February 2010
1 post
Shogun Sport Mixte
This is Francis’ manly mixte. Hes not much of a poser, as you can see from the pics but his bike is looking hot. And despite the feminine tags which are often attached to mixtes this bike has some cool features that make it brutally male. For starters its made of lightweight tangaloy. No its not as light as carbon fibre or reynolds 531, but its lighter than much manlier 10 speed bikes like...
January 2010
6 posts
Vintage Clamont 810 Racer
This is Roberts vintage 10-speed Clamont racer.
The bike itself was bought as a present from an older man who had retired from riding. It was kept in wonderful condition so not much work was done restoring this one. It was rolling on fairly rare 27 x 1 inch tyres. Despite the narrowness of the tires it was still a remarkably comfortable ride and incredibly smooth despite its age. The...
Vintage Speedwell 10-speed
I picked this up a while ago for a measly $26. This is was the 2nd bike Id ever bought. Since I already had a road racing bike at the time, my Repco Olympic 12, and since this too intially looked more racy with its dropbars and lack of fenders, I decided to make this a more comfortable, cruizy ride. So I dropped the original bars and got some north road bars which i then flipped upside down and...
Vintage Ladies Pheasant Shopper (Small)
This gem was sold after sitting in what used to be my sisters room for a few months. Thats right! Keep you bikes indoors! (at least in the garage)
This is a small 22inch wheel ladies shopper. It was built by “Pheasant” but looks fit for a princess.
Its got dynamo powered headlights and tail light. It has a passenger seat as well as little fold out foot-rests like the ones you find...
Vintage Mercury Mens 10 Speed Roadster
Daniel wanted a roadster-like bike at a budget, this is what I came up with. Its what some would call a chillax bike with quite relaxed geometry and north road bars for an upright riding position. It has full length alloy mudguards and immaculate classic black paint. It was originally made by Mercury, a brand that I know little about and can find little about, so it was probably a very small...
Unbranded Mens Double Top Tube Roadster
Bought at a bike auction in a horrid state, the eventual sale of this unique bike, after hours of restoring is something I will always regret.
It was everything a vintage bike should be - classic in black and white, unique with its double top bar frame and therefore a fashion statement and unforgettably comfortable with its wide and fat 26 x 1 3/8 inch white wall tyres and upright...
The Very First Restoration - Vintage Cyclops...
It all started here. I found this bike in guildford on one of those council cleanup days. I stumbled upon it when i went to this lady’s flat down the road to help move her new fridge up the stairs. It was too good to throw away so we chucked it in the back of the 4wd. The only noticeable problem was that the bolt which held the derailleur hook in place had come loose. Took about 15mins...
March 2009
13 posts
Dream Bikes by Delightful Cycles
The problem with buying a bike on eBay these days is that they are all the same.
So why not purchase a bike restored and customised to your individual tastes? Determine all the delightful details which will make your bike the only one like it in the world by choosing your saddle, handlebars, grips, fenders, gears, tyres, wheels, brakes, stands, shifters, cables, tubes, an so on.
Only Delightful...
About
Delightful Cycles is my opportunity to exercise the creativity and skills which go wasted in my day to day life in the legal profession.
Over the past 2 years DC has drawn all that I love together. It incorporates photography, cycling, creativity and getting my hands dirty. I enjoy breathing new life into machines that are dead or broken, and transforming them into something beautiful and useful....
Hows the paint?
With winter slowly coming to an end, Im confident ebay will light up with vintage bikes and bike restorations as the warmer months approach.
The majority of people who buy vintage bikes are doing so for aesthetics. Vintage bikes are fashion statements. This is a generalisation but one Im confident in making. With that in mind I think a big issue for anyone purchasing a vintage bike is the colour...
Vintage Ladies Raleigh "Cameo"
Raleighs are always nice. This one was restored for a friend. Like all the bikes here the emphasis is on quality, and with its glittery pearl white paint it certainly looks prettier than most white bikes on eBay. It also features Shimano SIS indexed derailleur and shifters, so this bike is ahead of most of those clunkers being sold at the moment. The rear derailleur is also a slant parallelogram...
Shifter Location
I’ve own a number of bikes with different shifter set ups and while I’ve never had problems myself, I have come to believe that the location of your gear shifters is important and should be a consideration when buying a new bike. I also believe that for vintage ladies bikes, the best place for shifters is on the bar ends with the use of thumb shifters or bar-end shifters.
I recently...
1. Derailleurs
^ click thru credit ^
A multispeed bicycle has 2 derailleurs (or gear changers); one at the front and one on the rear. Front derailleurs (FDs) are all pretty similar with the major difference being the material they are made of. Some FDs have plastic, or Bakelite parts which will wear much quicker than steel or alloy FDs. Plastic is easy to spot; metal is silver and plastic is any other...
5 tags
Guide to Using Gears on a Vintage Ladies Bicycle...
It seems the last guide to using gears caused a bit of confusion and that can’t be helpful. So lets try again, because I’d like your first bike ride to be pleasant and enjoyable, as that will ensure that you will come back for more. Hopefully this guide will be clearer, simpler, with more pictures and it will even include a printable pdf version you can take with you on your maiden...
2. Shifters
Of equal importance on a multispeed bike are the gear shifters (or changers) which allow the rider to pick and choose which gear to ride in. Quality shifters make a world of difference in riding experience. They will ensure gear changing is easy-peasy and when it’s easy you’ll change gears more often and you’ll enjoy your ride more, especially if you live somewhere hilly. I’ve noticed that...
6 tags
Buying a vintage bike with quality parts
(by HILAMAT)
When I first started looking for a bike all that mattered was colour, size and lack of rust. However a bike is way more than just a painted metal frame on wheels. A quality bike is defined only by the sum of every part. There are literally hundreds of parts which make up your bike. And if quality components cost more, then hundreds of parts add up to a lot of ching. Its not...
3. Cranks
Fully alloy cranks and chainrings (via rohand)
Cranks are one of the larger parts of a bike and can potentially add significant weight. Steel cranks can way up to 1.2 kilograms but alloy cranks may weigh as little as 600 gram. Its not a huge difference but it adds up since a bike is made up of hundreds of parts. Ever kilo you shed from a bike is a kilo less you have to haul up and down hills....
4. Brakes
Suntour Superbe Pro Brakes (via velobase)
All brakes will stop you no matter the quality or the price. Of course some will stop you better than others and in general alloy brakes are best because they are stiffer and lighter. However generally speaking more expensive brakes only perform a little bit better; expensive brakes cost more simply because they are lighter, rather than because of ...
5. Grips
Moulded Rubber Grips
Grips are very important. When you ride a bike your weight is supported by your bottom, feet and hands. So it’s important that your hands are comfortable in order to have a comfy ride. Its funny then that a lot of vintage ladies bikes are rocking rubber moulded grips. They are cheap, hard, slippery when wet with sweat or rain and just plain uncomfortable. You may even find...
6. Saddles
(via billy wallbike)
Its safe to say that if your saddle is uncomfortable you are not going to enjoy riding your bike. So its important to choose the right saddle for your individual needs.
There are two main types of saddles; sprung and un-sprung, and two main types of materials used; vinyl and leather. With saddles the question really is about what is a quality product, its more what...
