My new bike for the Eroica Britannia is here!

Well, my Gumtree searching hasn't been in vain, I picked up my 'new' bike yesterday. It's a 1984 Claud Butler Sierra. She needs a bit of work but she's basically in excellent condition. Everything is original with no replacement parts fitted and all the original stickers on the frame, including the dealer decal which is cool.

She's a size 22.5 inch which is perfect because it works out at 57.1 cm in modern money and I generally take a 56 or 58 cm in road bikes. Luckily, because it's a touring bike, it has a small inner front ring which I suspect I'll need for the hills on the upcoming ride!She's not perfect of course and I've just had a good on-line shopping session ordering tyres, brake cables and blocks and a new chain. The bottom bracket has a very slight wobble which I'll either buy the tools for and fix or drop at the bike shop. Other than that, she's in great shape and I can't wait to take her out and try the local 21 miler on her!

I've decided to start a maintenance log for her which may help other people:

16th May: Took the front axle out of the front Sunshine 5345 hub to check the bearings. What little grease there was was baked hard and dark but the races and bearings look good. I've ordered a 13mm Park cone spanner because the cones are 13mm (I used a 15mm to undo them but they were very loose so no worries there) and the locking nuts are 17mm. The hub takes ten 3/16" bearings per side so Ive ordered a pack of 50 grade 10 bearings from Simply Bearings Ltd.

17th May: The new tyres arrived today so I've fitted them already. You can get 27 x 1 1/4" tyres for £6 each but I went for the Schwalbes because they are guaranteed to have 50 tpi carcasses which means they should be reasonably fast rolling compared to the very cheap ones.

They also have a basic anti-puncture strip fitted so I think the £30 I paid for two tyres and two tubes was pretty reasonable, especially compared to fancy modern tyres! I was also particularly happy with the understated graphics. The photo on ebay showed had fairly bright blue Schwalbe logos so I'm pleased they turned up with subtle black graphics.

18th May: I've definitely been keeping the various delivery companies busy recently with bits and bobs arriving for the bike all the time. I managed to find some Koolstop salmon compound brake blocks and a brown brake cable kit from a company in London so I decided to fit them today.

Removing the old perished outer and mangled inner and installing the new cables was very satifying. The old brake blocks were dried up and fairly chewed looking so replacing them with new Koolstop salmons was a pleasure. I might even stand a slim chance of slowing down a little bit if I ever have to brake in the rain... I'll do the fronts when I can find another brown brake kit in stock somewhere and keep you posted.

On another note, I managed to get the cranks off with no issues using a standard puller. The axle is loose and slightly bent so I've ordered a modern square taper Shimano bottom bracket. Cheating slightly, I know, but I've got the tools to fit a modern bottom bracket and I don't want to fork out for tools I'll probably never use again.

19th May: My packet of new bearings has arrived so I'm going to try and get the wheels done this weekend if time allows. Bearing come in various grades, grade 100 being generic ball bearings such as you might buy from a bike shop, the diametrical tolerance being 1/10,000".

There are various grades but I tend to buy grade 10 bearings which have a diametrical tolerance of 1/100,000". They only cost a couple of quid more for a packet so I tend to spend the extra figuring what the heck.

21st May:I replaced the bearings in the front wheel today, the old grease was disgusting, it was a blacky brown colour and so dry it was almost fibrous. Unfortunately one of the cones was fairly pitted but they should last a few miles hopefully, they're still a bit grumbly but very smooth now. I noticed the wheels didn't really look chromed this morning so I Googled the info on the sticker and it turns out they're aluminium. This should make the bike considerably less dangerous in the wet so that's definitely a bonus!

I cannot get the bottom bracket to move so I've stripped the bike down and I'm going to drop the frame at the bike shop in town this afternoon if my car gets through it's MOT in time.

Update: Right, the bikes at the bike shop in town to have the bottom bracket removed. The mechanic had a quick go at getting it out but said "It's stuck...

...but we will get it out", which was confidence inspiring. I've left it with them until Wednesday so I'll pick it up then and fit the Shimano BB-UN55 that arrived today from Chain Reaction Cycles.

26th May: I collected the frame from Thatto Cycles on the way home from work today and was very pleased when they presented it to me with a bag containing bits of bottom bracket attached to it. They charged a tenner for labour for removing it which I thought was pretty fair given they saved me a couple of hours of broken tools and skinned knuckles!

I cleaned out the shell with a tooth brush and loads of WD40 and then fitted the new bottom bracket with tons of copper grease slathered over the threads of both the shell and the bottom bracket so I should be able to remove it myself in the future if I ever need to. Now to decide whether or not to grease the tapers or not when I fit the cranks, a debate among cyclists second only to the infamous 'helmet or no helmet' question...

Whilst I had the bike in bits, I thought I might as well deal with the rust on the area of the frame behind the bottom bracket. There was a lot of rust and the paint was flaking badly so I started by removing as much paint as I could by picking at it with my fingernails.

I then got the half-loose stuff off with the small blade on my penknife and finished by going over the whole area with wet and dry paper. I then wiped the whole area with brake cleaner and painted over it with some clear nail varnish I bought ages ago for touching up my Pace suspension forks. It's not a permanent repair but it will prevent any further corrosion while I ponder future plans.

10th June: The one I'm calling the saddle saga... The first time I turned the bike upside down, I was greeted with a fairly gruesome sight. It appears that at some point in the past, the seatpost has seized and someone decided whaling on it with a hammer would get it out!

The aluminium has been peened right into the bolt rendering the seatpost a mess and the bolt completely irremovable. I've since bought a replacement post of ebay and wondered how I was going to rescue the saddle? I know angle grinding aluminium is a no-go but I figured I might as well try./span>

I figured if I could separate the head of the bolt, it might just all pop apart. The grinder smeared through the aluminium slowly but I was then pleases to see a huge fan of orange sparks flying out of one side. I carried on until I figured I must be close to separating the bolt head and stopped to check progress. The whole assembly still felt solid but when I held the saddle and tapped the post - PING - the bolt head seperated and the whole lot fell apart. The saddle is now installed on the new seatpost and it's time for the next job.

11th June: This entry is an important tip for bikes with horizontal drop-outs. The bike is more or less ready to ride now so I took it for a pootle up and down the back drive and noticed the rear wheel kept moving and rubbing against the left stay. A quick Google revealed you have to use traditional, internal cam type quick releases such as the old steel Shimano, Campagnolo or Maillard type. I'd been using a cheap modern cam-over type whilst I carried out the overhaul so I refitted the steel Suntour one very tightly and I'll test it again when it stop pouring down and dries out a bit!

The big reveal! She's not finished yet, I still need to nail the settings for the rear hub adjustment but that's about the only job left to do. The silver no-rust Clarkes chain is a pain but I'm sure it'll turn black soon enough.

The saddle was a bit of a bargain too, they're normally £20 at most bike shops but Winstanleys Bikes in Wigan were doing them for £11.99 which definitely appealed to my Yorkshire ancestry!

12th June: Aaagh, I was just having another look at some stock photo's of my bike and noticed it had brake hoods! Another order has just gone in to SJS Cycles...

15th June: One thing I noticed recently when i had the bike upside down was that the teeth of the smaller front chain ring were ridiculously worn, especially the teeth on opposite sides of the ring that bare the brunt of each legs power stroke.

This was confirmed when I took the bike for it's inaugral 10 miles ride the other night, the chainring was slipping around a bit which would get annoying on a longer ride and dangerous on a climb. Anyhow, I replaced it with a new Stronglight 36 tooth ring and it should be much more pleasant to ride from now on.

Oh god, what have I signed up for... The Eroica Britannia.

Having seen a few references to it at the Spin cycle festival in Manchester on Friday and been intrigued by the brilliant retro imagery, I did a bit of Googling and thought "That looks pretty awesome!". It's a 3 day retro cycling festival in Bakewell in Derbyshire that also includes food and drink stands, a retro cycling parts emporium, family fun events and a whole lot more.

The main reason I signed up however is the bike ride, it's a huge retro ride with some interesting rules... All bikes must be pre-1987, have downtube shifters, non-aero wheels, no clipless pedals, you must wear period-specific clothing, you get the idea - retro! I've signed up for the 55 mile route which would be hard, even on my Giant, but I figure it's an expensive event so I might as well make the most of it. With this in mind, I'm looking at an early 80s Claud Butler on Tuesday after work so more to follow...

May 2016.

May 4th: I managed to get out and do the local 21 after work tonight. It was very sunny and warm enough to ride with my running top sleeves rolled up which was cool. It wasn't perfect though, it was very windy but that's been par for the course this year so far. Anyhow, it was pleasant enough ride and I averaged 16.8 mph which, once again, backs up my theory that sunny weather makes you cycle faster and it's 20.7 miles to kick May off.

May 6th: Yaaaaay!!! It was a hot sunny day today and the official first 'Just a t-shirt' day of the year. I decided to do the local 21 with the farm track tacked on and it was beautiful, the hedgerows were full of goldfinches and sparrows and there was a real feeling that summer's on it's way which was awesome.

There wasn't much wind either, which was a bonus, and I averaged 16.8 mph again which was cool. Anyhow, 27.2 more miles for May. Full credit for the photo above goes to Singing Wings Aviary, it's a pretty awesome pic!

May 7th: I managed to get out again this afternoon and do the same route as yesterday. It was just as hot and sunny but a lot windier which was no surprise but it was still the second t-shirt only ride of the year. The wind dropped my average to just 16.1 mph as well but it was still a very enjoyable ride and 27.2 more miles.

May 14th: I did the same ride again today. It was just as hot and sunny but with a cold northerly wind that really didn't help. There was one puzzling thing about the ride that I must look into. There were bright orange A4 notices stuck on lamp posts and fences all over the place with the Wiggle logo on and something about northern events so I'm guessing there's a mass participation run or bike ride coming up maybe? Anyhow, another 27.2 miles.

May 30th: Lanzarote at last! It was a bit too fierce to cycle in the afternoon so at 6 o'clock I set out to do a local ride I created. It started by heading a few miles up a single carriageway through the Rubicon desert and then did a huge loop around a lava field by the sea and then headed back down the same single carriageway into Playa Blanca.

There was a lot of climbing, especially around the loop section, but I really enjoyed it, the Planet X Pro Carbon climbs like a goat! One mistake I made was adding a loop at the top near El Golfo to try and add a few miles to the route. This proved to be an unpaved track that serviced a few remote properties and nearly shook my teeth out by the time I got back to the road. Anyhow, a good ride and 24.4 more miles.

Not a brilliant month with a total of only 126.7 miles but I've had Lanzarote to prepare for and I've spent a lot of time restoring the Claud Butler. Here's hoping next month's total is a bit higher.