Friday, 31 August 2007

ALPINESTARS AL-MEGA E900

        LET IT SHINES. Sepeda ini adalah yang paling jangkung, dengan ukurannya yang 20,5 inch. Tidak semua bisa mengendarainya, karena sebentar saja sudah pegal-pegal terutama di otot lengan.        Alpinestars saat ini tidak berproduksi sepeda lagi, dan type ini merupakan Racing Replica yang legendaris diajang lomba XC pada jamannya. Ciri mereka sangat spesifik dengan model frame bongsor seperti itu dan top tube yang relatif panjang, namun bobotnya cukup ringan.Sepeda ini dirakit pertama tahun 1993, dengan sangat...

Priming Update

Update Update: This morning/afternoon, I put the two extra coats of primer on the fenders, chain guard, and fork and also primed the frame. I went ahead and put 5 coats of primer on the frame, well-spaced at about 15 minutes between coats. I didn't get a real smooth coverage on the whole frame, not sure what the problem was. I'm hoping that buffing with the steel wool will smooth it out. I'm going to let everything dry again for at least 24 hours before I start with the paint.I forgot to take a picture of the primed frame, but imagine this: it's all gray.So, last night I used some "0000" steel wool to smooth out the primer before doing the first paint coat, and even a very light touch completely removed the primer in a few places on the...

Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Priming: The Fork

I had planned to paint the fenders and chain guard today, but I decided to let them sit a while yet with the primer on them, just to make sure they're good and dry. I'm sure it's overkill to let them sit this long, but you never can be too careful. I did prime the fork today (Photo #1), which went fine. I also masked off the headbadge and bearing cups on the frame (Photos #2 and #3). Photo #4 is the "bicycle butcher shop" (a.k.a. the laundry room where I've hung everything up).It's probably going to be the weekend before I can get back to the bike, so everything should be nice and dry. By...

Tuesday, 28 August 2007

Priming: Fenders & Chain Guard

Today I finished sanding the chain guard and primed it and the fenders. I strung a rope in the car-hole (garage is too elaborate for what we have) and hung the fenders by their braces, which I taped-off with masking tape (Photo #1). To hang the chain guard, I used a "modified" wire hanger (Photo #2). I primed both sides of everything (topside and underside) to protect against rust and wear. I'll paint and clearcoat both sides, too.I put three light coats of primer on all three pieces, which seemed to give me good, smooth coverage. Supposedly, you can start applying paint within 15 minutes,...

Monday, 27 August 2007

Sanding the Old Paint, Part II

Well, I've got the entire frame and fork sanded now. The fenders I just roughed-up with a sanding sponge, since they have so many dips and contours, and I'm still working on the chain guard. If your fenders are just smooth, it might be easier to sand the paint all the way off, but with mine that would be a study in frustration.So, here's what I did:On the frame and fork, I found that 100 grit (medium) sandpaper worked best. It took the paint and undercoat off quickly and didn't scratch the metal. One problem with just using a folded sheet of sandpaper is that I couldn't get all of the little...

Wednesday, 22 August 2007

Sanding the Old Paint

One of the bad things about recording one's thoughts in print: it hurts worse when they come back to bite you in the backside.On August 19, I wrote: "I think the sanding will go pretty fast."I was wrong. Well, I guess it is going relatively quick, but it's a bit harder than I thought it would be. The fault is partially my own, as I started out using sandpaper that was too fine (220 grit). I have now switched to a 120 grit sandpaper, which is taking the paint off much faster. Of course, there are lots of angles and nooks and crannies where the sandpaper won't reach (at least not very well). I may also be sanding my fingerprints off in the process. Maybe some gloves...I was going to try to have the sanding done by this weekend, but I don't...

Tuesday, 21 August 2007

New Look for the OBB

I got tired of the old look, so I changed the template. I'll probably change it again in a few weeks. I'm shifty like that. No new work on the bike, gonna devote this weekend to sanding, masking, and priming, but until then, I have to do actual work.Sigh...

Sunday, 19 August 2007

Last of the Cleaning

Today, I finished cleaning everything, including wiping down and de-greasing the frame in preparation for sanding. I cleaned up the external hardware on the rear hub and started to try to get at the bearings, but quickly got in a little bit over my head. I had hoped that the bearings would come out without the whole hub assembly coming out, but when I started to take off the bearing race, the whole hub started to come apart, so I veeerrry carefully pushed it all back together and tightened everything back down. The thing about the rear hub is that it's pretty complicated and seems to be working fine, so why fix it if it ain't broke? The brief glimpse I caught of the bearings, however, they seemed to still be pretty well greased, so I'm...

Tuesday, 14 August 2007

Stencils

I've been stewing over how to reproduce the "Columbia Sports III" logo on the chain guard, and also to reproduce, with paint, some decals that had completely peeled away from the fork, leaving only the outlines of their shapes. After much experimenting, I finally cut what I think are some passable stencils. The process was harder, I think, than it had to be.First, I tried frisket paper to create a stencil, but the film was too thin and stretchy for the detailed work. I ended up taking close-up shots of the words and then cropping and printing them on regular printer paper. I cut the letters...

Friday, 10 August 2007

Removing the Stem and Fork

Well, the bike is all apart now, with the exception of the stubborn bearing cups on the crank and headset, which I guess I'm just going to have to tape off when I paint, 'cause they're not going anywhere. The last things to come off were the stem and fork, which I did yesterday. I should take this opportunity to mention that I'm going largely from the book How to Restore Your Collector Bicycle by William Love (Bicycle Books, 2001). It's not perfect, by any means, but it's proving to be a good general guide.I have to admit that as a new-comer to this, I was most confused by the headset assembly;...

Wednesday, 8 August 2007

Cleaning Small Parts is Fun

So, I tackled the crank hardware last night and this morning using "Pedro's Bio Cleaner" (my usual all-purpose bike cleaner), a toothbrush, my thumbnail, and some very fine ("0000") steel wool. I used the toothbrush and my thumbnail to get the old dried-on grease off, and the steel wool to polish off the accumulated grime on the crank and crank arms, and to give them a bit of a shine. Compare the second photo with the similar "before" picture from yesterday.My next goal is to take off the headset/fork. Should get to that in a day or two. At that point, everything will be off the frame and...

Tuesday, 7 August 2007

The Crank

I finally went to the hardware store and bought a big enough wrench to take off the crank. For future reference, I needed the 10" adjustable wrench for the 1 1/8" inch nut.The photo on top is the "before" picture of the crank assembly. In this photo, the bike is upside down and we're looking at the left side crank.The second photo shows the "exploded" assembly after I took it apart, with the bearings exposed. The bearings come out, too, but were left in for the picture. One note here: everything I've read on removing the crank says that a spanner wrench is needed to remove the bearing race...

Sunday, 5 August 2007

Think dirty. In a good way.

Photo: www.dirtyagency.comActually, Keith Pops talks about a good deal more than old bikes at his blog, but his site DirtyAgency.com has a major focus on his work restoring old bikes. He's got some cool photos, a few links, and a sexy promo video, and he promises more so...

Thursday, 2 August 2007

The Wheelmen.org

If you've happened upon my little half-acre of webspace and perhaps been disappointed that my 1971 Columbia Sports III isn't exactly all that old, here's a link that should fulfill your old bike fix.From their website TheWheelmen.org:The Wheelmen is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to keeping alive the heritage of American cycling, promoting the restoration and riding of early cycles (1918 or earlier), and encouraging cycling as part of modern living. Members are intent on learning lost skills, retelling lost stories, researching and writing of the golden era...

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