Pictures that don't need explaining

I took this one recently to put on my Twitter profile.(@viscountstella) Since it's rare to get your hands on original Viscount-branded brakes, I thought this would make for a really nice picture. 

Unbelievable as it is, I think the rain compliments the shot. At first I wanted to use this one, for I love the colours of the head badge so much:

But, somehow, the Mafac brake, even though a great brand, disturbed the picture. This is Shawn, by the way, the bike that now has a pair of brand-spanking new, shiny wheels, built by my very own hands. 27" 1 1/4, of course. Now he looks like a proper Viscount Aerospace Sport (1976). Although not 100%. I'll probably replace the brakes for some NOS Weinmann ones, as I couldn't get the front one to shut up. It's screaming and squeaking like hell, announcing me from afar. No idea why, as it only started with the new pads. It was all fine with the old ones. But I thought it may be better to get the right pads for alloy, as they're better for the rims. Anyway, I couldn't tighten the arms as the threads seems to be worn. Can't blame them, they've probably done their duty and saved Shawn's previous rider from many crashes.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't permit for some nice pictures of the bike in its full beauty, but I'll deliver them as soon as possible. (You hear that, weather? Tomorrow calls for sunshine, right?)

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.

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!

The happy and the sad moments of a Viscount bicycle owner

I realise that's been over a month since I last posted; it doesn't mean that I've lost interest or haven't got anything to write about--quite the contrary, to be honest. In the past month, I've met up with two other Viscount enthusiasts, was able to touch the golden Lambert again, and rode a red 1978 Aerospace Sport; I acquired a new bike, a frame and fork, and I've been protected by my brave Viscount Sprint.

Lambert/Viscount love

On the 3rd of August was the Prudential Ride in London, to which I was looking forward to. Cycling through the City without cars left, right, and centre is something you rarely experience here, not during the daytime anyway, and it gave me a good opportunity to meet up with John, who has the golden Lambert and Danny, who'd answered my call for Sakae crank dust caps. He didn't just bring those, but the whole TA Apex crank set, plus an extra dust cap. You can probably imagine how fast my heart went, right? Danny wanted for them to go to a good home, and he knew me from the forum. (Thank you, Danny, much appreciated.) And I

Plus Gas poured down from the BB shell

know which bike I'll fit this crank set: it's a special winter project, to go with the frame and fork I've been given, another Aerospace Sport frame, fillet brazed and most possibly made in 1978, judging by the forks being half paint, half chrome. It'll be another project altogether, since the seat post is not only stuck, but also badly mangled. Nothing Noah and I can't manage; we love a challenge and I'm just glad to be able to give this frame a new lease of life.
In the meantime, John had made me aware of a wonderfully original--and by that I mean 100% original, as confirmed by our forum thread's resident expert Steve, Viscount Aerospace Pro being sold on eBay. Oh, the joy when I 'won' it for 60 pounds (plus delivery)--both paid by Noah as a thank you for my hard work in the shop. When it arrived I couldn't get the wrapping off fast enough and was delighted when I took it for a very brief spin. It's in quite good condition, considering that it's 40 years old, and just needs some TLC. Looking a bit closer at the bottom bracket, it seems as if this isn't the original one, but probably a Phil Wood. Unless the spindle was polished up to the tapered ends. The bearings sit perfectly in the shell and both circlips are there. The hubs' bearings are smooth, too. You can see the pictures of the bike here. Go on, I know you want to. It's beautiful; I promise. My guess is that someone bought it back then and hasn't ridding it often, but looked after it well. The chain doesn't show many signs of wear either. Not sure if it was changed. Lucky me, eh? (Thank you, John!)
Okay, now to the sad news: on Thursday, I was a tad too tired and my brain didn't seem to connect with my body. At just before 9am, I turned into Ashwin Street in Dalston and crashed straight into a bollard. I swear it took the piss and jumped in my way. My brain registered that I had to go right or left past it, but my body didn't follow that suggestion; I was stopped dead, bounced back a little, fell of my bike and landed on my chin, then scrambled back to my feet and cycled the few metres to the shop. In the afternoon I was overcome by nausea and felt sick, which was a clear sign to me that it's not just a sprain that had my hand hurting like hell. A bus trip (oh did I curse public transport) to the A&E confirmed my suspicion and I now have to run around with a splinted bandage, useless as a mechanic. But that's not the sad news; I'll be fine in two weeks' time, but my brave Sprint isn't. In fact the impact was enough to bend the frame and I'll have to bid farewell to my beloved bike.

Properly bent crossbar, just behind the fork and lugs

a clearly visible bulge

I remember the day I bought it: on a Sunday on Shoreditch market, for Shawn had been without a bottom bracket, leaving me without a ride. Of course, when I saw a Viscount, I went for it. The plan was to keep it until Shawn was ready to go again, but I really loved the smooth Sprint, so I kept it. It's a Viscount, after all. And what a hero it is: had I ridden a modern carbon fibre frame into that bollard, I would've most probably injured myself seriously; thankfully, I was on a steel Viscount, that protected me. I know exactly why I love those bikes so much: 40 years old, and they still have got what it takes. It'll be a very, very sad day when I'm stripping down the frame. The only bit that consoles me is that its legacy will live on on another Viscount bike. I'll be on the lookout for a suitable frame. A Sprint, of course, would be ideal.

Finally! I can change my bikes with my outfit.

The original picture on e-Bay

What a girlie thing to say, eh? And it's an overstatement, too. All I'm trying to announce is that I've finally been able to ride the blue Viscount Aerospace Sport, and damn it's a fine ride. I've also learned that 22" is the perfect size for me (I'm 1.72m); it feels comfortable and ... well, just right. Unfortunately it took a little longer than planned; I noticed that I had high hopes to ride on it two weeks back, but it was impossible since the wheels needed some serious work, meaning the tension needed to be released and basically go back to square one. Lucky me, since I'm working in a bike shop (voluntarily in exchange of

Yep, that's me, adjusting the brakes

getting my bikes fixed under supervision and learning heaps along the way), and Noah has a tendency to do things perfect, so the 40-year-old wheels are now round and true, have new tubes and tires (fitted by me), and are dutifully carrying me around London.
We replaced all cables (the outer ones are temporary as I'm replacing them with white ones), front and rear brake pads and adjusted/bent the derailleurs back in place. Admittedly, I threw a temper tantrum because I couldn't set the front brakes--even with the third hand tool, I struggled and Noah had to take over. I did it wrongly, but that won't happen again. It's  not rocket science, just showing my lack of experience. Funny enough, I can service most of his bikes almost by myself, but struggle with an old centre pull brake. It doesn't have a quick  release Shawn has, which confused me. Now I know how to do it, and next time will be a doddle.
I then added (and tore! How the heck did I manage that?) the white handle bar tape with blue finish and the result looks smashing.

The bike's now road safe

On Saturday, I'll be taking part in the Prudential ride, mainly to enjoy the lovely weather, cycle through London without cars, and I'll also meet up with another Viscount enthusiast as he's heard my slightly desperate call for some Sakae/SR dust caps for Shawn's and the blue bike's cranks. I'll be taking along the blue beauty to show the people of London what they're missing out by not riding a Viscount. I don't know, every single Viscount I've been riding (it's only been three since April) has been smooth and wonderful. To me they're the perfect bike and I love the fact that there aren't many around London--at least I hardly see anyone riding on one. All I see is Peugeot or Raleigh and you know what? It's makes me proud to be different!