WHEELS!

With many thanks to Tyler at The Clean Machine, my ride now has these spiffy new wheels! The hubs are based on old Campy Record hubs, and come from Harris Cyclery. The rims are Sun-Ringle CR-18 polished aluminum double-walls, and the tires are 27"X1&3/8" Kenda gumwalls in a classic road-bike tread design.

The rear will be receiving a 17-tooth freewheel to go with the 40-tooth front chainring I'll be using for locomotion.

Tyler laced them in a classic over-under patern, using DT-Swiss stainless spokes, and did one hell of a job, if I do say so. I reccomend him to anyone thinking of having custom wheels built up. (The man says he loves lacing wheels, and here's the proof!)

Next up will be getting the french-threaded bottom bracket squared away. After that comes the headset, stem, seat, seatpost, bars, brakes, etc. I may even have this puppy rideable by the end of the year. Stay tuned!

Wheels soon!

Tyler from The Clean Machine is currently lacing up my wheels! He had one done as of last evening. They look SWEET. Pics as soon as they're in my hands.

I had to change over from Michelins to Kendas, because pretty much every tire supplier I could find was sold out on the World Tour model tires. I ended up going with the Kenda K40 instead, which is another classic gumwall design. I also upsized to 27X1&3/8, to give myself a bit more rubber on the road.

Next month I get driveline and steering squared away! This thing is going to start looking less like a pile of parts, and more like a bicycle! Details and photos as they come, folks.

Soon to have Wheels!

I have ordered 27" X 1&1/4" polished rims, and am in the process of ordering 32-Hole Fixed Track Hubs. (I'll be taking measurements this evening and placing my order.) The Michelin World Tour gum-sided tires I want are currently out of stock at most of the major suppliers. It'll be a few weeks before I get my hands on some, alas.

Once I have the hubs and rims, my friend Tyler (go by and say "HI!" to him at The Clean Machine) will be lacing them up for me in the traditional 32-hole double-cross pattern. More updates on the way!

Pinstriping Done!

Well, after finding a particular dearth of pinstripers in the Carrboro-Chapel Hill Metroplex, I resigned myself to getting the pinstriping done on my own. I headed to Michael's, and found, to my delite, a gold paint pen with an extra fine tip.


This was good, because my intention was to keep the striping quite subtle on this bike, simply highlighting the steel lugs on the frame with a fine gold line.

I tried my hand first around the bottom bracket, being sure to keep the frame as stable as possible, and giving myself plenty of time. I needed to get used to the flow of the pen on the frame, and after practising on paper for about half an hour, I decided I was ready.

The result surpassed my expectations, actually. The flow was even and perfect, and the lugs provided an outstanding contour upon which to rest the pen tip. Next, I moved on to the seat stay lugs. After a succesful attempt there as well, I finally moved to the more ornate head tube.



Not bad for my very first pinstriping job, even if I am saying so myself. I'm satisfied with it anyway, and it's my bike, so there. (^_-)

Next thing to accomplish will be getting the wheels built. I'll look into making that happen next month. I also just found a source for inexpensive French-thread sealed-cartridge bottom brackets! WOO-HOO! Stay tuned!

Frame is BACK!

This evening after work, I drove down to Pittsboro to see Jerry Campora, and pick up my frame and forks. The evening was turning a lovely dusky grey, and the weather was FINALLY starting to cool off to a manageable temperature. (Alas, the Jeep, however, was overheating. I had to stop twice on the way down, and five times on the way back to let the engine cool off.)

Jerry was happy to show me the work he'd done, and for good reason. It is remarkable. The finish is even and smooth, like a glass surface. The color is dead uniform all over. (We heart powdercoating!) Jerry says the finish is three mils thick, which should provide a lifetime of protection and toughness to the steel underneath.


The finish around the lugs is quite nice, leaving the detail of the lugs visible, while simultaneously providing protection on all surfaces of the lugs themselves.


The next step will be to outline all the lugs with gold pinstriping. However, I'm having a hard time finding a pintsriper in the Chapel Hill area. Anyone know of one? If I don't find one nearby, I may be forced to learn how to do this myself.


Once the pinstriping is done, next will be lettering. I am in NO way comfortable doing that myself, so I will take my time, and find someone in the area who really knows what they're doing.

This brings up an interesting quandary for me. Originally, I had planned to get factory decals from ebay for the bike. But since I have basically discarded that idea in favor of a more retro look, I am left with coming up with an earlier Peugeot design, or ditching the Peugeot name, and coming up with a completely original Marque/Name for the bike.

In one direction, I get "Peugeot" lettered on the downtube of the frame in the original script of 1940's French Peugeots.



I also find and add a really old, retro Peugeot head badge, like this:


Or this:

In the other direction, I abandon the Peugeot logos and badges all together, instead giving it a name and identity all its own. For instance, I could call it a Renard Ruse', french for 'Sly Fox', or maybe Renard Ruse' ReCyclerie, or some derivation, and have a local artisan / jewelery maker create a custom headbadge just for me and this bike. (Like a beaten-copper silhouette of a Fox, perhaps?)

All that has yet to be decided. At the moment, my focus is on the next steps: Pinstriping, and the construction of the wheels. I will also be using the frame and forks to get measurements, thus allowing me to finalize the list of parts I need to purchase to make the bike ridable.

Many, MANY thanks to Jerry Campora. He's in the process of building a website right now, and I will link to his as soon as he's up and running. I recommend him to anyone considering custom powdercoating. He was a pleasure to work with, and made the entire process painless and rewarding.

I got my frame back! WOO-HOOOOO!!!! (^_^)

Trying to decide...

I'm trying to decide on a seat. I know I want a leather saddle, one that will break in to fit me perfectly. Brooks is pretty much the only way to go. The question is, which one? I've narrowed it down to three choices:

First: The Brooks Flyer. Simple, single-rail, 2-spring design, smooth saddle surface.

Second, the Brooks B135. Double-springs in the back, a push-pull arrangement, double-rail, with looped spring in the front. Textured saddle surface.

Third, the Brooks B33. Twisted, all-chrome springs, triple-rail, loop springs at the front. Textured saddle surface.

Any of these three saddles fit in with the Porteur style I'm going for. They're made for riding upright, and to soak up heavy hits and rough surfaces. They'll add just the right vintage look, while breaking in to be a perfect saddle to fit me and my riding style.

So many decisions!

And so it begins in earnest...

On Memorial Day, I met Jerry Campora. Jerry is semi-retired, lives in the Pittsboro area, and is the one name on everyone's lips when I ask about refinishing a bicycle frame.

Jerry came down a few years ago from the Northeast, where he was a crane operator. On the side, he was learning how to media blast and powdercoat, two things he wanted to learn so he could work on hot rods, one of his hobbies.

Richard's Red Raleigh was done by Jerry, and the results were pretty spectacular. Several of the fellas at the Clean Machine and the Bicycle Chain had previously had bike parts blasted and powdercoated by Jerry, and all had good things to say.

I met Jerry in the morning, on a beautiful day. He came out and shook my hand, and we looked at my frame and forks. Jerry said they were in pretty good shape, and would need no bodywork. He took me through his shop, showed me examples of his work. The shop was spotless. The equipment was clean and ready to use. His examples? He pulled a fork down off the wall.

"This is just an old trash fork I powdercoated," he explained.

It looked better than new. Folks, there are brand new bikes sitting on showroom floors that didn't look as good as the finish on that fork. It was french blue, with a high shine. The lugged fork crown was in stark relief; not too thick, not too thin. Just perfect. I was sold on Jerry's skills.

We dug out the color samples, and looked through them. I had decided, after seeing a particularly nice Rene Herse porteur online, that I was going to go as classic as possible, without going black. I went with a medium, non-metallic gloss grey. It's close to what you might call a 'flannel grey'. I also asked him to grind off the old cable guides, as I would not be needing them on a single speed bike.

(A Rene Herse Porteur from the mid-1950's. Classic.)

Jerry assured me he could give me an excellent finish on the frame and fork, and that all the un-coated areas would be kept pristine. We shook hands, and I left my baby in his capable hands.

The price was reasonable, and within my budget. I'm quite glad, because for the level of work Jerry was showing me, I had expected to pay a bit more. This will likely be the most expensive single part of my rebuild, and I want it done right.

Jerry called the next day to say the powder was ordered, and everything was on schedule. He was beginning prep work. I like Jerry, he answers calls and asks questions. If he says something is so, it will be so. That's how business should be done.

When he was prepping the frame, and preparing to grind off the old cable guides, Jerry noticed that the guides had been welded in such a way that grinding them off might grind into the frame. Instead of taking a chance, he called me, and recommended leaving them in place and coating them. I agreed.

The finished powdercoating should be back in my hands next week! I am a bit excited about this. I have moved out of the deconstruction, and into the re-construction! This makes me happy.

Future plans for the frame and forks include having the lugs all relief-pinstriped, and having old-style 1940's script logos painted on in the proper locations. Photos will be in the offing.

*does the happy-snoopy dance*