bicycle photo diary: Alpine Sport

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Out with the old, in with the new

During the last couple of months there's been some changes in my stable of bikes. I recently sold the SR Apine Sport for $125. I returned it to its original 12 speed, using the original Shimano Altus LT drivetrain. The buyer was quite happy about how clean it was. Here are some pictures I took for record:

1980 SR Alpine Sport - With the gears and the derailleurs added back on (4/11/11)

1980 SR Alpine Sport - Shimano Altus LT rear derailleur (4/11/11)

1980 SR Alpine Sport - Shimano Altus stem-mounted friction shifters (4/11/11)

I also sold the frame, fork, and a few parts of the 1991 Trek 6000 for $35. I was thinking about turning into another single speed, but decided to sell it because there was a big scratch on the drive-side chainstay from chainsuck. I kept the Suntour XC Ltd parts and the wheelset though.

1991 Trek 6000 - How it looked when I first brought it home (1/16/11)

1991 Trek 6000 - What I sold (2/16/11)

I also bought/sold a few other bikes, but most of them weren't very noteworthy. I did pick up a pair of Suntour bar-end shifters and a few other parts from a beat up 70's Centurion Super Lemans. I also got hold of a 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper. The Stumpjumper is too big for me, so I've taken off the parts and am planning to sell the frame and fork. I'm also planning to sell the Schwinn Cimarron frame and fork. I had planned to build it up to be a commuter/light tourer, but I picked up a 1984 Univega Alpina Ultima that's in a much better condition. I've forgot to take pictures of these bikes, so they will come in a later post, hopefully.

Here are the new bikes for which I do have the pictures to show, though. First is the 1987 Terry Despatch for my sister. My sister's only about 5'3" with not very long legs, so it's quite difficult to find a vintage bicycle that fits her. (And I wanted her to have a lugged steel bike, but I can't really afford to buy her a new one). I already knew that Centurion made some of their Ironman models with a 24 inch front wheel to allow for a very small frame, and had missed a couple of chances to buy one at a reasonable price. I also knew of Terry bicycles made for small women, but I just assumed for that the company wasn't so old. So when I picked this one up for $125 on Craigslist, and was pretty surprised that it wasn't gone by the time I contacted the seller. I was told that it was ridden only a few times, and it seems to be true. There are nicks and scratches, but it's overall clean for its age. It's got Tange 1 tubing, Suntour Cyclone 7000 drivetrain, with about a 27 inch stand-over height. More details on this bike will follow after I give it an overhaul.

1987 Terry Despatch - Drive-side view (4/5/11)

1987 Terry Despatch - Front view (4/5/11)

The second bicycle is the most recent addition, and it's a Univega Alpina 507. I don't quite know the model year yet since I didn't have time to look at the parts' date codes or the frame's serial number, but it's most likely from the early 90's. I picked it up at the Goodwill auction for $71 (although with the gas prices now, it probably cost me more like $100). I bought it because it's a got decent components (Shimano Deore LX/XT), and it had bosses for racks and a third water bottle cage under the downtube. I am thinking I could turn this into another commuter/tourer. From my quick inspection, everything seems to be in a decent condition. There isn't much information on this model on the internet. But from one picture that I managed to find, the Rock Shox Judy XC fork it has on now may not be original. I don't have any experience with suspension forks, so that aspect of the bike will be a new learning experience for me. Also, the rear shifter/brake lever was a Shimano Acera and made for V-brakes, so that will also need to be changed. It's made in Taiwan with Formula 969 double-butted chromoly. I couldn't find anything on this tubing, but the bike seems sufficiently light.

Univega Alpina 507 - Drive side (4/18/11)

Univega Alpina 507 - Front view (4/18/11)

Friday, February 4, 2011

New bike in the stable: 1980 SR Alpine Sport single speed

I finally got around to finishing my first single speed conversion today. I got this bike from a Goodwill auction for $66.07. I was planning to flip it, but when I saw how clean the bike was compared to its age (inferred from component date codes), and that it had stamped rear dropouts without a derailleur hanger, I decided this bike was going to be my first single speed.
It was a 12 speed geared with Shimano Altus LT derailleurs and Shimano stem shifters. I had recently scored some nice parts from the same Goodwill (which will be shown in a future blog) that I considered putting on this bike. However, the original components seemed to have been barely used, so I decided to keep them on until they need replacing. (You can see the full specs below). The only thing I changed was the bottom bracket spindle, pedals, chain, tires/tubes, and all those twine. It's not a necessarily a light bike, but from my test ride it's got a pretty good ride.
It took me a couple of weeks to actually take everything apart and put it back together. This is the first bike I had done such extensive overhauling, and I even tried a few new maintenance techniques.
I took all the components off and washed the frame and fork with dish wash soap and water. Then I finally got to use the Boeshield T-9 that I bought from Sears a while ago. I sprayed it inside all the tubes and stays, including the fork steerer and blades. It didn't look too different other than being a bit more glossy, but I hope it'll do its job in protecting the frame from rust. Then I even waxed the frame and the fork with Turtle Wax. It seems to have put on some shine at the time, but after spilling shellac on the frame, I'm not sure if it still shows any effect. I saw a few blemishes on the paint (which there is surprisingly few despite being 31 years old), so I went to Walmart to find a matching nail polish. I now have a sizable nail polish collection from my past attempts to touch up paint job on my bike, but I never had one that matched so perfectly as this time. It's "Gunmetal" by Sally Hansen. I also painted the flutes on the crank with the nail polish. I put all the parts back together with fresh grease, which was painstakingly slow.
I got to try another fun experiment waxing the chain in a crock-pot. I read instructions on the EcoVelo website, and used a spare Crock-ette (a very small crock-pot) with Yaley's Taper Candle Wax and Yaley's Natural Beeswax. It looks great so far, but I will have to see the actual effectiveness as I ride the bike. I also gave the cloth handlebar tape (which was on the bike already) three coats of shellac. The red twine on it is actually unnecessary, other than for looks. I also cut up an old cotton suede flannel and wrapped it around the suicide levers, and gave it 4 coats of shellac.
Since this post is getting ridiculously long, I'm going to wrap it up by saying that it's a very nice looking bike with interesting components, and I am very much looking forward to getting to know its ride.

Here are the specs, finally:
Frame: Unknown material; 49cm center-to-center; stamped rear dropouts
Fork: Tange; Tange dropouts
Headset: Unknown chrome steel
Crank: SR Silstar 165mm 52t
Bottom Bracket: Tange cups; Hatta 3N spindle
Seatpost: SR 26.0mm
Saddle: Kashimax Sport
Stem: SR
Handlebar: Alps Industries Road Champion
Brakes: Shimano 500 center-pull
Brake Levers: Shimano Dee-50
Hubs: Shimano; 6 speed Uniglide freehub rear; 21t cog
Rims: Araya Satylite 27 x 1 1/4, single-walled, Schrader valve
Tires: Performance Nova 27 x 1 3/16
Misc: Cat-Eye cloth handlebar tape, 3 coats of shellac; bell by Bell; Cat-Eye reflectors; lots of hemp twine