SirMike1983
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
I sold off two very nice, vintage English bikes at the start of November and figured that was my "good deed" around the house for awhile. I had, for some time, filled the back of the garage with my bicycles, and the Mrs. had at last reached the point that an ultimatum was set down and a couple had to go. So off they went - a 1951 Raleigh Clubman and a 1930s-40s Phillips rod brake.
As luck would have it, one of the eBay sellers who auctions old bikes off in fair volume came up with a very nice 1964 Schwinn Traveler for sale. The tall frame caught my eye, and so back into the tank I went. The project arrived last week, and I've been at it a little each evening ever since. The bike is now apart in my basement, and the process of cleaning the parts has begun. It is quite original and in very good condition overall.
I cleaned and went over the Sturmey AW rear hub last weekend. All bearings and bearing surfaces look very good. The cones actually indicate very low mileage because they have not been fully "worn in" by use. The bearing balls are clean, smooth, and shiny. There are some add-on reflectors on the wheels, and there is some wear to the brakes indicating there was some use, but I don't think this saw much mileage overall.
The wheel rims are very clean, with no dings or dents. There is no visible brake wear to the rims sides. The rim wells are rust free, which is a good indication of a well-stored bike.
I also cleaned, polished, and greased the brake calipers. My appreciation of the Weinmann 810 type calipers has gone way up over the years. I kind of took them for granted at one time because of how common they were. But comparing them to other period equipment, they're lightweight, easy to get parts for, and they work fairly well. They're by no means a modern brake in terms of raw stopping power, but for their day, they were pretty good brakes when properly adjusted.
Below is a before and after with one caliper as-found and one already done. The polish I've used is Simichrome, followed by an acetone wipe-down to remove residue.
The Weinmann red dot brake levers are also in good shape.
Chrome parts are excellent overall and responded nicely to cleaning and some Simichrome polishing.
There is still much more to do, but the project is underway. My lighting for it is on the way as well. I'll be using a Soma Fabrication Torpedo Mk.2 head light and a Soma silver bullet tail light. They'll provide good, LED lights with a retro look that is appropriate to a 1960s-era bike.
I'll also put up progress updates on my bike blog at: https://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/
As luck would have it, one of the eBay sellers who auctions old bikes off in fair volume came up with a very nice 1964 Schwinn Traveler for sale. The tall frame caught my eye, and so back into the tank I went. The project arrived last week, and I've been at it a little each evening ever since. The bike is now apart in my basement, and the process of cleaning the parts has begun. It is quite original and in very good condition overall.
I cleaned and went over the Sturmey AW rear hub last weekend. All bearings and bearing surfaces look very good. The cones actually indicate very low mileage because they have not been fully "worn in" by use. The bearing balls are clean, smooth, and shiny. There are some add-on reflectors on the wheels, and there is some wear to the brakes indicating there was some use, but I don't think this saw much mileage overall.
The wheel rims are very clean, with no dings or dents. There is no visible brake wear to the rims sides. The rim wells are rust free, which is a good indication of a well-stored bike.
I also cleaned, polished, and greased the brake calipers. My appreciation of the Weinmann 810 type calipers has gone way up over the years. I kind of took them for granted at one time because of how common they were. But comparing them to other period equipment, they're lightweight, easy to get parts for, and they work fairly well. They're by no means a modern brake in terms of raw stopping power, but for their day, they were pretty good brakes when properly adjusted.
Below is a before and after with one caliper as-found and one already done. The polish I've used is Simichrome, followed by an acetone wipe-down to remove residue.
The Weinmann red dot brake levers are also in good shape.
Chrome parts are excellent overall and responded nicely to cleaning and some Simichrome polishing.
There is still much more to do, but the project is underway. My lighting for it is on the way as well. I'll be using a Soma Fabrication Torpedo Mk.2 head light and a Soma silver bullet tail light. They'll provide good, LED lights with a retro look that is appropriate to a 1960s-era bike.
I'll also put up progress updates on my bike blog at: https://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/
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