Sourcing Vintage Cycling Components and Hardware

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Nola Wilken

As part of reviving and restoring any vintage bicycle, it may become necessary to replace components with period correct counterparts. Replacing fasteners and other hardware can also present challenges, given not only their special purpose, but also their one-off threading, which may be French, not-so-French, Italian, and other threading anomalies. Over the last 10 years I have restored a number of vintage bicycles that presented challenges in both the component and hardware categories.

Huret derailleur

Simplex chain stay mounted bell crank derailleur

The mid-century Mercier Meca Dural that I restored a few years ago was fitted with an incorrect wheelset and rear derailleur. The Huret unit, depicted first, was installed on the bike’s vertical dropouts, yet this rear derailleur is designed for horizontal dropouts. This was an example of modifications made to the original bike, with bad results. The incorrect Huret derailleur mounted on the vertical drop-outs resulted in no chain wrap, and poor shifting. After seeing that the bike had also been modified with an incorrect and too large wheel size, I took to French eBay to source a NOS chainstay mounted Simplex bell crank derailleur – a component which was standard fare on vintage Mercier Meca Dural bicycles of this era.

When the NOS derailleur and shifter arrived, I rejoiced in how beautiful and functional this vintage component was. Searching foreign language sites broadens the scope of your endeavor, and may make the difference between success and failure.

Simplex was notorious for using oddball threading on its components. The 2nd photo above shows a Simplex shifter with M6 x .8 threading – instead of the standard M5 x .8 on all other shifter bolts of this era. I have a tap and die set of tools in my shop to use in the event that re-tapping is necessary. However, I try avoid this if replacement vintage components can be found with the original threading.

Sometimes, things work out well, as was the case with this mid century mystery French mixte with Oscar Egg lugs. The Simplex components on this bike were clearly all original and worked perfectly once the bike was overhauled.

If you will need to add or replace fenders on a vintage bicycle I recommend exploring Velo-Orange, Rivendell, and Compass. These vendors offer different products and hardware from a variety of manufacturers, and you may be able to find just the right fender width and hardware for your application. Fender stays, bridge mounting hardware, and daruma and eyelet bolts are usually included in your purchase of new fenders. Meanwhile, I can’t think of any manufacturers today who are making a fender resembling these lightweight and well engineered steel fenders shown on this early 1980’s Meral, above. These fenders mount easily with the original hardware and work fine with a 650b conversion. They are an example of the unsurpassed beauty and utility of vintage components.

Cleaning, Polishing and Restoring Vintage Aluminum Fenders

Posted on August 25, 2018 by Nola Wilken

Having spent hours cleaning and polishing vintage aluminum bicycle fenders, I have wondered if there is a way to improve the efficiency of this process without harming a vintage fender’s finish? Maybe not, but there are some products that work a bit better than others and are less likely to scratch or damage the fender’s finish.

Custom Meral steel fenders, with original wine cork spacer and attachment reinforcement

Aluminum fenders – hammered, patterned or smooth – are often found on vintage bicycles with 650b wheels. Steel fenders, painted or chromed, were also used – although not as commonly as their aluminum counterparts. Lightweight chromed steel fenders can be found on some French, British, and Italian randonneuring bikes dating from the 1950’s on. But, aluminum alloy fenders were generally the material of choice in those days.

Vintage 1950’s fenders with red highlights and a smooth surface

1950’s hammered fenders with dark brown paint highlights.

Vintage aluminum alloy fenders can have painted portions to add color highlights. Cleaning and polishing these fenders involves a number of steps. You don’t want to use any product that will dull the color highlights. So, it’s best to focus on the unpainted portion of the fender for polishing.

As a first step, I remove the fender from the bicycle frame and remove all the mounting hardware. Then I gently wash it with a mild surfactant, such as Finish Line’s pink bike wash. After that, I continue the cleaning process with a clean rag and some alcohol.

Because the fender is flexible and subject to damage I place it over an inflated tire of similar width, mounted to a wheel and position this into my truing stand. I prevent the hub from turning by securing the spokes to the stand. This prevents the fender from getting twisted or misshaped while its being polished.

Once the fender is clean it is time to think about the best product to use for polishing. For aluminum fenders, a wadding polish such as Nevr-Dull seems to work best. I have tried many other polishes, but have found this product to work most efficiently and with the best results.

That doesn’t mean that you won’t need to reapply this product many times over a heavily tarnished fender.

I have also used MAAS metal polish with excellent results on any steel component. So it is a good choice for chrome steel fenders (and any other steel component).

My 1973 Jack Taylor’s fenders were seriously tarnished and dull when I acquired the bike. After polishing the fenders (over many hours), the luster of the metal was restored, as you can see from the photo above. I used Nevr-Dull to polish the fenders.

The Lefol aluminum fender shown above is from an early 1950’s bicycle. Cleaning and polishing this fender took some time (as in many hours), but the end result was well worth the effort. Using a wadding polish for vintage aluminum fenders will yield the best results, as these products will not harm the underlying metal.

For Your Enjoyment

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Nola Wilken

1929 Griffon as restored – out on the Springwater Trail in Portland, Oregon

1929 Peugeot freewheel and fixed cog – for the Griffon’s flip flop hub.

On this Friday evening, with the gentle cool breeze blowing across my summer garden, I thought it would be nice to share some of my favorite photos of my bicycle restorations from the 1920’s through the 1950’s:

1947 Camille Daudon

This custom Daudon was built for Irene Faberge Gunst. The engraved cap can be unscrewed, with a tool kit stored inside the steerer.

A 1946 Peugeot Polymultipliee Gent’s bike

Headlamp by Edelko – 1946 Peugeot

A 1947 Peugeot Mixte. The bike when acquired consisted only of the frame and a few components.

A beautiful Simplex TDF rear derailleur on the 1947 Peugeot Mixte.

Early 50’s Mercier Meca Dural head tube. The upper head badge is missing.

Early 50’s Mercier Meca Dural in a Portland snowy winter. I’ve taken this bike out on the road – very fun to ride. It is built with duralumin tubes which are held together with ornate lugs via internal steel expanders.