she had been outside for a while and was very rusty and dirty, so I figured there would be a lot of frozen bolts. There was not a single one! At some point she had been completely serviced and put back together by a bike shop, so everything was done right, she had just been neglected.

The biggest job, by far, was dealing with the rust. The paint was very solid in some places, and pitted and corroded in others. I had originally thought I would repaint her, but there was no way to match the glorious blue, and after using some copper wool and penetrating oil on the whole frame, I found that the anomalies in the paint were beautiful in and of themselves. They gave Blue a patina that spoke of her past. A bike with history is a great bike, and after finding the original owner's name engraved on the underside of the bottom bracket (Caroline) by I assume her father, I decided to keep her as is. I smoothed her out and gave her 8 coats of polish. It was the right decision, she is lovely!

Blue now belongs to my daughter, Úna. She loves her new bike! Now I need to find one for me!"

Green Clean in Action

2009-05-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Yours Truly to restore an old bike, fellow San Diego bike blogger Beany has tried the environmentally-friendly cleaning techniques featured once upon a time in Shelly's guest post, and I wanted to share the dramatic results. BTW, I really hope Shelly and I can get another set of guest posts up sometime soon on each others' blogs. Life has a way of getting busy, and before you know it, it's five months later. Urgh. Sorry about that. In the meantime...

Oh, Canada! Addendum

2009-05-21T22:45:00.001-07:00

Elaine sent me these photos of her beautiful 1966 CCM Galaxie after seeing my earlier posts about Canadian bikes, so I'm posting them in the interest of getting more information (or photos, at least) on the interwebs about CCMs. Just look at all that chrome!

Bad Blogging, Grocery Shopping

2009-05-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

Urg, I've been (and will continue to be) busy lately, so the blogging is slowing down, even as the riding is picking up. That, and I'm trying to spend less time in front of the computer. I wanted to check in, though, and post about the first real grocery run on the Columbia. I packed a picnic into the rear baskets a couple of weeks ago, but this was the first genuine trip to the grocery store. Smooth as silk, no worries at all.

My typical grocery day involves two stores, and the car. This is a weekly trip. Today, I did the first store in the car, which is kind of necessary (okay, well, at least very convenient), and the second on the bike. Even though it's not much, it feels great to have eliminated at least part of the driving. And now you know what brand of toilet paper we buy. Too much information? Nah.

Change Your Life, Read This Blog!

2009-05-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

First, I'm way behind on blogging this week. I've got an article manuscript revision due tomorrow that I've been trying to finish, so most of my attention has been on that. I'm also behind on responding to emails, so if you've emailed me this week, I'll get back to you soon.

Second, friends of the OBB, Adrienne Johnson and meligrosa (of Bikes & The City) have teamed up to start a new blog called Change Your Life, Ride a Bike! Their new endeavor will feature reader-submitted stories and photos about how riding a bicycle has changed people's lives. My own submission is here. There's also a Flickr group, which will serve as a photo pool for the blog.

I'm very happy to help promote CYLRAB! Here's their call for submissions:

We look forward to sharing our stories, and even more, to hearing yours! Please, please, please send us your bike of change and life stories! Why do you ride? Where has riding taken you? How do you tackle the challenges of where you live to keep riding? Did you meet your spouse on a bike? Did you use one to get away after sneaking out of the house at night? Share your adventure with the rest of us.

I know some of my readers have stories to share, so visit Change Your Life, Ride a Bike! and give others the benefit of your experience.

Mid-City Bike Blast Ride, May 9

2009-05-07T13:04:00.001-07:00

I wish I could make it to this, it looks like a, well, a blast. I'm sooo glad to see more stuff like this happening around San Diego. We might just get a bike culture yet.

Shape Up!

2009-05-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

I've been riding more in the last two months than I have for about two years. Since I work at home, I don't ride to commute, and errands to the store or post office are usually short and not at all physically demanding. However, for the last couple of months, I've been making a regular four mile mini-commute once a week to volunteer at my local historical society, and I've been trying to do a Sunday ride even if I don't get on the Down Townies morning rides. Being in San Diego, all of this involves a certain proportion of hills, or at least inclines.

Now (indulge me a moment), I've been wanting to get myself in better shape ahead of a rather significant birthday milestone, but riding my bike hasn't necessarily been a part of that, it's just been my way of getting around. However, I made the happy discovery the other day that I've lost seven pounds. I've never needed to lose weight, really, and I think seven pounds is about all I would like to lose (in fact, I'd like to gain a couple back), but I attribute it all to my riding, even just the relatively small amount I do each week.

The point (which isn't just pure narcissism, I swear), is that the health benefits of riding a bicycle accrue even if you're only huffing around on an old three-speed bike a few miles a week. Indeed, pedaling forty pounds of British steel (or American, Canadian, etc.) around is a sure way to firm up those thighs. So, don't let anyone tell you that you need a fancy new bike to get the exercise benefits of riding a bicycle, or that you have to launch yourself on epic treks in stretchy shorts. Any amount of riding, on any bicycle, in any clothing will make you healthier. Ride more, feel better, get healthy, ride more. It's a sweet cycle.

SOURCE: old Sturmey-Archer advert here.

Oh, Canada! Part II: CCM Bicycles

2009-05-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

The same reader who sent in the info on Canadian-built Raleighs also has this lovely 1973 CCM Elite (Canada Cycle & Motor Company). I particularly like the chainring. What is it about artful chainrings that's just so appealing?

Also, I wanted to share this awesome 1918 CCM catalog.

Oh, Canada! Part I

2009-05-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

A reader recently sent some photos and info about Canadian-built Raleighs after realizing that his 1975 Raleigh Superbe was actually built in Canada. Since the provenance of overseas Raleigh makes has been of interest to readers in the past, I thought this might be useful to post.

"I was surprised to discover, after buying the bike with the Nottingham England badge, that in fact, it had been manufactured here in Canada. The serial number bears this out, as does a small decal I had overlooked. Many of the parts were made in England. My understanding is that the Raleigh factory was opened in Quebec in about 1972 (this bike is a 1975). Ironically, the factory in Quebec is still building Raleighs, with a work force of about 300, and is supposed to be the largest bike factory left in North America.

The serial number of this bike starts with RG5. This excellent site gives the info for Raleigh serial numbers:
http://www.jaysmarine.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html

The 'R' being Canada . 'G' being May , and '5' being 1975."

Just Another Sunday

2009-05-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Some weeks you want just one day that you don't have to set an alarm to wake up. As a consequence, I didn't do the Down Townies ride this morning. After lunch, my wife and I rode down to the park and spent the afternoon just relaxing in the sun. I took the Schwinn for its first ride with weight in the crate, and it did just fine. Then we ran a quick errand to the pharmacy and went home. Wonderful!

I Like My Bike

2009-05-03T11:09:00.001-07:00

That's all. Just sayin'.

Express Mail

2009-05-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Running to the post office is one of my favorite bike errands. For me, it's everything an urban bike errand should be: simple, short, and easy. My local post office is about a half-mile from our house, making for a whopping 1 mile round-trip. I couldn't morally justify driving that distance, anyway, and riding a bike is a whole lot faster (and more fun) than walking. This sort of errand is also perfect for folks who might be a bit reluctant to take their old bikes on longer hauls (although there's no reason not to). If you'd rather go easy on an old bike, short trips like this make up a surprising amount of life's little errands, and an old bike is a perfect way to accomplish them.

About the Old Bike Blog

2009-05-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

I'm not a meticulous observer of my StatCounter stats, but a recent increase in the volume of reader emails suggests that more folks are finding the Old Bike Blog, and the ranks of my mindless zombie army, uh, "Followers" are incrementally growing ever-closer to the 50 mark (maniacal laugh, wrings hands in arch-villain, mad scientist style).

So, I thought it might be time again to explain for new readers just what this blog is all about. I started it in July 2007 when I decided, with no experience whatsoever, to completely take apart, overhaul, paint, and reassemble my 1971 Columbia Sports III. This bike had been my daily rider for about a year, ever since the mountain bike I'd had since high school was stolen. I decided that since I was relying on this bike to get me around, I really should know everything about how it worked.

You can follow my naive progress on the Columbia by clicking on the appropriate label tabs at right. The point is, I did it. In the process, I learned quite a lot, and acquired a bit of an addiction for old bikes. The point I wanted to make with the blog, aside from chronicling my progress, was that if I can do it with no experience, anyone can resurrect an old bike themselves. The cost can be fairly minimal, or it can be extensive, depending on how much work you want to put into it. It takes time, effort, and a willingness to learn (and fail), but restoring an old bike to full functionality, and then using it, is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.

Although I have occasionally offered "how to" advice, my main goal is to show that old bikes, and bikes in general, are accessible, serviceable, and enjoyable to folks who don't consider themselves "bike people." I believe that old bicycles, and the skills that keep them running, have the potential to vastly democratize the bicycle culture, get more people on bikes, and increase our general competence level as a society. I believe that everyone should know how to service and maintain the bicycle they ride on a daily basis. For me, this means an old bike, and I hope it does for you, too.

Be Vewy Quiet...

2009-04-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

When hunting old bikes in the wild, it is best to approach downwind and observe them unawares. If they catch your scent, they will often run off, but can be easily tracked by the trail of rusty nuts and bolts they leave behind, as well as their trademark squeals. Spotted in Balboa Park last weekend; a Schwinn Racer, I believe, with a slightly different handlebar shape than mine.

Down Townies Ride Report

2009-04-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today's Down Townies ride took us around the 'hoods of South Park, Golden Hill, North Park, University Heights, Kensington, and Normal Heights and finally ended up at the Adams Avenue Folk Festival. This was one of largest rides we've had so far, and this contributed to a small group of us getting seperated at the back. Eventually, we lost the main group entirely. We're thinking of calling ourselves the Down Shifties. We are officially the slowest of the slow! Oh well, everyone knows the cool kids hang out in back.

Once we got seperated, we figured, hey let's do our own thing, and stopped at an excellent coffee shop owned by some friends of folks who were in our delinquent group of stragglers. I had the best chai latte I've had in a long time, and we got to chill with the owner for a while and meet some very awesome dogs. Gotta give a shout to Mystic Mocha.

The Down Shifties inaugural meeting.

The bikes had their own meeting.

The folk fest itself was rather "meh." There were a lot of vendors, more than anything else. Who buys window treatments at a folk fest anyway? Saw the last few minutes of a great trio, but then it seemed like the music kind of dried up, and it didn't really seem all that folky or bluegrassy, either.

By that point, we decided we'd already had too much sun (whoo boy, we found out later just how much), so we headed home. I found a shiny new wrench laying in the middle of the street on the way home (just a small one, though), so the day wasn't a total bust. Oh, and the Huffeigh is a total blast to ride--nothing major has even gone wrong yet (knock wood).

What? A Relief!

2009-04-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

Putting the Wald rear rack/baskets on the Columbia marked the last major task associated with the bikes in my stable (for a while, knock wood), and I must say, I'm incredibly relieved. If you follow this blog, you know that I've been working on at least one project now since July 2008. First, the Runwell, then a short break, then the Huffeigh, then recently the Schwinn, with the Mundo thrown in there in the middle (the Mundo is still a project, but a very slow one, so I don't count that).

As much as I really do enjoy doing refurbishment or restoration work, I also get tired of never having things finished. I'm really looking forward now to actually riding all of my bikes, rather than fiddling with bearings, hubs, spokes, paint, etc.

On that note, I'm announcing a slight change in the direction of the blog. There are three words in the masthead of my blog: "Recycle, Refurbish, Ride!" I've focused a lot on the first two, and now I'd like to focus more on the third, which I think is just as signficant. It's easy when you're working on old bikes to get caught up in what I call the "fetishization" of all of the little bits, while forgetting the actual point of the whole endeavor, which is to RIDE THE BIKE!

I believe it is important to show that refurbished or restored old bikes can and should be ridden, not just polished up, tucked away in a garage, and trotted out for a ride down the block now and again. Old bikes should not just be toys for grownups to play with, they should be real working machines, as they were intended. My task now is going to be to show my old bikes in everyday use: grocery runs, commuting, a jaunt to the post office, a picnic in the park, whatever. I don't have a "modern" bike to ride (the youngest bike we own is my wife's Schwinn Suburban, which is a 1977) so everything I do by bike is done on an old bike.

The point is, you can live a bicycle lifestyle without spending a ton of cash and riding some carbon fiber monstrosity. I've never paid more than $100 for a bicycle (excluding parts), and don't intend to anytime soon. All it takes is a willingness to learn some new skills, the time to invest in the work, and a large dose of patience. What you're left with is not only the gratification of a finished product, but also a perfectly sound, functional bicycle (or five).

1955 Huffy/Raleigh Sportsman FINISHED!

2009-04-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

Sweet Fancy Moses, this has been a long project! I started this back at the end of November, which makes it just shy of a full five months. Here's what I did:

-CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN

-replaced crappy saddle with less-crappy used Brooks B72

-replaced stuck stem/bars after sawing off original

-replaced badly pitted and gouged crank axle

-replaced crank cotters

-replaced missing hub hardware and shifter cable

-replaced tires/tubes/rim tape

-replaced brake shoes

-replaced grips

-cleaned and repacked headset, bottom bracket, hubs

-sanded, primed, painted fenders, top tube, chain stays

-touch up and clear coat entire bike

The photos above are actually a bit disingenuous, since the chain guard isn't attached due to the chain rubbing on it terribly ("grinding" is really more the word). I was a bit worried about that from the beginning because of the wear patterns on the inside of the guard when I bought the bike, but I thought they might just be from years of neglect. I can't quite figure out why it's rubbing, actually, since the attachment points on the frame don't leave a lot of room for interpretation or adjustment. It must be on correctly, but it still rubs. Still working on that one.

Otherwise, it runs very well. It's very comfortable and smooth and surprisingly light. I had some trouble with the rear sprocket, the teeth of which had been misshaped due either to a too-tight or poorly maintained chain. When under way, the chain sounded like it was grinding through a poorly-adjusted derailer, which clearly wouldn't do. I swapped out the sprocket from the Columbia, and in the process, discovered that the sprocket on the Huffy had been put on backwards. I put it on the Columbia the right way to see if it would run any better, and it did! So, the Huffeigh sprocket is now working just fine on the Columbia, and the Columbia sprocket is working just fine on the Huffeigh. Thank you, Sturmey-Archer, for making such brilliantly-interchangeable parts.

I had planned on this being a cargo/grocery bike, but it turned out to be entirely too gentlemanly to be a beast of burden, so the Wald wire pannier rack I bought is now on the Columbia, which has been re-dubbed the grocery bike, while the Huffeigh will fill the Columbia's previous function as general run-around bike.

Sixth Annual National Meeting of Ancient Bicycles, Portugal

2009-04-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Going to be in Portugal this summer? Need an excuse to go? Here's one:

For more information, go to Men in Bike (English & Portuguese, mostly Portuguese).

Chicago's 1st Annual Winston's Tweed Ride

2009-04-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Since the OBB has roots, if not origins, in the Windy City, I'm quite happy to post this announcement for the First Annual Winton's Tweed Ride. Says the press release:

Inspired by The London Fixed-Gear and Single-Speed Forum's Tweed Run and challenged by San Francisco's Thursday Tweed Ride, I would like to announce the 1st Annual Winston's Tweed Ride! This celebration of herringbone, hip flasks, and our noble steeds will be hosted by British Bicycles of Chicago, or the BBC.

Everyone is invited! If you have a Brit bike, do ride. If you don't, but enjoy tweedy elegance, do ride. If you do both, CERTAINLY DO RIDE!!!

2 May 2009 marks the 80th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s invention of his exquisitely dry martini: gin poured over crushed ice while he observed the vermouth from across the room. The route, designed by the Right Honorable Lee Diamond, is 10 civilized miles meandering past (and into) some of The Windy City's most infamous (and still open) speakeasies. Where else but in these lively establishments would the ladies & gents find more bracing refreshments and hearty victuals?

As with our fellow tweed runs, we hope to offer small, but significant, prizes for

Most Dapper Chap

Most Snappy Lass

Most Stylish Noble Steed
Most Inspired Interpretation of Tweediness
Best Mustache
(open to both lads and inventive lasses)

Bike-Mounted Grill

2009-04-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

Spotted at Streetsblog and I wanted to pass it along to people who might not see it there. Old bike + tiny grill = Freakin' Sweet!

Down Townies/Earth Day Ride

2009-04-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

I haven't been making it to the weekly Sunday Down Townies rides for a few weeks, but today I debuted the Huffeigh, which went very well. I'll have another post soon about finishing it up. I didn't even manage to get any photos of it today, so I'll just dedicate a whole other post to it.

The ride today went to Balboa Park for one of the largest Earth Day celebrations in the nation. It was pretty cool, I must say, and the very best part was the secure bike valet parking offered by the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. Of course, I forgot to take a picture.

I was only able to hang out for about an hour and a half, then I had to run, but the rest of the group was scheduled to go to the bike swap at the velodrome later. I'm really bummed I missed that, but it's probably for the better that I just don't tempt myself. Here are some photos from the event:

Meet the "Grocery Racer"

2009-04-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here's the finished product on the 1962 Schwinn Racer refurbishment. The bottom bracket, headset, hubs, everything, were almost completely pristine once cleaned up, and although there's nothing more I can do with the paint (can't bring it back if it's gone) short of repainting it, which I'm not about to do for a long time, I kind of like the "beater" look. I took the front fender off because it raised a godawful ruckus, even on perfectly smooth pavement (which is hard to come by around here).

The hub shifts well, except for skipping in third. I've done all the exterior troubleshooting I can do, so I think it's a pawl issue on the inside. For now, I'm not going to worry about it, since this thing is so freakin' heavy with the rear rack and crate, and there are hills between our house and the grocery store, ain't no one going to be riding this bike in third for a long time!

It's going to live in the courtyard we share with our neighbors for use as a communal grocery-getter and errand-runner. If, that is, anyone feels strong enough to haul it down the six steps to the sidewalk!

Here's the crate attachment system, which seems provisionally very stable after a short test-run with weight this morning. Just a basic rear rack with a wooden crate attached via wood screws. The crate is not well-constructed and the wood is super crap, but it was free, so I'm not complaining. I reinforced all the connections with copious amounts of wood glue, and put a couple of coats of spar varnish to keep the moisture out.

Looking down into the bed of the crate:

Below, the anchor slat under the rack.

(BTW, from the photo above, it looks like the fender rubs, but it doesn't.)

I cut the crate down (it was taller) and used one of the extra slats to anchor to under the rack (see photos), then laid another slat in the bottom of the crate and ran the screws down through these two "sandwich" pieces, going through the bottom slats of the crate for good measure.

All in all, the whole thing is a very solid, no-nonsense, utilitarian machine. It sits you bolt-upright, and the bars come back far enough that you don't have to reach at all. I think it would probably look more at home on a country road, or leaning up against the side of a barn, than in the city, but it'll be great for trips to the farmer's market.

Just What I Need

2009-04-14T15:23:00.001-07:00

Another way to waste time online. This looks like it's been around for a while, but I'm usually behind the curve on these sorts of things, so I just found out about it. It's a fun little tool you can use to create a mockup of your perfect bike. There aren't as many options for configuration as I would ideally like, and the color on the fork in the mockup above doesn't match the frame, but you can at least get an idea of how a project might turn out. I tried to get close to what I hope the Mundo fixed-gear project will look like when finished (still a long way off--the stuck seat post is still posing problems, but I'll get it). It's less useful for old bike restorations than for all-custom projects, but it's still fun to play around with.

Pedal ID from Pedalmafia

Fits and Starts

2009-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

My apologies, readers, for being so inconsistent with my posting lately. I haven't had a lot of time to devote to either my bikes or to the OBB the last couple of weeks, but today I picked up the first of the last of the stuff needed to finish off both the Schwinn and the Huffeigh, and the rest should arrive on Thursday. I put the new tires on the Schwinn, and I'm working on a way to attach the rear rack/crate for carrying groceries. I'm hoping to have both bikes done by next weekend, and will hopefully get to take one of them for a ride on Sunday with the Down Townies. If I could ride both at once, I probably would.

Anyway, thanks for your patience, and don't forget to send me those photos of your own Reader Projects.

The Old Bikes of Spring II

2009-04-09T09:21:00.001-07:00

And speaking of projects:

CALLING ALL OLD BIKE BLOG READER PROJECTS SUBMITTERS!

Now that spring has more-or-less arrived, let's see how your winter projects came out! I would very much like to post after photos of all your hard work, and preferably, a nice "action" shot of your refurbished/restored bike on the road or trail. If you're not quite done with your projects yet (like some old bike bloggers, ahem...), just send along a photo of your progress at this point, and then maybe another when it's finished. Half the fun of finishing is getting to compare the before and after shots, so let's see what you've got!

So, send me an email with a few photos and a quick description of the work you've done, and I'll post them up here as they come in.

The Old Bikes of Spring

2009-04-09T08:16:00.001-07:00

Now is the time to haunt Craigslist if you're looking for an old bike to restore or refurbish this spring. As people clean out their sheds, basements, and garages for spring cleaning, they just want to get rid of these "rusty old clunkers" and put them up for just a few bucks. In the last few days, the following CHEAP old bikes have been posted to my local Craigslist, along with several others without photos, all for $50 or less. Alas, with two almost-finished projects, and one long-term unfinished project, I can't justify rescuing any of them. Sigh.

Cycleworks Tyseley, Birmingham, England, single-speed ($30)

Murray 3-speed ($20)

With bikes like this, you can be pretty certain that they're not stolen, since the photos are clearly taken in someone's back yard, and they look to have been just recently pulled from the shed, which is probably just out of the shot. I've bought several (the Runwell, the Huffeigh, and the Mundo project) from people cleaning out their sheds, all for around $50 or much less.

If you don't have a bike rack on your car, bring along your tools (and some old sheets or towels to cover the seats), take the wheels off, lower the handlebars, and you should be able fit the whole works in your trunk or back seat without a problem. If I can fit 'em in our little Hyundai, anything is possible. Happy hunting!

Sure Folly

2009-04-06T00:30:00.000-07:00

I've opened up another blog, called The World Awheel, which is going to be a catch-all for the thoughts, ideas, ramblings, and other bike-related detritus that floats around in my brain most of the time, and which don't fit on the OBB. It's going to be a very sporadic beast, I think, but will perhaps be of interest to my readers here. Give it a look from time to time, and don't be afraid to leave a comment.

Pennyfarthing Help

2009-04-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

I received this email from Nicky last week, and since I don't know anything about pennyfarthings, original or reproduction, I'm posting it here to see if anyone can offer any help. Just leave a note in the comments if you can help, or if you can suggest a resource that might help Nicky.

I couldn’t resist a reproduction pennyfarthing about 17 years ago and bought it. Since then I have been told it is likely to be a limited edition reproduction constructed during the 1960s by Raleigh. Unfortunately, Raleigh had no archive records at that point and I’m wondering if you are aware of anything that might prove or disprove this. I can send you some more pics if that helps. It isn’t in pristine condition as it has been stored in a garage before I got it and since, but is sturdy and rideable!

Ignore the Drugs, Enjoy the Bike

2009-04-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

This commercial has been running for some time, but I've just now found a YouTube video of it. I'm pretty conflicted about posting an advertisement for a pharmecutical company, but I'll just assume that nobody here gives a bibble about the drugs anyway.

Yet More of Chicago's Old Bikes

2009-04-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is the last of 'em. Mostly a mish-mash. Captions above images.

I can't believe I don't remember what kind of bike this was on.

Antenna-looking shifters on a Schwinn -- very cool.

I hope nobody rides this crashed Raleigh, but I think they do. Yikes!

Signs with bicycles on them do not a bike-friendly city make.

Executive 3-speed, made in Austria.

Starjet Sports Tourist, 3-speed. Never heard of it.

What's wrong with this picture?

Yup, you guessed it: the banana in the basket has gone bad!

Online Museum of Tradesman's Delivery Bikes

2009-04-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

Just found this beautiful site, definitely worth a look.

Museum of Tradesman's Delivery Bikes

More Old Bikes in Chicago

2009-04-02T13:12:00.001-07:00

I saw a ton of great old bikes on my trip, and here are a few of the most interesting, although not always the most-loved.

This lovely Manufrance Hirondelle mixte (no date obvious) was one that I really wanted to rescue. Check out the original white tires! The entire bike just screams quality, but the bars struck me as especially cool. Unfortunately, it's just rusting away, locked up, but apparently unattended.

A lovely Dunelt, which has unfortunately seen better days. This was another one that I really wanted to rescue. I forgot to check the year.

A beautiful, well-loved and definitely actively-used Triumph. Sorry, no year on this one either, it was raining and I wanted to get inside.

One of the most interesting, because I had never heard of it before, was this Phillips-made and Chicago-branded "Ranger." This one I actually remembered to check the date on the hub -- 1966.

Chicago: Land of Schwinn

2009-04-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

So, I've been out of town for a few days, back to Chicago, where we used to live. Although it was not the primary purpose for my trip, I couldn't help but take a whole lot of photos of all the old bikes hanging around my old neighborhood of Hyde Park (and President Obama's neighborhood, woot!), and the campus of the University of Chicago. There are waaay more old bikes around than when I used to live there, go figure.

In the heyday of the mid-twentieth century bicycle boom, Chicago was to Schwinn as Nottingham was to Raleigh. Nowadays, Schwinns are no longer built in Chicago, nor are they likely to last as long as these bikes have.

I have another post or two in the queue about all the neglected old bikes I saw, but all of these seemed to have been used fairly recently, if not necessarily kept in the best shape.

Many of the bikes I encountered, including several of the above, had stickers from the Working Bikes Cooperative, which I've posted about before.

Schwinn Resources

2009-03-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm working on another Schwinn (we have two now, my wife's 1977 Suburban and this one), I'm taking them a bit more seriously. I'm not sure why, but I haven't always been the biggest fan of Schwinns. Now that I've spent some time with this one, I'm really coming to appreciate their quality and style--especially the quality.

So, here are some links I've been collecting over the last couple of days. Please suggest more in the comments if you have them. There is a real community of Schwinn fanatics out there ("enthusiasts" doesn't seem like a strong enough word!), and I know a lot of visitors end up here at the OBB looking for Schwinn stuff. The few posts I've done on my wife's Suburban are by far the most visited.

Eventually, I'll create a dedicated section of links in the sidebar for Schwinn resources. Until then, here are a few good ones. I get the feeling I'm just scratching the surface here, so please give me more!

Schwinn Serial Numbers

Schwinn Forums

Schwinn Lightweight Data Book

By the way, I keep accidentally typing "Scwhinn", so if you catch one that I haven't corrected, do let me know, since it will affect how people find what they're looking for on my blog.

More Before Photos of the "Mystery" Schwinn Racer

2009-03-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

I took these the day it showed up.

Schwinn Cleanup

2009-03-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm working pretty quickly on the Schwinn Project. Yesterday afternoon I took the whole thing apart, cleaned and polished the frame, cleaned and repacked the bottom bracket and headset, and polished up the crank and handlebar chrome.

I'll get some more photos this afternoon, but here's the top part of the headset after cleaning. I didn't get a before photo, unfortunately, but I had to show y'all how well this came out.

The bottom bracket was the same. Once I got the grime and old grease cleaned up, the internal works are in nearly pristine condition. I'm thinking that this old fella didn't see much use in its day, because there is virtually no wear on any of the bearings or cones. Still working on the wheels, but they're also cleaning up nicely.

1962 Schwinn Racer

2009-03-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

a.k.a. "The Mystery Bike"

Now they know where I live, apparently. This rather beat-up looking Schwinn appeared on the sidewalk in front of my house about three weeks ago. My neighbor (with whom we share a front gate and courtyard), discovered it about 10 o'clock one night, and let it stay there, assuming it would be gone by morning. When it was still there the next day, he brought it up to the courtyard. We've been letting it sit in the courtyard since then, wondering if someone would come by to claim it, and no one has. So this weekend, I started working on it.

It's obvious that this has not been a working bike for some time, so I don't think it was stolen or left by someone who intended to come back for it. The tires are flat and cracked, the front brakes are missing, the shifter cable is messed up in numerous ways, and the chain is completely rusted (and has a cracked link). I'm thinking that someone in the neighborhood was cleaning out a garage or shed, must have seen me working on my other old bikes in my garage, and figuring they would never get any money for it, just left it for me to find.

My plan is to do a mechanical overhaul, replace the tires, tubes, pedals, chain, and brakes, put a rear rack and basket on, and have it be a grocery bike or errand bike for us and the neighbors to share. There are a few eccentricities, as is usual with a bike that has been around. Both the pedals and brake levers are mismatched, the oil cap and some of the axle hardware is missing from the Sturmey-Archer hub, and the cable stop on the shifter cable clip has been replaced (ineffectively) with a 5mm socket wrench attachment.

As you can see in the last photo, the paint is in very poor condition, but it has already cleaned up pretty well with a combination of a light rubdown with penetrating oil, followed by Simple Green foaming bike cleaner (more on that later), followed by rubbing compound, followed by two coats of Turtle Wax. While I finish the Huffeigh, I'll do a few posts about this one, which I expect will go very quickly.

By the way, if by some chance this is your bike, you didn't mean to leave it on my sidewalk, and you happen to read this blog, it's not too late. Just give me the serial number, and you can have it back. The bearings are already greased, no charge.

Huffy/Raleigh Rebuild Series #6

2009-03-23T22:15:00.001-07:00

Grips, shifter, and brakes on.

But nothing is attached yet. The cork grips still need to be varnished (not shellacked, 'cause I don't have any shellac, but I do have spar varnish, which is even more water-resistant), which will darken them significantly, and I still need to order a new shifter cable, cable wheel, indicator spindle, and some missing axle hardware for the rear hub. I'll be out of town next weekend, so I'm probably still looking at about two weeks before it's finished. It's really starting to look good, though, if I do say so.

BTW, the tires are Michelin World Tours, which are a great match for old British three-speeds. They look great, but they were a real bugger to get on. I don't think I've ever had such a hard time coaxing tires onto wheels.

Why I Didn't Go on Today's Down Townies Ride

2009-03-22T17:01:00.001-07:00

'Nuff said. Also why I did three blog posts today. It's really hard to dislike the rain when we get so little of it. It was wonderful to hunker down inside this morning and enjoy it. The wind this afternoon, I'm not so keen on.

Huffy/Raleigh Decals

2009-03-22T12:24:00.001-07:00

Okay, these photos are brutally honest. In fact, I will say that they make the final result look a good deal worse than it appears in person. On the first photo (down tube), you can see that in some places the original finish didn't take the clear coat so well. It looks like pitting, but it's just in the surface of the clear coat, not the paint itself. I'm still not very good at applying the clear coat sometimes, so this is probably user-error.

Other places, like this bit at the top of the seat tube (below), turned out very well. In fact, the whole seat tube came out looking quite good (see second photo below). However, I noticed the other day when I had the bike in the sun that I very thoroughly clear coated some of my dirty fingerprints onto the seat tube. I thought I had the whole frame clean, but I guess I missed a spot. Fortunately, it's only apparent in the right light, from the right angle. I guess it'll help me positively identify the bike if it ever gets stolen!

The chain guard is a bit rougher, as I just did a bit of touch-up on the paint, then applied the clearcoat. It was also in worse shape to start with. I'll post some photos of it later, I forgot to get any of it when I took these.

I picked up some cork grips from my LBS yesterday, and I've got the brakes on now. It's raining today, but I'll try to get another photo in the reassembly series posted in a few days.

Reader Project: Ian's 1971 Raleigh Superbe

2009-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

If you read this blog regularly, you'll remember Ian from his 1936 Rollfast, which I posted on back in December. Seems Ian has caught the bug, and couldn't pass up this $20 Craigslist find. Yeah, I know, that's twenty dollars, not a typo. Sheesh.

I saw the post on CL for $20. Didn't know much about the bicycle, but it had a Brooks saddle clearly in the pic, so I thought I'd check it out. When I saw the bicycle I was hooked. It had a baby seat mounted to the back which, while practical, was unsightly (what a snob I'm becoming!) and worse, it smelled of cat pee. I opened my trunk to put the bicycle in, turned around to pick up the rear rack (not in pics yet) and then put that in. As I was driving away I hear, "Meow!" the cat had jumped in my van! My heart leaped for a sec., then I figured what happened, pulled over and let the cat out.

I don't know, Ian, $20 for a bike and a cat, not a bad deal!

More photos from Ian here. And as always, check out the Old Bike Blog Reader Projects Album for images of all past Reader Projects.

Reassembly Photo Series Interruption

2009-03-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid my work on the Huffeigh today has confirmed that I will need a couple of extra little bits to move forward with the reassembly, so the photo series is on hold temporarily, likely to resume week after next, but possibly sooner.