Custom Surly Single-Speed

Eloy wanted a bike for short trips around town. He and his wife already have bikes that they use for long rides, but he wanted something simple for under five mile trips. He came in thinking about building a three speed 29er mountain bike, but after numerous discussions with Vic and much thought, decided instead to build this single-speed Surly Steamroller.


Vic advised investment in and hand built this monster wheelset. The Velocity Dyad rims have been laced with DT Swiss double-butted stainless steel spokes to Velo Orange high flange track hubs. This is a light-weight, high-performance, extremely durable wheelset for Eloy's 200 pounds.


If you think it looks like a monster now, wait until Eloy removes all the decals, as he plans to do immediately for an all black and silver look.

by John Wade

1973 Raleigh International Finds a Home

From Vic:

"This bike came out of my personal collection. I did not want to sell it, but Walt caught me as there was a Trek 950 road bike available that I just had to have (post coming soon). Oh what a collection I could build if there only unlimited piles of cash at my disposal..."



From Walt, the satisfied customer:

"Hi Vic,

The bike arrived at 1:30 Wednesday. Your packing job was very good. As I opened each piece, I was both pleased and thankful to you for the cleanliness.

As I sat on the kitchen floor and assembled the bike I was again pleased as I could feel the fresh grease in the bearings, the finely adjusted cones, the wheels true and round, the new tires mounted straight, the bar tape just right- overall, the superb original condition of the entire 38 year old machine...

The Int'l was quiet, stiffer than I expected, and just real fine.

Thank you for all your hard work and expertise. I appreciate your letting me have it.

Walt"

View on the website

Make: Raleigh

Model: International

Frame Size: 57cm

Frame Description: Carlton built. Reynolds 531 tubes & stays. Chain stays are the uncommon rapid taper style (round at the bottom bracket shell then a rapid taper to provide greater clearence for tires). Nervex lugs, head lugs chromed. Campagnolo dropouts (rear has adjusting screws) Additional chrome accents include trident fork crown, chain stay, seat stay, and fork ends.
Wheels: Campagnolo high flange hubs laced to Sprint alloy tubular rims with stainless steel double butted spokes. New Servio Corsa sew up tires.
Components: Full Campagnolo Nuovo Record with the exception of Weinmann 610 Center pull brakes and QR drilled levers, Carlton hoods. All other components are Campagnolo engraved including crank, bottom bracket, pedals, crank dust caps, derailleurs, shifters, seat post, seat post binder bolt, and headset.
Saddle & Seatpost: Brooks Professional Saddle, Campy seat post.
Bars & Stem: Cinelli

Ironwoman!

Mey Tseng has ridden our 50cm Surly Pacer instead of our Nishiki to victory in the 2011 Louisville Ironman!



Mey raised money and traveled to Louisville to compete, as an amateur, in her first-ever Ironman. She successfully completed the three stages in under 17 hours, making her an Ironwoman!

Unfortunately, the Nishiki's new "brifters" just would not work perfectly. After going so far as to call Shimano, Vic just was not satisfied with the performance. The Tuesday morning before the Ironman, he ordered a Surly Pacer and then built it up by Sunday.

Mey says it worked out great, and she loved the bike!

by John Wade

Steel for the Ironman

Vic is proud to announce that he has completed the bicycle build for Mey Tseng, who will compete in the Louisville Ironman on August 28.



He took the triathlon frame from a Nishiki Tri-A-Equipe' :

and put on the modern Ultegra components from his Mark Nobilette:


The Nishiki frame was built by Kuwahara, the "Carlton of Japan" (in that, like Carlton, they did a lot of business building bicycles for other companies, and had some bicycles released under their own name as well. This frame was obviously built by Kuwahara for Nishiki). You might recognize the Kuwahara built and branded BMX bicycle from the movie E.T.!


As far as components, Mey specifically asked for "brifters" (brake and shifter combination), so we put these on:


She might want a triple chainring with a "granny gear" for any hills around Louisville. Apparently, it is important in the Ironman to save yourself during the bicycling and the swimming portions so your body doesn't shut down for the running portion. I mean, I guess that is just pacing yourself writ large, but I can imagine that it takes a heck of a lot more calories to run 42.2 kilometers than it does to bike 180.3 kilometers, as you have to do in the Ironman (yes, I did just convert to metric, it is easier, but more on that in a later blog post).

GOOD LUCK IN THE IRONMAN MEY!!

by John Wade

Bicycling Across Generations

Jonathan Capps found his Dad's old bicycle in the barn. He thought he saw a diamond in the rough, and he was right!

At Vic's Classic Bikes, we love it when quality bicycles see multiple generations of riders. Unfortunately, many consumer goods today, even high-end consumer goods, are not built to last nor to be repairable. This Raleigh Super Course was both!

_____________

This week I went through a pile of old bicycles at my uncle's house (or more properly, his garage) and came out with these two bicycles for my cousins, who just left for college yesterday. The one on the right is a Trek 820 hybrid bicycle with 700 wheels. It actually has a sweet enough steel frame.


The male cousin will be riding Mom's old bike while the female cousin will be riding Dad's.

A friend of mine from the Netherlands lived in California for a year. A story he would tell me that was supposed to illustrate something about America was how, in California, he bought a used woman's bicycle and thought he got a great deal because it was only fifteen bucks. In the Netherlands, if a bicycle can move forward, it costs real money. Everyone cycles, so there is kind of an infinite demand for working bicycles. He soon learned a valuable lesson; in America, males will be made fun of for riding a woman's bicycle. He has never forgotten being constantly harassed for his purchase.

Real men can take it.

By John Wade

Schwinn Pixie Restoration

Restoration of vintage bicycles is a rewarding endeavor. Transforming an undesirable cast-away into a prized jewel is very satisfying - restoring a precious heirloom even more so.

Recently, a Cincinnati customer brought her own childhood vintage Schwinn Pixie for restoration. Though she might have found a new or better condition Pixie elseware, she wanted this specific bicycle restored for her daughter.

The Pixie needed a lot of work. The frame needed a deep cleaning, fenders and all other bright metal needed to be re-chromed. The saddle and grips would need to be replaced. The heavy hard rubber tires needed to be replaced with new wheels that used lighter modern tires & tubes.

To satisfy my own curiosity I started to clean one of the fenders and was surprised to find the original triple-chrome plating still in good condition. What a testament to American quality in the 1960's! It took plenty of chrome cleaner and elbow grease, but the the fenders started to shine. The underside of the fenders required a coat of silver zinc oxide paint to keep any future corosion at bay. After a thorough cleaning of the entire bicycle, I was ready for reassembly. The Pixie now looks and handles beautifully, and the integrity of the personal value of this bicycle was maintained.

Laura Wallace and her new bike

Laura was looking for some economical transportation and found this Free Spirit within her budget. Brought it in to Vics for an evaluatioin and to get it up and rolling. The origional drive train was rather primitive and needed alot of work. On the upside, the tires had been replaced recently and were ok. The decision was made to remove the shifters, derailleurs, and shift cables. Replace the 5 speed cluster with a new singlespeed freewheel, fit a new chain and brake pads. Laura is now enjoying her vintage singlespeed conversion that didnt break the bank.