The first picture shows the original Simplex Prestige derailleur fitted to the bike. I changed the body to a newer version but had problems with the mech taking up the chain slack. This is evident in the photo on the header. This was eventually changed back to the Suntour mech which was originally on the bike back in 1973. Also evident in the second photo the rear-ends have had the paint removed and restored back to the original look. A new inner and outer cable was also fitted. The Stronglight double chainset was just cleaned. The existing 54T set up harked back to the days of time trialling and the 42T ring was added when I moved to Derbyshire!
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The stem is a 100 mm reach Evian Ambrosio grand prix. Handle bars are GB with embossed raised centre ferrule. I decided not to cover the bars with modern cork padded tape, but instead stick to the more appropriate looking Velox cloth tape in blue, to complement the toe-straps and my retro cycling top. Ok, so it's not so comfortable but definitely more in keeping with the age of the bike. Saddle and pin combo have appeared on my old track bike back in 1972 and are still in use today! Saddle is a trusty Italian Unica Nitor and the seat-pin is a Campagnolo drilled.....not by me...for aesthetics, as this was the fashion back in the early '70's, just look at Alf Engers bikes of the time. Holding this in place is a Campag quick release seat bolt. The pump is a Spanish Heta Sport which was used on the bike in the day and is secured to the frame with Campagnolo umbrella pump bracket....which has seen better days!
Starting at the handlebar end, the original levers were a set of Weinmann painted black by me! Hood covers were a rather dirty looking Sun pair and with the frayed outer cable, weren't particularly attractive. When rebuilding Dad's Condor, I removed the set of Shimano aero levers, which was part of the update, (now on the Peugeot Tandem) and bought a pair of period Campagnolo ones of EBay, to complement the Campag stirrups. It was only at a later date did I discover the original MAFAC levers which were on the Condor back in the seventies. I made the decision to leave the Campag ones on the Condor and use the MAFAC ones on the Allin to match the MAFAC stirrups. I also came across the half hood rubbers. Unfortunately these have faded somewhat and have become discoloured where the bar tape has been wrapped round the body of the lever....evident in the before and after photo. The question was, will the new tape be wrapped the same way? The inner and outer cables were replaced, although I have to confess to using outer cable from the LBS not period grooved ones...but hey ho! The cables were cut to length using my new Park Tools cable cutter. Stirrups are MAFAC Dural Forge, which predate the Racer model. These were on the bike back in the early seventies and were the brakes used on all Tour de France bikes from the sixties. These are very efficient brakes and the shoes can be adjusted from all angles. As can be seen from the photo, the shoes need a final tweak. Also fitted are a pair of Allez flint catchers.
This is a photo of me and my first ever road bike taken in the back garden in Letchworth when I was probably 12 years old! The frame is a Frejus, obviously not in original colours, but hand painted with dad's trade mark of world championship bands and some rather natty Campagnolo stickers to the head and seat tubes. Note the internal cable routing for the rear brake. The forks are chrome replacements, as the originals snapped! Equipment includes a Williams double 47/50T chainset ..with no front changer and probably the ubiquitous Simplex derailleur at the business end. Brakes look Weimann centre pulls with matching levers and hoods. These could be the ones on the Allin? Wheels are probably 1 1/4" steels with HP tyres and maybe Milremo hubs. Recognise the saddle? Yes it's the same Unica Nitor saddle as on the Allin! Here is another photo taken at the same time with Leigh on Mum's bike....a rather lovely mixte stay Frank Lipscombe! Now I wonder what happened to that bike? Hang on...on looking closer at the photo I can see the handlebar and stem is the same Titan one on Kath's old Viking, which I rescued from a basement in Berkhamsted!!! Well at least we know where they went! The final photo in the back garden included Ian on his first bike!...and me and Leigh astride a 1950's tandem. Note the Cushway traditional hand painted finish complemented by those oh-so important World Championship bands! I don't remember much about it, but I think it was either a single freewheel or fixed gear. The angles look very relaxed with probably a lot of rake on the front forks. Chainsets look Williams and the rear brake is a centre pull although I thought it had Resillion brakes? Possibly the tandem came from Uncle Dave, as it isn't the one Dad and I raced on.
Ok, so I persevered with the Simplex Prestige gear, but to no avail! Yes it changed gear ok, but it just didn't take up the chain slack. Checking the spec sheet on http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Simplex_Prestige_derailleur_%28637%29_-_instructions_%281st_style%29_scan_2.html the total capacity is 37 teeth, so accordingly with a 42T/52T chainwheel and 14 to 26T rear sprocket, this gives a range of 32 teeth....so it should have been ok. But it wasn't, I even shortened the chain and re-positioned the rear wheel in the drop out. No difference. So taking advice from http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/911109-simplex-prestige-derailleur-adjustment-idiots-needed.html I gave up and resorted to using a Suntour V-Luxe parallelogram derailleur....which was fitted to the Allin when I was time-trialling. So I found the original gear in the garage, stripped it down, de-greased it gave it a polish and oiled the jockey wheels and it came up like new. Not bad for over 40 years old! So does it work? Yes! The gear screws in to the gear hanger fine but needs a thin washer to clamp down securely.....(.another trip to the garage) I had to lengthen the outer cable as the entry point was in a different position to the Simplex, but luckily I had plenty left over...and it was an excuse to use my new Park Tools cable cutters I got for my birthday! The gears work fine up and down the sprocket and between the chainrings and to be honest looks better than the Simplex. After final tightening and checking and a shake-down ride, the cables will be cut to length and a ferrule crimped over the ends to keep things neat and tidy.
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AuthorI have been riding bikes since I was 11 years old and used to race my Allin in time trials back in the early 1970's. CategoriesArchives
January 2016
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