possible project

goods

right iv had this in the shed for years and think i might try and make a single speed out of it. Never done anything like this before .Would it involve much work
looking at the frame is it worth the bother?

Frame is fairly rusty and would prefer not to have to respray it -

Any advice would be much appreciated - would it cost much ?

TinyExplosions

That's one nice frame there mate!

Not sure about cost, I'd say a couple hundred would get you sorted

stuf

that's a classy piece of steel you've got there and if you could rescue those brakes too ....

As I've just discovered the wheels are your main area of expense/compromise. I ended up spending about €170 on mine and that was on the cheap(ish) (formula hubset - £55+p&p, Mavic A719 rims - £50 and Dt swiss champion spokes for €40) and doesn't include the cost of the truing stand to build them. Halfords in tallaght had a fixed rear wheel the other day for €40 so it can be done cheaper.

TinyExplosions

I'll also point out that if you don't want to build your own wheels, the Halo Aerorage is a good set (10/10 in C+) -I've have a set on order at the mo, at just under 200 quid from Chain Reaction

cantalach

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I'll also point out that if you don't want to build your own wheels, the Halo Aerorage is a good set (10/10 in C+) -I've have a set on order at the mo, at just under 200 quid from Chain Reaction

Excuse my slowness but what is C+?

fish-head

A flipping Merician?! Gah! That's the second one in two weeks.. not fair.

That's a seriously cool bike you've got there. If you want to be economical about things, you can re-use the handlebars, brakes and crankset and then you'll only have to buy the wheels.

What's the spacing on the rear dropouts?

TinyExplosions

cantalach wrote: »

Excuse my slowness but what is C+?

Sorry mate, it's Cycling Plus -a magazine that's pretty good IMO for reviews -I'd trust what they say

goods

cheers guys , ya id hope to salvage as much as i can , its not in bad nick been locked up in a shed for about 10 years, what would be the best thing to do about the rust, as i said would prefer not to have to respray,
Its not too bad got a bit off with a light sanding but, will it not just rust more and more unless i seal it or something

Thomas_S_Hunterson

I think that Hammerite can be appied directly to rust.

Realistically, you're going to have to paint or spray it to seal off the steel.

thesunwashot

goods wrote: »

as i said would prefer not to have to respray

Is that because you don't want to lose the existing paint job or because you don't want to have the hassle of doing the repaint yourself?

goods

bit of both really i like the colour and want to do it as cheap as possible
but i think i might have to bite the bullet, il see how it looks after a good cleaning

thesunwashot

goods wrote: »

bit of both really i like the colour and want to do it as cheap as possible
but i think i might have to bite the bullet, il see how it looks after a good cleaning

You will definitely have to do something about rust if you want the bike to last and be safe.

I did a hammerite repaint recently which worked out pretty cheap. It is easy to apply and you generally don't need to strip the existing paint. Just remove the rust as best you can and get painting. I used clear lacquer over the hammerite and that evened the finish out pretty nicely.

That said, for 90 lids you can get a sandblast and powder coat job done with minimum effort to you and professional looking results.

stuf

I know this doesn't fit into the "on the cheap" category but I think mercian do restoration paint jobs - in fact here's the link

http://www.merciancycles.com/renovation.asp

given the value of the frame I would keep it tatty until you could afford to paint it properly

thesunwashot

stuf wrote: »

I know this doesn't fit into the "on the cheap" category but I think mercian do restoration paint jobs - in fact here's the link

http://www.merciancycles.com/renovation.asp

given the value of the frame I would keep it tatty until you could afford to paint it properly

Right at the bottom of that list is "Pot of Mercian touch up paint". That could be the best solution.

goods

ya i was looking at their site alright, think if i do decide to respray that would be the best option, using touch up paint would be grand but with the amount of rust, id say it would look fairly speckled !
Il strip it down and give it a good clean and see how it looks