Vintage Bicycle Restoration Blog

But the rewards are great and anyone can acquire the skills.

Vintage bicycle restoration blog. Our basic service includes a major tune up and minor installation of simple accessories and or replacement parts. We ve just completed the restoration of this late 1970 s mixte vintage bicycle. Another happy bike to emerge from our workshop. Over the 20 years that i ve restored old bikes and stripped them for bits the ever expanding collection of parts i ve taken off has moved with me from house to house without ever being seriously.

I won t even bother to discuss bikes built for department stores those are landfill bikes that are utterly worthless and designed to be thrown away. The secret is to focus on whatever is distracting the eye and fix it. Handlebar and stem choices are two of the most important elements contributing to rider comfort. Our complete service can be a total restoration from top to bottom including a bike overhaul and the breakdown and extensive cleaning of every single component.

The above chart from fred delong s guide to bicycles and bicycling published back in the 1970 s provides a nice visual for the effect of hand position on the cyclist s head and eyes. There are many reasons why vintage bicycles are superior to the modern day mass produced low priced bicycles that you can find at your local bike shop. One can always find an ebay bargain for a 1961 cinelli racing bike that makes great wall art but restoring the bike to its original beauty and function takes passion pragmatism and a deep working knowledge of the bicycle industry and its history which is why abo offers its vintage restoration services to enthusiasts who would like to ride a piece of beautiful functional history. You can accomplish a very successful restoration and create a vintage style bicycle with minimal investment and effort.

Friday october 24 2014. Vintage bicycling veteran vintage classic and retro bicycle enthusiast blog. If you get into any vintage bicycle restoration project go in with your eyes open. There s often no need to tear it down and start from scratch.

Removing rust replacing components there s a lot to do. Rudge bicycles 1958 brochure here s the rudge full range brochure for 1958. There were quite a few brands following a similar spec at that time although we suspect it s a raleigh. It was unbranded on arrival so we re yet to find out who built it.

Here s some tips on how to do it. Performing a beautiful vintage bicycle restoration doesn t have to be a major project. 1 finding a gem. Bicycle rides and restorations period photos and brochures tales from the workshop and random mutterings.

I now live in gurnee illinois. My name is john and i repair restore and recycle bicycles.