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My SOP for a new-to-me frame is to firstly run a round file vertically down the inside of the seat tube against the clamping slot to chamfer the edges of the slot. I also never, ever, use grease on an alloy seat pin, I always use a medium or heavy oil because I've seen the wrong sort of grease...

Stripped mine with a 'wonder how this comes apart?' approach, laid the bits out in the correct orientation and sequence then put them back together with the Haynes 'Refitting is the reverse of removal' method and a bit of fiddling.

When more 'fashionable' continental rear mechs made Benelux models less desirable a lot of frames had Cyclo dropouts trimmed to enable fitting of newer designs. If you were to remove the forks there's a possibility that there is a tubing roll-stamp visible on the steerer - only a slight one...

The slightly asymmetrical lower edge to the righthand rear dropout suggests to me that a gear hanger was cut off at some time. Wasn't 26.8mm one of the seat post sizes for 531 plain gauge, or am I thinking of 26.4?

I suspect that would be rather awkward to change gear and possibly dangerous should the rider have to dismount forwards in a hurry.

Info about the different Campagnolo freehubs here. I think there's something strange on that Ebay. It's certainly a 1990s hub as the axle is threaded but the the curved valley freehub spline pattern looks very much like the later 9/10/11 pattern that was introduced sometime after 2000. It's...

As far as I recall, the drive side bearings on Campag 7&8 speed freehubs weren't shielded as the freehub body did the work. Later 8 speed hubs had a drive side bearing shield and (I think) a different O ring. The early O-ring code is #7100083. Later O-ring (which may be the same - who knows?) is...

Got one in similar condition, yours for a fiver plus postage. Having said that, Velo Heaven in Hull sell an unbranded replacement that looks pretty good for much the same price.

I raced with 177.5 cranks but during the winter months I used 170mm cranks because I didn't want to wreck my good kit and was constrained by cost. The only possible difference I noticed was in climbing, as soon as we swapped to summer bikes I crested climbs at the front of the groups that I'd...

Most pro contracts allowed for riders to wear whichever shoes they found most comfortable - nothing to do with a bit of extra sponsorship, oh no 😉 . Looks like Freuler, being German, used Addidas. Mind you, looks like the other rider is wearing Puma. Both companies were formed in 1949 when the...

A&P was one of the companies that formed TI just after the First World War. Reynolds became part of TI about a decade later. The remains of A&P tube manufacture is now part of Tyco Tube in Oldbury.

Should have done some better research. Moser rode TdF once, in 1975, won a couple of stages and the young rider's competition, held the yellow jersey for about a week but didn't win the race. And unusually for a continental, he always had his front brake operated by the right hand brake lever.

No sign of it. There's a slight chance that the frame could be in the loft 'cos I've not got that far yet. I suspect that the FW hub is built into a 27" wheel in a bike I haven't got around to stripping yet. I've found the rather tatty Brooks Swallow which was on it - along with another that I'd...

Barry Barron used to build frames - at a guess I'd say that's a basic cooking frame that's been modded with a few braze-ons.

Really you have to fall very lucky to sell a bike for what you imagine it's worth unless you're really pessimistic. I've been sorting through and disposing of my parent's collection of bikes while well aware that the chances of finding somebody who wants the exact idiosyncratic combinations of...

It's only the saddle, the large flange hubs and maybe the pedals that match up with the paint job in my eyes.

It is. Mostly not from in the atmosphere but as part of industrial production of gases and other products. Unless marked otherwise the CO₂ in cartridges is most likely 'food grade' (so 99.lots of 9s % pure) but don't risk putting one in a drinks carboniser unless you're absolutely certain of...

While sorting through 50 years of junk in my parent's garage last week I found three pumps - a frame fit Bluemel, a frame fit Truflo and a still boxed unused Zefal Maxi HP floor pump. The washer in the Bluemel is dust and it's too big for any of my frames anyway so will be going to the tip, the...

I'd rather pump up a fat tyre with a full-sized pump than a mini. The problem I found with putting a FF pump on my sloping frame was the shorter seat tube meant that the length required was far shorter than any pump I already owned, I can only imagine how difficult a task it would be for the...

Back in the 1980s plastic SILCA pumps had a reputation of exploding in use. During clubs runs it wasn't unusual to see the shaft of one arcing across a road like a wayward fireworks rocket whilst a clubmate struggled to deal with a puncture without losing too much time.