Thursday 31 October 2013

Even I don't know what's hit me

Yesterday, I spotted another Viscount--a lugged white frame with black graphics--and had to stop, of course. I circled the bike like predator its prey, only to raise the awareness of the bike's owner. After I clarified that I had no intention of stealing it, he came over and I revealed my extreme Viscount nerdiness. I checked the bike's 'vitals' and concluded it needed a major overhaul; the bottom bracket had play, the pedals were falling apart, the tires were brittle and rather flat, and my guess is that the hubs' bearings were properly worn, too. Nevertheless, I believe the bike would be good to go for another decade or two if it received some TLC. The owner said he'd been riding it for the past eleven years and is very much attached to it. Understandably, given that he knows how rare they are nowadays. Which doesn't explain the state his bike is in. But he shall be excused as I reckon he basically is where I had been until April this year: riding around as a keen urban cyclist, who's got no knowledge about the mechanics. Bless him.
I, too, have been cycling for all my life, and, although I loved every bike I had, so much so, that I named them, I didn't really do much else than ride them, sometimes clean the frame and the rims (when they were new), and, if something bothered me too much, I popped down the next local bike shop and got it fixed.
How quickly things can change ...
Up until April this year, I'd never heard of the name Viscount. Now, in October, I'm the proud owner of not only one, but three Viscounts, which are all ridden, and two frames, waiting to become fully-fledged bikes. I also own a Mamachari, a rather sexy Japanese city bike, which I love dearly. That means I have a silver/black, a red, a blue, and a green bike in my shed--this girl has a bike for every outfit or occasion.
As you know I've been learning how to fix my bikes myself. Firstly, because I'm very particular about my Viscounts and won't let anyone, who has no experience with them, go near them, and secondly, because it's way more fun than just handing over your bike (and money).
There's more where that came from
For the past four months, I've been working (volunteering in exchange for experience and getting my bikes fixed) at Mamachari bikes in Dalston and it was a bit like hitting the ground running. It's a new, but very busy shop and I had to get my hands dirty. Not that I mind. Tools are my kryptonite, and learning new skills my passion; and believe you me, in the world of bike mechanics, there's always something new to learn. Probably one of the reasons I love it so much, it never gets boring. And because I do see a proper second career in this, I've enrolled in a bike mechanic level 2 course (and passed it, too, in case you're wondering). Admittedly, I'm loving the reactions of people when I tell them that I'm a bike mechanic, a certified one, even. Ha! Luckily, eyes are held in place by tendons and muscles.

A door stopper
Yes, I've still got a lot to learn, and I'm nowhere near as capable as I'd like to be, but that's part of the fun: learning by doing it. I've even got a full time job lined up with a newish bike shop in London, so if everything goes well, I'll start in December. Proof that I've finally lost it is that I'm currently reading Engineering
Workshop Practice, which seems like an interesting read.
I've also been in touch with another place who were interested in my wheel-building skills. Shawn, my red one, as you can see in the picture, has the wrong wheels on him. I bought him that way, but since it's just not right to ride a Viscount on 700c wheels, I've built him a pair of shiny new 27" 1 1/4 wheels, Polished alloy rims on Viscount hubs. And they'll get amber wall tires. Beautiful! Tomorrow, I'll swap them over and hope they'll not fall apart under me, now that would be embarrassing. I doubt it, though.
So in the period between end of April, when I bought Shawn, to now, end of October; I turned from an urban rider into a bike mechanic with a vision. And it won't end here. Be afraid, be very afraid; Stella & the Viscounts has only just started.

Sunday 6 October 2013

Viscount Aerospace Pro--a dream

Life is hectic at the moment, but nothing will keep me from riding, particularly not if it's as smooth as my newest bike. In August, I acquired a 100% original Viscount Aerospace Pro (I think it's a 1977/78) which I intended to do up for my friend. Unfortunately, Noah and I got really excited about the idea of restoring it and, every time we looked at the bike, there, hanging on the shop's wall, we nodded at each other with a sigh, until he said: 'You really should keep this, it's so rare to find something this original.'
I pondered, then decided he's right. Luckily, my friend later said she'd rather have a bike being build by me, than get something I bought and just handed over to her. Phew! So, that means I'm on the hunt for another small Viscount frame (19/20 inches), but there's worse situations to be in. The best of all: I have a new Viscount for my collection. And what a stunner it is. Okay, there's quite a bit of rust, where the chrome has gone, I didn't even clean it, since it's going to be restored soon, but I took it out for a proper spin today and was blown away. Such an easy ride. I mean I shouldn't be surprised, it's an Aerospace, after all, and since I've sat on more than a few, I can safely say, you cannot go wrong with those bicycles. Ever!
And so you can also drool over this wonderful find, here are some pictures of it.













By the way: bumped into another Viscount on my way to the shop; of course I had to stop the guy and tell him that he's riding on a piece of history. He said he's been riding it every day for the past three years and is loving it. Long live the Viscount!