Proud as

I've been cycling around on Shawn and his new wheels and am happy to announce they've not fallen apart yet. Okay, it's not been that many miles, but still ... I built the wheels and so far, they're still running true. See how pretty Shawn now looks? A proper Viscount.

Viscount Aerospace Sport with 27" wheels

Funny thing is that Noah initially assumed that I'd hate building wheels as it takes concentration and patience, both of which I have a clear shortage on--particularly when tired. Contrary to his assumption I'm actually quite loving it. Admittedly, I still haven't done spoke measuring, but it's really not that difficult--be it by hand or with the aid of one of the many websites. I'll probably use Wheel Pro, which is by Roger Musson, who has published an easy to follow wheel-building guide. Caution: do not calculate when under the influence.
Back then, I had the help of Arup; he showed me how to measure the ERD (effective rim diameter). He said that even when one orders the rims online, he'd rather measure himself than take a manufacturer's word for granted, and rightly so. My rims weren't what they were supposed to be. Phew, seeking his advice certainly saved me money. In general, building wheels yourself costs less and they're also stronger.
I bought Ridiga rims--27" 1 1/4 polished alloy from eBay for £25 the pair. And I had the high flange Viscount hubs for about £25 from a jumble. The spokes (DT Swiss Champion and Competition), plus nipples and postage (Rose bikes) were about £35. That's the wheels done for £85. A decent pair of wheels would start at about £120 (so I was told). Since I didn't want any ol' rims or hubs, but particular ones, I would've paid £40 for Arup to build them. In the end, I've saved exactly that amount and got the pleasure of producing something I can be proud of myself. 

Three-cross on Viscount hub

It is a labour of love if you're just beginning; it takes me about ten to fifteen minutes to lace a wheel (36 holes, 3-cross), but anything from an hour to three to make it round and true. I remember my first try of just truing a wheel of a mamachari, and hell, did I make a pretzel out of it. I had no idea what to do, about spoke tension, or which way to turn the spoke key. Luckily, I had Noah, who had enough calmness to deal with my tantrums. I found it really difficult to 'get' which direction I had to turn the spoke key to loosen or tighten the nipples. Drove me insane. I struggle with nuts and bolts anyway--no idea why I can't get it into my head, but in the world of bicycles with its left-threaded where it should be right is screwing with my head. Excuse the bad pun. After hot tears of fury, I eventually found a way to remember and simply learned it by heart. That's wheels sorted--pedals, however, remain a source of confusion. I'll get there ... one day.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts on wheel-building and that it's a very good skill to have, particularly if you are a keen rider with more than one or two bikes. I'd like to encourage you to do a course, don't be scared. It's fun, it's wonderful, and it's given you a great sense of achievement.
Safe riding.

A girl's guide to bike tools and it doesn't stop here

One thing I've learned while working on bikes is that nothing's straight forward, particularly not on Viscounts. They're quite something. Try getting those sealed bearings out of a hub without damaging either. Or even worse: the bottom bracket. Equally challenging is putting everything back together.
Or maybe that old skip-tooth freewheel I have on my blue Sport. Yeah, if you don't have the right remover tool, you're basically fucked. Or, if you choose to use brute force, then most likely your freewheel or/and hub won't come out of it that pretty. Personally, I try to treat my bikes with kids' gloves; it's possible to do that even with a hammer, trust me, but I always keep in mind that Viscounts are rare.

My hammer and mullet are still hiding in the kitchen

Now, I know where to go when I need my freewheel off the hub, but I'd rather have that freewheel remover tool in my big bicycle tool box. Or better: the one I'm going to get myself in the near future. At the moment my tools live in a cardboard box, together with grease, parts, and lubricants; possibly not the best place as my ever growing collection needs more space. And I need more storage for parts, too. Let alone for the bikes, but that's a different matter. (If you know a place with a garage or large shed in Hackney area or N4, please get in touch. I'm looking for a quiet place with a decent landlord.)

Bursting tool and parts box

Anyway, back to tools. I think I've got the basics for a tune up service for Viscounts or other bikes, but I'm still far from having all the tools I want. I'm soon getting a--drum roll, please-- a Profikurbelschraubenschluessel/Ratsche. Yep, that's quite a mouthful and I'd like you to try pronouncing it after four pints. In short it's a socket ratchet wrench 14/15mm. Not that I necessarily need it for my Viscounts as they're all quick release, but my mamachari has 14mm front and 15mm rear nuts, just as most other bikes have. I do have the Icetoolz (see pic.) non-ratchet version, but I'd like to go more 'profi' and since the Hozan, which would be my favourite, is far too expensive to get here, I looked around for an alternative. The Unior doesn't look too bad either, but it's still too expensive. I expect the VAR to be of excellent quality; after all, I want to work on bikes all day and if I can make life easier for me, then I'll do it. I have a list of tools I'm planning on getting, but since money's a bit tight right now, I'll have to collect them bit by bit. Quality costs, unfortunately for me, but it's well worth spending the money. On my list are:
Handy all round tools:
T-handle allen key, this one is particularly useful for adjusting front derailleurs as it gives good leverage and, since it hasn't got a ball end, it's a great all-rounder. Good quality, too; I've worked with it for months. There are cheaper alternatives, which may work equally well, but I have an emotional attachment to this particular brand as it's the one I borrowed from the shop for my last assignment of my level 2 bike mechanic course--I believe it brought me luck. I'm getting this one very soon.
Park Tool hex wrench tool again, another all-rounder of superb quality. I want this in the sizes 6, 8, and 10mm. The first is great for adjusting headsets, and/or seat posts (clamps) and the latter is useful for crank arm bolts. Due to the angle, it comes in handy whenever you need more leverage working with other tools. Again, I've worked with it in the past month and it's a must for my collection.
Hozan cable puller (or otherwise known as forth hand) another amazing work of quality from Japan. Great to work with. I've tried Pedros, but here's where splashing out makes all the difference. I've failed finding anything that compares to the Hozan.
Cone wrench set Mainly for cap & cone hub adjusting. The Park Tool ones are great, but every time I look at the price I faint.
Shimano cable cutters In this case I'm trusting Noah, who said he'd tried plenty, but nothing seems to work as well. They have this little blue pin attached, which serves the purpose of widening either end of the cable Very practical. We also used it for digging out objects from tyres when repairing punctures.
Large adjustable spanner Okay, here I'll try to go with a no-name product. In the shop we had Park Tool's, but I'm willing to try something else. A very important and handy tool to do all sorts of bending on a bike, particularly centre pull brake arms to toe in the pads or when tending to bent chain rings.
File set A necessity for any workshop. There's always something to file, be it bolts, drop outs or brake pads. Not sure if these are any good. By the time I'm getting a file set, there's probably another offer. I'll report.
Bike chain rivet extractor There are different ones on the market, I'll have to look closely and see. Preferably something with a bigger handle. VAR has one, for two sizes of chains, but it's not quite as perfect.
All common freewheel tools I only need Shimano ones, but I'd like to collect all of them.
Park tool CC-3 chain wear indicator If you click this link and read the review, you know why I want it. I've worked with it in the shop and it's a great device. Unfortunately, Park Tool has discontinued this model and all avenues I've tried were unsuccessful. Even Park Tool said they don't have one knocking about anymore. Truly sad news.
Park tool offset brake centering tool A must for anyone with caliper brakes. And that goes together with this one. I never used the latter, to be honest, but it's a thin wrench, so while holding the brake in centre position with one tool, you can tighten the nut with the other.
And most wanted: the bearing puller tool that will hopefully be made for me at some point. 
Okay, I'll stop here. There are more tools I desire, but just thinking about the costs makes my head explode.
I already have a power drill/screwdriver and angle grinder. However, I will need a work stand, a bench with swivel vice, a wheel truing jig and dishing tool for all the work. And how about the bottom bracket facing tools and headset press? Let alone my wishes for a bench grinder and polishing wheel, and I think if I get to that stage I may as well look for a workshop to stick up a sign saying 'Stella & the Viscounts'.

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!