Australian Politics Forum - The Bike Shed.

Kat

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The Bike Shed.
Jan 16^th, 2015 at 9:12pm

Since a few of us ride occasionally, I figured a 'bike corner' might be fun.

To kick things off, here are a few pics of my latest rebuild - a vintage Slim Ward 'Satellite' Club Racer..

Good old Aussie skill here, it was hand-built in Greenacre in Sydney in the late 50s/early 60s. They
are not very common. Slim (who is still alive at about 95) used to race and build his own bikes in the
40s & 50s, and had a bike shop in Greenacre, where this one was built.

There was a fair bit of work involved, but I love the end result... I took her for her first decent ride
today (to work and back) and she performed beautifully.

Not too bad for 60-odd years old..

BEFORE:

AFTER:

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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #1 - Jan 18^th, 2015 at 10:21pm

My neighbour has an old 'mixte'-style bike, which he bought off me unrestored about two years ago. He's
never gotten around to doing anything with it but was wishing that it was going the other day as he had
to walk right across town and back on a very hot day.

So on Friday we hacked away the strangler vine which had all but engulfed it, and dragged it out into the
light of day for an inspection to see what work was needed and if any parts were required.

It turned out to be better than it looked, so I spent a bit of time working on it this weekend for him. Here
is a 'before and after' shot, I handed the bike back to him this evening and he is positively stoked.

The top pic shows its condition when the Shed acquired it in 2009 (I saved it from being scrapped in 2012
but had not done any work on it). The bottom pic shows it parked with the 'Satellite' when I gave it back to
him this evening.

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Redmond Neck Moderator Offline OzPolitic Posts: 21986 ACT Gender:	Re: The Bike Shed. Reply #2 - Jan 19^th, 2015 at 5:46am Nice job Kat, it looks good!
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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #3 - Jan 22^nd, 2015 at 7:54pm

'Twas my birthday yesterday, so when I spotted this rough-but-rideable 1978 Apollo with lots of the 'good
gear' hanging off of it at a local op-shop this arvo, I just couldn't resist buying it as a present for myself.

A steal at $15. The tyres took air, and the brakes worked. Paint is quite rough, as is to be expected on a
bike which is 37 years old. It is the oldest of my 7 Apollo road-bikes (yes, I do have a bit of a 'soft spot'
for them).

Rear derailleur is rooted, but I 'just happened' to have a spare (surprise, surprise).

I'm definitely smiling.

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« Last Edit: Jan 22^nd, 2015 at 10:43pm by Kat »

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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #4 - Feb 14^th, 2015 at 8:54am

Just acquired this tasty little gem at left - a 1994 Apollo Aspen MTB in very good
original condition. Shown here with a 1995 Apollo Summit I rebuilt for the Men's
Shed and my 1996 Apollo Kosciusko.

All I really needed to do to it was pump the tyres up and give it a wash, although
it will be getting a full service over the next few days. It does ride quite nicely as
is tho.

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« Last Edit: Feb 14^th, 2015 at 9:00am by Kat »

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President Elect, The Mechanic Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 17501 Gender:	Re: The Bike Shed. Reply #5 - Feb 15^th, 2015 at 6:37am I always found that it was cheaper to just buy a new bike rather than to repair one... depends what you like doing I suppose.. my first racing bike was a track frame fitted with alloy wheels and one gear... everyone else had 10 gears... no matter.. I beat them anyways..
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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #6 - Feb 15^th, 2015 at 7:54pm

President Elect, The Mechanic wrote on Feb 15^th, 2015 at 6:37am:

I always found that it was cheaper to just buy a new bike rather than to repair one...

depends what you like doing I suppose..

my first racing bike was a track frame fitted with alloy wheels and one gear... everyone else had 10 gears... Undecided

no matter.. I beat them anyways..

These days it is cheaper to buy a bike than to get one fixed. Unless you pay a fair bit for the bike in the first place
in which case the bike shops will carry spares and will repair them. But the $99 K-mart bikes are so cheaply-made
and poorly-assembled that they soon break. And since repairing them costs more than a new one, bike shops don't
want to know.

But that's OK, we end up with them at the Men's Shed, and I repair them with second-hand parts and we sell them
to the poor, donate them to charities or send them overseas to 3rd-world countries, Namibia in our case.

We get some nice 'classic' and retro bikes, some are very nice, but again are hard to sell when the K-mart stuff is so
cheap. I've bought a few from them myself quite cheaply and fixed them for a song.

I suppose it helps that I have a background in bike repairs, as a kid my Dad owned the local Speedwell dealership
and I'd help-out in the workshop after school and on Saturday mornings.

EDIT: My first 'real' bike was a Speedwell 'Flash' 27" which I got for Xmas in 1968, it was also a single-speeder. Wink

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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #7 - Feb 24^th, 2015 at 10:01pm

This 1990 Apollo Cheetah MTB was donated to the Shed in the condition shown in the first pic.

After raiding it for parts to refurbish a similar, but complete, bike for the Shed, there wasn't a
whole lot left of this one, and what there was, wasn't much good.

It wasn't worth rebuilding, and was too incomplete even to be sent to Namibia, and so looked
destined to be completely stripped then scrapped.

But I bought the wreck for $10 and have spent a couple of evenings rebuilding it myself.

It's not quite finished yet, but almost. I have ridden it, and it rides well, even with no gears as
yet). Speaking of which, 21 into 12 does go- it was a 12-speed originally but is now 21-speed.

Second pic shows it now, the old handlebars show how much the original fluoro green paint has
faded to a cream colour over the years. I'll re-spray the fluoro sections if I can get a reasonably
close colour match in a rattle-can.

Not bad for a tenner and a couple of hours work, eh?

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« Last Edit: Feb 24^th, 2015 at 10:09pm by Kat »

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Prime Minister for Canyons Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 26906 Canberra Gender:	Re: The Bike Shed. Reply #8 - Feb 24^th, 2015 at 10:12pm Got a reid osprey, but updated with Shimano 105, Shimano pedals, Shimano wheels. Far cheaper than an actual 105 bike would cost.
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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #9 - Feb 25^th, 2015 at 11:31am

Nice one, Bus.

I've done that with a couple of mine. If better quality parts become available, I'm happy to fit them.

Exceptions are a couple of my older Apollo 'roadies', which are too original for me to want to muck
about changing things, and already come equipped with decent quality bits & bobs anyway. A good
example is my 1988 Apollo 'Delta', shown below. Would you believe I only just saved this from being
thrown into a skip for recycling? It was filthy, covered in dust and grime, flat tyres etc. but was pretty
well as shown once cleaned up a bit. I've done very little to it apart from a service, new tyres, and a
good thorough clean and polish.

It's one of my favorites to ride, it's light and very fast.

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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #10 - May 26^th, 2015 at 10:25pm

Finished this one off today for the Men's Shed - not bad for a 41 year-old bike, eh?

Admittedly it was a one-owner machine, but hadn't been ridden for years (except for
once, by me), so it copped a full service, new cables, tyres, bar-tape etc and a good
clean & polish and a wipe-over with 'Armor-All'.

I'm pleased with how it came up, and I'm sure they will be, too.

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« Last Edit: May 26^th, 2015 at 10:37pm by Kat »

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Aussie Gold Member Offline OzPolitic Posts: 39251 Gender:	Re: The Bike Shed. Reply #11 - May 27^th, 2015 at 7:24pm Looks good Kat. You obviously know your stuff.
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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #12 - May 28^th, 2015 at 5:51pm

Thanks, Aussie... I try. Wink

Here's one of mine, the 'newest' (but at 38 years old actually the oldest) of my Apollo road-bikes.

She cost $15 and after I'd raided the high-quality but non-standard gear she'd been fitted with, I
decided to bring her back to close to what she'd have been like in 1978, spec-wise.

Paint's a bit tatty, but to be fair, it is the original paint.

Hoping to have her finished this evening, with luck.

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Aussie

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #13 - May 28^th, 2015 at 6:37pm

Back in the day........there were many small business bike sale and repair shops. In my home town of Bundaberg, it was run by the Stringer brothers.

Those were also the days when kids rode to school, primary and secondary so there was a healthy market. It was the days of a one car family and the Old Man used that to go to work etc. Kids either walked (bare foot) or rode, (also mostly barefoot.) Not now. Off they go with Mummy in the huge bloody 4 wheel drive.

What a shame.

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Kat

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Re: The Bike Shed.
Reply #14 - May 28^th, 2015 at 7:55pm

Aussie wrote on May 28^th, 2015 at 6:37pm:

Back in the day........there were many small business bike sale and repair shops.

In my home town of Bundaberg, it was run by the Stringer brothers.

Those were also the days when kids rode to school, primary and secondary so there was a healthy market. It was the days of a one car family and the Old Man used that to go to work etc. Kids either walked (bare foot) or rode, (also mostly barefoot.) Not now. Off they go with Mummy in the huge bloody 4 wheel drive.

What a shame.

I'm originally from Bowral, in the NSW Sthn Highlands, and through the 1960s and 1970s
my parents owned and ran our local bike shop. Probably where I get my interest from... Tongue

We sold Speedwell cycles (made in Sydney) and there was a bloke who sold Malvern Stars
(made in Melbourne) and it was like the State of Origin, or Holden vs Ford with us kids.

The kids who had one make thought the other was 'nobbut shite', and vice-versa.

EDIT: Anyone have a late-1950s/early 1960s Speedwell 'Flash' lying around in the shed or
under the house??? Had one in high-school, have been looking for one for years. Sad

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