1970s Tiger (October 2011)

Make: Tiger
Model: ?
Year:  1970 something
Obtained: Sept 2011
Found: Bike Works co-op
Paid: $5.00 (Frame-set plus a few parts)

At the same time I picked up the blue Peugeot UO-8 frame-set at my local bike co-op  I  found yet another lonely frame-set from the island of misfit toys, a yellow, dirty 10 speed with a very cool Tiger head badge.  I had never heard of this brand, neither has the internets, and I ended up getting the same "please take that thing and get it out of here" deal that I got on the Peugeot.

it's grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

So armed with two frames and a couple of used 27 inch wheel-sets I went home and inspected my haul.  After looking at the Tiger I had to laugh, it appeared someone had been in a muddy cyclo-cross race with this bike and then parted it out without ever cleaning it up and to top it off it had sections wrapped in packing tape..WTF!?

Why would you put packing tape on a 10 speed frame I ask?  Why! it took a while but eventually I got it all off and after some inventory realized that I had a BB, cable guides, seat post and faux velvet seat and set of no name center pull brakes to work with -in addition to a used wheel-set.

More importantly I had a vision for this bike.  I had recently come across the Kenda K161 cyclo-cross knobby tire on Amazon in a nice fat 27 x 1  3/8 inch gumwall tire (that equates to 37c).  As it was getting onto the wet season I though this would be a great rain bike build with the Kenda  tires and some fenders.  You can can check out this tire over at bikeman4u here .

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After doing some major cleaning and then waxing of the frame it was time to source some parts to get this baby back in the road.  In my parts bin I had; derailleurs, 6 speed freewheel, a sealed bottom bracket, stem and a better seat as using a faux velvet seat on a rain bike is just not done.  I hit Bikeworks for;  stem shifters, handlebars, brake levers, pedals, and a crank-set.  As always the bike got new; rubber, cable and housing, chain and bar tape.  I had been so pleased with how the red accents looked on the white Peugeot that I took a flier and used red housing and bar tape on the Tiger too. I thought it worked out fine.

From ugly ducking to ..well not exactly a swan but at least a plain looking duckling, and it got snapped up on CL by a UW student so it all worked out.  Now I need to build myself a bike around those fat Knobby tires some day.

Ride.Smile.Repeat.

Myth Busted "There are very few options for 27 inch tires"

On one of the bike mailing lists I frequent a gentleman was building up a old school mixte for his lady friend and wanted suggestions for 27 inch tires, in response several well meaning folks mentioned that there were "very few options" for 27 inch tires.  On other bike forums I have seen this expressed by members urging people working on old 10 speeds to convert them to 700c wheel-sets "so you have tire options".  Now I do not dispute that 700c tires have a tremendous variety of widths and options BUT as one who has spent way too much time searching online for tire deals I can tell you  the 27 inch tire cupboard is far from bare.

Sizes

You basically have 4 widths to choose from for 27inch tires from a 25c narrow width to 37c fat width -see options below

27  inch size	ISO	rough metric equivalent width
27 x 1	630x25	25c
27 x 1 1/8	630x28	28c
27 x 1 1/4	630x32	32c
27 x 1 3/8	630x37	37c

Brands

There are a bunch of companies making 27 inch tires including;  Avenir, Bell, Cheng Shin, Continential, Kenda, Michelin, Panaracer, Schwable, and Vittoria to name the big ones.  Just do a search on Amazon and you will see for yourself.

Price Range

You can spend $8 a tire for some Cheng Shin gumwalls or $36 a tire for Continental gatorskins and every where in between.

Options

You want a traditional gumwall, my favorite, you have choices in every size.  I personally like the Kenda K35 which is a great looking tire, sturdy and a very good bang for the buck.

You want a lighter tan than the gumwall but not quite a whitewall then go with a skinwall like the Kenda K36

You want to "pimp your ride" with cool white walls - no worries check out the Schwalbe HS159

Like a more modern stealthy all black look - your covered with something like the Vittoria Zaffiiro

You like color matching the side walls or treads to your bike?  your covered- check the selection from Junky Rusty Bikes

You want something knobby for cyclocross of just winter commuting check out the Kenda K161 I put on the Tiger rebuild

Conclusion

So if you want; skinny or fat, colored or black, hip or retro, road or cross, you have choices with 27 inch tires.  Don't get me wrong 700c is a great size with tons of options just don't convert your old school 10 speed to a modern wheel size out of the misguided notion that there aren't many options for the old school 27 inch tires.  That's just a myth..  As Always....

Ride.Smile.Repeat.

Addendum

Based on some comments it appears some folks think that 700c tires and 27" tires are interchangeable, THEY ARE NOT, and if I have said anything here to make you think so I am sorry.  To be very clear 27" tire will NOT work on a 700c rim and a 700c tire will NOT work on a 27" rim. I have tried.  The diameters are too different a 27" tire has a bead seat diameter of 630 and at 700c tire is 622.

If you are in doubt about what  size you currently have look at your rims which usually have a size stamped on them and look at your current tire, in addition to having a size on the sidewall, they should also have the ISO number expressed in (parentheses) as below.

This is a 27 x 1 3/8 tire and the ISO is expressed as width and diameter (BSD) so (37-630) if this were a 700 x 23c tire it would be (23-622).  So step 1 - determine your rim size, step 2 - buy tires that match that rim size, Step 3 - don't let tubes confuse you, since they don't have a bead they can be used in either 700c or 27" and you will see both sizes on the box the tubes come in.

As you can see above the phrase "Get the grip" it shows sizes for 700c and 27", tubes are interchangeable, Tires are NOT.    Again tires must match the rim size. I will close with repeating that 27 inch tires and 700c tires are NOT interchangeable.  Thanks.

1970s Atala Giro D'Italia (2011) Amore!



Catalog shot mine was white

Manufacturer: Atatla
Model: Giro D'Italia
Found: On CL
Paid: $85
Acquired: August 2011
Sold: Frame only November 2011

I have always meant to write about this bike but could never find any pictures of the project.  I finally decided to just find some shots on the web and get on with it.  Back in 2011 when I was getting deep into vintage steel bicycles and after spending way too much time on bicycle blogs I was convinced I needed to find some cool vintage Italian steel. ( later I was convinced I needed something French and went after the Peugeot Course but that's another story).

right color wrong number of gears

So I started haunting Craigslist and eBay for a suitable candidate and stumbled across a 1970 something Atala Giro D'Italia.  It was about twice the amount I would normally spend but since I was getting it just for me I decided to fork over.  I let my lust for the idea of an Italian 10 speed blind me to the fact that it was a 25" frame and therefore too big for me.  I tried to make it work but the reality was it just didn't fit regardless of the Italian pedigree.  The catalog intro reads like so:

Seamless high tensile frame tubing combined with generous use of alloy components, including quick release hubs, center pull brakes (Weinmann), alloy handlebar and stem combine to make this a quality lightweight machine. Equipped with Simplex Prestige wide range derailleur system.

The late great Sheldon Brown had this to say:

Quality generally ranges from reasonable to downright scary. Importantly, these were among the few bikes to enter the U.S. before the early 70's bike boom that were of any quality. look for examples with nice chrome.

As a small word of caution, don't be terribly excited buy seemingly ornate lugs with cut outs on some Atala models. Such frames are very common and not terribly unique or desirable. In Italy, they are everywhere - even on the typical commuter bike.

I was so excited about this bike I even looked at a cool retro wool jersey..

Yeah I was a bit nuts.

I ended up using some of the parts on other projects; TTT stem, the afore mentioned Simplex Prestige drive train group, Sugino crankset and some cool details like 3 chromed top tube cable guides, and an "umbrella" clamp on frame pump stop.  They mostly went on the Tiger.

Simplex Prestige RD

Chrome top tube cable guides

That left me with a frame which I sold on Craigslist.  I realize now, in retrospect, that it's not about the country or the pedigree of the steed but if the bike fits and puts a smile on your face when you ride it which the lovely Motobecane Grand Touring certainly does.

bliss at 10 speeds

As always Ride.Smile.Repeat.

Postscript:  I lied! I did have a single photo squirreled away

Bike Blitz Day 3

I got in a solid three and half hours today on bikes.  I solved the 3 minor issues I had at the end of the day yesterday on the Mirage.  I used a punch to persuade the seat binder bolt to come out.

The giant allen wrench got the kickstand loose although it was pretty tight quarters, and the non-drive crank arm got also got some persuading...

A few taps of the mallet on the back of the crank arm got it started coming off.  Today was mostly about about cleaning.  I am not sure this bike was cleaned at all in the last 20 years.

I can usually do most of the cleaning with armor all wipes but I knew this was going to be all hands on deck, so I brought lots of supplies from home.

I started with the headset pieces in sonic cleaner, except for cups still on the headtube and the crown race on the fork.  I would usually remove them but that would mean bringing more tools over so I cleaned them in place.

I still have some detail work to do on the headset pieces but they are 100% cleaner then when I started.

Both the fork and..

 frame are filthy, this may be tied with the Tiger for the dirtiest frame I have ever refurbished.

After a bout with soap and water and then one with armor all wipes and some tooth brush scrubbing on the greasiest parts, I waxed and polished up the frame and fork.  It's not perfect but it came a long ways today.

I got the crank apart for cleaning but I did take a few shots before I took it apart so I would be able to reference it later - something I forgot to do when working on the Passage crank.

The brakes, pedals and derailleurs also got a sonic cleaner bath.  I also flushed the pedals with WD-40, I am going to let them dry out and pump them full of grease tomorrow.

While the sonic cleaner was going I stripped the wheels of the old dried up rubber and started cleaning them as they are as filthy as the rest of the bike.

The front hub looked like this when I started.

Still a bit of detail work to do but the front hub is now much cleaner.

I also started on the rims, I used to use very fine steel wool for this but after reading many admonitions not to use steel wool on chrome I have started using bronze wool which leaves fewer fine scratches.  It's a tedious job but the results are worth it.

And finally some progress on the Nishiki! more to the point movement.  After 3 days of spraying liquid wrench down the seat tube and taping on the seat-post in a radial pattern and testing it by gently but firmly twisting the frame back and forth- it finally started moving.

And bingo the frame is free! a very satisfying feeling and not really expected.

I read somewhere that using penetrating oil on a alloy seat-post stuck in a steel frame was useless, don't recall the reason why but as you can see from the picture above it penetrated nicely.

 I did such a good job with the penetrating oil in fact that I filled up the inside of the seat-post.

So now the Nishiki can be built back up, the paint is in poor shape but I think it could make a great commuter and I have about 80% of what would be needed to build it, not bad for $11.

Speaking of mountain bikes, I did a bit or work on the Miyata.  As you can see the cheap plastic fenders have come off which makes it look a ton better.

I also removed the saddle and seat-post so I could bin the saddle which was padded, tattered and smelled like it had been dipped in a vat of fabric softener.  When I got the post out I could see it had been shimmed with pieces of tin from a pop can, which meant it was not the right size or original to the bike.  And to make matters worse its a post and clamp model rather than an integrated seat-post so I will be replacing it once I figure out the correct size.  The one in the bike was 26.0.

I removed the crappy foam grips, one of which was torn anyway.

And put on the new grips I got for the bike, some Ergon knock-offs I got from Amazon.  Had I known was going to get a job offer I would have ordered the real deal.  If I decide I love this bike I will probably upgrade.  Until next time.  Ride.Smile.Repeat.

Ride me out to the Ball Game

Duwamish river with Mt. Rainier in the distance

One of my goals while I am on my "work hiatus" was to ride my bike to a ball game.  I was inspired by the excellent "A few spokes shy of a wheel" blog where "Rootchopper", a resident of the greater DC metro-plex, regularly rides his bike to see the Washington Nationals.  I did some research and found out that the Safeco Field, where my beloved and beleaguered (15 years with no post season appearance) Mariners play, is only 5 miles away and has bike parking in one of the stadium garages.  The route is mostly downhill or flat on the way there but it's a fairly gritty and industrial route going by the port and rail yards.  You do get a nice view of Mt. Rainier from the summit of the bridge crossing the Duwamish river though, and it was peaking out on my ride.

About a mile from the stadium I had to pause for this train whose end was just in the intersection when it stopped, fortunately they backed it up and we were able to get through, the final part of the route to the stadium runs on 1st avenue which is a busy 4 lane surface street whose only nod to bikes are faded sharrows.  I am not usually a fan of riding on the sidewalk as I think it comes with it own set of issues but in this case I made an exception.  I used to commute to downtown and used a better bike route but that was a decade ago and lots of construction has happened in that time so I just took the route google maps laid out.

Once I got to the stadium I dismounted and walked the bike as I was close to the garage and there were swarms of pedestrians making their way to the game and/or the beer garden you can't see in the photo above that was on my right.

On my way to the garage I spotted these racks but since I had read the bike parking was inside  I kept going.  As I neared the entrance to the parking garage the attendants must have seen my "this my first time and I don't what I am doing" look and kindly directed me were to go.

no lolly gagging!

The bike cage was really more of a cave, its a low spot in the garage with support beams running through it and any car that wasn't a low rider would have a difficult time parking in that area.  I'm just shy of 6 feet and I had to duck to get in and out. but it is nice they have a secure place for bikes.

I got the HD all locked up and squared away and swapped my bike helmet for my new Mariners cap.  I do like having a pannier for carrying stuff.  I thought I was going to do this trip back in May but between the rain, cold (48 degrees) and dark I decided to bike another day.  In anticipation of that game I decided to order a new ball cap after I realized I had been using the old one for 17 years.

The bike cage reminded me of ones I have used at various employers over the years and although it didn't have a keypad at the gate being inside a garage with parking attendants felt much more secure than outside.

With summer having not truly arrived yet in the PNW the bike parking was under utilized with less than 10 bikes in the cage but I expect things will be different in July.  I thought I had left home early, but by the time I got the bike secured and crossed the street to the ball park I only had 20 minutes to gain entry, grab a beer and a dog and make my way to my seat high above.

While waiting in line to get into the stadium I got to check out the new statue for hall of famer Ken Griffey Jr.

On my way in I took this shot from where the well heeled folks sit.

And the perch my 1/2 price ticket got me.  It was actually very pleasant, a mild 65 degrees, a good crowd for a Monday night but not jam packed.  A beer and a dog and the crack of the bat.

downtown skyline with the space needle peaking out on the far left

Olympic range before sunset

One benefit of being on the 3rd deck of a downtown ball park are the views.  The home town 9 ending up winning 6-2, on the back of two, two run home runs from catcher Mike Zunino.  This kid was struggling so badly at the plate to start the season that he was sent to AAA, but since he came back he's been so hot that they are starting to call this month Junino.

photo credit Washington Post

I felt comfortable enough with a 4 run lead entering the 9th to start making my way back to the garage, I left the stadium with the Tiger's down to their last out and by the time I had my bike out of the garage folks were streaming out of the ball park with the contented glow of a hometown win.  I walked my bike a few blocks away from the stadium and towards my old bike route, I wouldn't have been able to get there by car but as a pedestrian/cyclist  I was able to thread my way to it.  My old cycling route follows the road that runs past the port of Seattle, during the day its busy with big trucks but at 10:30 at night its pretty deserted and it has a real honest to goodness bike lane.

Since I knew I would be coming home in the dark I took my "night helmet", its a bit Rube Goldberg but it allows me to run lights fore and aft on both the bike and my helmet and it gives me light where ever I point my head, I just have to remember to keep my head pointed slightly down so I don't blind folks.  I had forgotten how fun it is to ride on a warm June evening at 10:30 pm, much different than a chilly, rainy, pitch black ride at 7:00 pm in February.  It was so mild I took off my light rain shell as I knew I would be heating up climbing the incline on the bridge.  Back in my kinda go fast roadie days I could big ring this incline but tonight I was lucky to be all alone so I could paper boy it (zig zag) in my lowest gear to the top.

Since I have a bus pass, no climbing chops currently and the last mile was mostly up hill I decided to go multi-modal for the end of the trip as the bus literally delivers me to my front door.  That gave me about 13.5 km of riding this evening and it also gives me an excuse to seek out another game so I can bike door to door next time.  As it was it felt good to sit out on my balcony after I got home, among the bike projects lol, and bask in the warm glow of a goal accomplished.  Ride, Eat Cracker Jacks,Smile, Repeat.