The before and after; a truly stunning transformation of a Viscount

I'm pretty sure you remember the Thame bike, the blue one with the badly bent drop out on the drive side. It was the bike I'd planned to built for my friend Piddi, a surprise and thank you for being the friend she's been in the past. Okay, I'll admit that I've been looking forward to give this wonderful bike a new lease of life, too. You know me, little Miss Viscount, who can't pass on an opportunity to make something old look new again. Now that she was here last week, I finally can reveal some pictures. You see, she's secretly reading this blog and it wouldn't have been a surprise had she seen anything beforehand. Although, it still didn't click when I asked her to help me with the yellow bike (she always said she wanted a yellow bike) which I carried into my living room and clamped it into the stand. She was in awe about the colour and how nice it looked in general, so I told her that it was good she liked it as it was for her. The look on her face was priceless. I enjoyed it immensely.

The bands on the seat tube need to be re-done. Same goes for the gear cable. Sack that mechanic! :-)

And because I'm a little bit mean, I thrust the front mech, shifters, and cable guide, along with a few spanners and a screw driver into her hands and told her to fit them to the bike. By the way she looked while dutifully following my orders, she seemed to love working on the bike more than the bike itself. That was the plan anyway: to get her involved. Not because I'm lazy, but so she 'bonds' with the bike, and learns a few things along the way. She's not a mechanic, but my hat's off to her; without any fear whatsoever, she just did it. I'm a firm believer in giving someone tasks they've never done before, a little bit of trust goes a long way and I've experienced the same when I started out as a mechanic. It's what I plan when I start with basic maintenance courses (particularly for women), nobody learns from someone who takes tasks out of their hands to do it quicker. What I found difficult, though, was to 'teach' her in German, as I learned mechanics in the UK, therefore I have no clue what all the stuff on a bike is called. My friend thought it was funny to be bi-lingual when it comes to bikes.
Not so funny, though, is that she didn't get to ride the bike. I'd hoped--expected even--that we'd merrily ride along the canal or River Lea, but those hopes were a tad crushed when the 118mm bottom bracket was too short to take the SR Apex chain ring, and I don't have a bottom bracket tool for Shimano screw-in units either, which posed a problem. I'm very much familiar with Viscount's original bottom brackets, but this one came with a sleeve in the shell and since I--in a fit of braindeadness--tossed the one that came with the bike, a cottered crank set, I had no clue what kind of thread this one is. Furtheron, the brake levers were the wrong ones for the old handlebar and the one we wanted to put on for the time being needed other levers. Then the saddle seat clamp didn't fit on the other saddle I planned to give her, and the list goes on. It's a valuable experience for me as I'd never built a bike where components were swapped; I even had to cut the new (rather beautiful) chrome fork as it was far too long. That went perfect, though.  Phew!

New and shiny Tange chrome fork

Really pretty, those Zenith hubs

And the wheels looks rather stunning with their Zenith hubs. I didn't have a spare pair of Viscount or Lambert branded hubs and decided to use those I'm selling with my wheels. Must say I like it a lot; so does Piddi. Of course they're 27 1 1/4 and the hubs come with sealed bearings. What else could one want?
However, after much faffing we decided to enjoy the lovely weather instead of fiddling with the bike until the last minute; that'll be down to me, plus getting a few more things for it as I'm not happy with the head set (new Tange one, methinks), and I couldn't find a good enough (perfect shape) handlebar either. And I need to mirror polish all the components before I send it over to Germany. If you get the impression the bike was just slapped together, that's because it was. The aim was to at least get Piddi riding, then do the finer things.
Didn't happen, but here's a picture of her, pretending as if:

Piddi on the yellow flash

At least the majority is done and the powder coating is amazing, apart from two spots which I'll have to raise with the company that did it. I'll post the next pictures when the bike is ready to be sent to Germany.

Edit to add pictures of today's test ride. Note: the cables haven't got ends on them as I'll have to take it apart to mirror polish the components.

I'm now Viscount-equipped!

And Lambert-equipped, of course. As of now I'll be able to press or remove those wonderfully designed--yet complicated--bottom brackets. I mean they're rather simple, but anyone who has ever tried to remove one of those without damaging the spindle or frame will agree that it's not an easy task; and don't get me started about pressing them in. I had the honour doing both once and it wasn't really a pleasure. You end up dirty and sweaty, with results that leave a lot of room for improvement (getting the spindle in the right position).
I need not to fear anymore, for now I'm the proud owner of a Viscount and Lambert bottom bracket puller and pressing tool.

Heavy duty Viscount bottom bracket tool

My lovely friend Steve, the one who's the father of all things Viscount and Lambert has had one made for me so we can both go into battle with local bike shops who prefer the rough method of 'just hammering' the spindle out. In even worse cases probably recommending to toss the old BB, tap the shell and replace it with something modern! Urgh! That's just wrong. Those bottom brackets are sexy; something that just cannot be said about anything modern. Sorry, my lovely carbon fibre loving friends, but in this case the simplicity is absolutely stunning.
Agreeable, servicing them is--for the average knowledgeable cyclist--a plain pain in the arse. Aren't I the lucky girl to have such a wonderful tool at my disposal? Damn right! And I will not stop trying to 'educate' people that this beautiful bottom bracket needs to be conserved. Mind, I'm feeling a bit like the woman from the council denying planning permission for PVC windows in an area with single-glazed sash windows. And you know what? I'm feeling good doing that. I love 2014--mod cons an' all, but some things should be left alone as their beauty lies in their 'unmodern' appearance. Of course a bike--even a Viscount--is just a transport, but it'll transport you just as well with the bottom bracket it came with. The only problem with the old bottom bracket is that the spindles are extremely difficult to find.
We, as Viscount enthusiasts are trying to find solutions for this problem. Phil Wood bottom brackets work a treat, but they're more on the expensive side of things.
In any case, if you're having difficulties with your bottom bracket, please get in touch and I'm sure we can find a way of getting it out (or in) preserving the frame for many years to come.

And my Viscounts shall be shiny from now on!

I'm building my rally bike from NOS and original, and second hand (as original) components, which will pose a challenge regarding the finish of the various alloy parts. The hubs I plan on using are original Viscount, but looking a bit dull at the moment. ( I'm on the hunt for a rear hub, by the way.)
Since the bike will get a new powder coat with clear lacquer finish, and new wheels (polished alloy rims), I'd like to have all other parts to be shiny, too. My first encounter with a polishing kit in combination with a bench grinder was awesome, albeit a bit dirty. I was looking into hand-polishing, but since I've got quite a few things to mirror polish and a rather painful RSI in my right arm, I've decided to go for a polishing kit instead--those that can be screwed onto an electric drill.
I need to polish:
An SR stem
Drop handlebars
Crank set
Pedals
Hubs
in short everything I can take to a polishing wheel.
This bike has to be bling and you'll understand once you'll see the pictures, which I'll not reveal until the rally day on June 28th.
Being the woman I am, I'm also looking further ahead and, knowing how much fun (and useful for future polishing jobs) a bench grinder can be, found one offer I couldn't resist. Meet Hugo, my new friend:

Nice ears!

I was after a 370W grinder as the 150W ones are not able to keep up with the impact of grinding or polishing. Even the 370W slow down significantly if you have a heavily corroded piece of steel. Now this one required me to go to Hatfield (just outside north London), but it was worth it. The now previous owner had bought it for his work and its purpose was--believe it or not--to clean and polish armour. The very lovely guy works in the film industry, travelling the world, looking after costumes. Somehow, they didn't need the grinder a lot and therefore it became a dust collector. Hugo will be well loved once Ben and I are able to move into a workshop--any workshop. It seems as if the deal in Dalston isn't going to happen any time soon, so we're looking for another place, preferable around Finsbury Park, Hackney or central London. Workshop space for a good price is really hard to come by, but we're not giving up hope. It'll definitely the birth place for many Viscounts, all with shiny parts on it, of course.

A bit of dropout bending action

As you remember, I've recently picked up a light blue Viscount, the one with the lovely mudguards and straight handlebars. I was wondering why the shifting was a bit stiff when I rode it home from Marylebone, putting it down to age or neglect. On taking it apart, however, I discovered that the dropout, where the derailleur is attached, was rather bent. That it was shifting at all is almost a miracle.

Looks a bit like a laughing face to me

How did that axle stay in place?

But here I was, trouble shooting the how to get that hanger bend back without damaging it. After all, there was a good chance for it to snap. The bike may have been only 15 quid, or 35 including the cost of the train fare, but I really didn't want to buy a frame to strip it, I want to rebuild it, so my panic was probably understandable.

My first approach was to clamp it in the vice and bend the frame down. That didn't work out so well as the frame slipped even though my mate Tom tightened it for me.

As my quirky brain decided that the simple way seems to be fruitless, it came up with a somewhat more complicated solution, albeit possibly workable: take a block of wood, carve out the bit where the hanger is situated, feed some sort of solid rod through the hole where the derailleur is screwed in and do the vice trick again, pressing the dropout back into place. Yes, I know, rather complex for a simple procedure (you're allowed to laugh), and it's certainly not ripe for testing. I had some other funky ideas which I won't share as you'd probably laugh right until the next century.

So what do you do if you need a good plan and fresh mind? Exactly, you go to someone who has the knowledge. And it was a good thing I did, because the dropouts are now back in place, nothing's snapped, and the frame can be shot blasted before coming back in a new coat. How cool is that? And I didn't need a vice, a second pair of strong hands or even a workshop. Noah had suggested to use a long seat post/pole, but in the absence of having that in my flat, I came up with something that would do the trick: a socket and an adjustable spanner for leverage. Oh, and my legs, feet, and some elbow grease. Simples. 

Here's what I did:

Secured frame upside down between my legs and feet so it won't move.

I then placed a socket over the dropout. The advantage of that over a smooth pole is that it has a splined inside which prevents the hanger from rotating under pressure. 

I then clamped the adjustable spanner onto the socket and carefully bent it down (towards me in this case). I stopped and checked a few times so I didn't over-bend it, then used the adjustable spanner to straighten the hanger.

And the whole shebang in pictures:

There you go, and that's how you fix bent dropouts after the derailleur (most likely) gets caught in the wheel. Me, I'm just really glad it's not broken as small Aerospace frames like this don't crop up often. But, kids, don't try that at home with alloy frames. It may be possible if there's not much damage, but alloy is more likely to snap. I've seen it on brakes, calipers don't take to well to the adjustable spanner approach with brute force. 

A rally bike dilemma

100% Lambert and Viscount

If you own Viscounts or Lambert bikes you always have to expect the unexpected. In a good way. Okay, I have been warned; people told me that if you're dealing with old bicycles, you've got to be prepared as they're a lot of work. Nonsense, I say. The amount of times I've heard mechanics curse over 'new' bikes that were in a state--even with all the Campagnolo stuff on them--would make your ears ring. Seriously. Working on any of of Viscounts is a doddle compared to that. But if you encounter a problem with a bike that's special in every way, it's generally something more costly. Like the crack in the blue frame. An estimate was 'up to about £100' as a new part would need to be brazed in. It's still not overly expensive, but it's something that's biting a big hole into my already deep pockets for which my arms are way too short. I'm pondering if I should do it or if I should just send Shawn instead. He's only got the cracked seat tube, which will be far less to fix. On the other hand, I've already set my heart on the blue bike to become the rally bike. Oh, decisions, decisions.
While I'm debating with myself I'm busy collecting parts for the build and I'm utterly delighted to say that I've acquired a NOS Shimano Titlist GS--or tit-list  as I'd like to pronounce it--derailleur and will a front mech with the same name from a fellow Viscount/Lambert owner to go with it.. It may not be the Crane/Dura Ace GS, but that's fine by me, although I've got my eye on one, too.  It's just too funny a name to not be put on a bike. Tit-list, that is. Not to confused with that golf-sport brand, which is called Titlelist, with an e.

Sexy or what?

The bike will also be equipped with the port hole chain ring and some curious find: a rare skip-tooth freewheel.
Not to forget the NOS Lambert centre pulls which will finally, after 40 years, begin their duty. Awesome! Courtesy of Pete, who said he wanted them to go to a good home. He's another Viscount enthusiast, by the way. I must say the guys, and gal, are wonderful in general. Everyone is helping each other and I've even got a friend from the US involved as he's helping me to avoid the silly delivery charges of the Titlist GS. I personally believe Viscount and Lambert owners are the best people in the world.
That said, they may also be a bit crazy--and I'm the leader of all things crazy, I believe. Busaste joked, saying I should make sure I've got something pink on my rally bike, to which I replied I'd see if I could find a pink bell. But I found something else, far better and useful:

Pink alloy quill pedals

Now, if only I could decide which bike to get repaired and prepaired for the rally. I'm still leaning towards the blue one.

Edit: I've now thrown the idea of fixing either Shawn or the blue one for this project and instead am getting an Aerospace Pro frame that another fellow Viscountier kept aside for me. It's been hanging in his shed for ages, doing nothing, and it's in perfect (no stuck seat posts, splits or tears) condition and ready to be build-up. I'll get the two other bikes repaired at some point, though.