How hard is it to restomod an old bike?
Do modern components fit old frames from the 60s?
what framses should I look for?
>>929798
I finished restoring an old road bike half a month ago... Nothing fucking fits on old bikes. It took me more time to find parts that fit than to rebuild it. But if you like old bikes like me, in the end its worth it.
>>929861
pics?
>>929996
>stems far over safety mark
I'd might have been an edgy fuck and asked you to kill yourself, but then I realized that you're already hard at work on it.
Seriously. It both looks stupid and is incredisbly dangerous. Do a swap with the OU-8 guy whose frame is four sizes too big. It'd do you both good.
>stems far over safety mark
its 1 cm over the limit. Dont be ignorant.
>>929998
>>929798
Nothing is really compatible you have to use ghetto shit like quill adapters, and down tube shifter adapters/sti adapters
Odd size siezed seat posts, brakes that aren't compatible with sti shifters and brake mounts that need a one off spacer
And not a lot of people care about old bikes they just finance the newest trek or whatever so it's not like you can ask the internet.
I ended up selling the old bianchi I had and sold the campy parts separately on ebay
>>930005
>implying that's not a lot
>implying the mark is to be visible at all
>being this retarded
>>930008
oh yea, now its basically a ticking bomb. That 1 cm is sure gonna cost me my head.
>>930009
Yes, yes it is a ticking time bomb. They don't bother putting those on just for laughs, and there is usualy already very little margin at the limit. But, as long as it's your own head and you're not lending or selling that to anyone ever, I guess nothing of value will be lost.
>>929798
Avoid French frames.
You're going to find one, OP, and I'll tell you exactly what will happen if you don't follow my advice.
>Oh hey look, cool French bike.
>That guy on /n/ warned me, but he's a fag.
>Oh wow these track wheels fit perfectly!
>Time for a new crank
>Oh shit, have to remove cottered crank
>We'll just get a new BB for that
>Fuck, French threaded
>Wow, finally got a BB that will fit
>Should I get a new handlebars?
>Have to get new stem, sand down headset
>nope
>My AVA stem should be fine
>Riding fast down a hill
>Hit a large bump
>Stem brakes
>Dead
French frames look really nice, they're cozy as fuck, and they're honestly some of my favorite frames. Despite all of this OP, avoid them unless you really want to learn a lot about them.
>>929996
looked a lot better in the first pic
>>929996
>replacing a working wheelset
>repainting that awesome red
>stem at retard height
>replaced silver seatpost with black seatpost yet everything else is silver
>Absolutely
>
>D
>I
>G
>U
>S
>T
>I
>N
>G
>>929798
depends on the bicycle and what your goal if for your restoration.
If you get a high-end frame from the 60s or 70s, it isn't too hard getting modern things to work, because a lot of the standards haven't changed, or you can make things work with a lil' bit of elbow grease and know how. Restoring old bikes can be a really big headache.
>Things to avoid when picking a frame
1) Don't start with garbage.
Avoid department store bikes and high tensile steel frames. Most department store bicycles made from this gas piping, have the worst components, and look like shit.
>>929996 started with a low-end bike boom ten-speed and they finished with something that looks slightly nicer than an average modern department store bicycle. Don't make their mistake.
Google the bicycle's brand and see what people say about it.
No way of telling the brand? check number 2
2) Look at the dropouts
Are the dropouts stamped steel, or are they forged? Most (but not all) quality bicycles will have forged dropouts. I have seen some pretty decent frames with stamped dropouts, but it is pretty uncommon. Does the bike have an integrated derailer hanger on the rear drive-side dropout? If it does, that is a good sign. If it doesn't, do some more research on the bike before you proceed.
3) Look at the lugs and the welds
Are the lugs and welds any good? Cheap lugs will usually look like they were cut in a dark cave by an arthritic tweeker wielding a sawzall. Cheap welds look like cheap lugs with a soldering iron.
4) What's the tubing?
Good bicycles are made of good tubing. Shitty department store bikes are usually made out of high tensile steel tubing. It is gas pipe. Don't bother with it. Look for Reynolds and Columbus for European bicycles, Tange and Ishiwata for Japanese bicycles. There are other brands of tubing, but they are less common. Google search anything that catches your eye when you are out hunting for bicycles.
Goodness, I hit the character limit.
Cont. from before.
5) Where was the bike made?
>>930063 is right about French bicycles. Avoid them until you really know your shit about repairing and restoring bicycles. They can be a really big hassle to work with, and most of them aren't that great. I have a Gitane Track Standard from the 60's. I got it was because it was super cheap and came with a I.S.O. threaded fork, a French threaded Phil Wood bottom bracket, and a seat post. French bicycles can be very rewarding, but also require either deep pockets or immense patience hunting down parts.
Bicycles made in the United States, Italy, England, or Japan are all pretty safe bets. Their threadings and tube dimensions are all pretty standard, and finding modern parts for the bicycle is pretty easy, once you know what you are looking for.
6) Odds and ends
I'm getting too tired to keep making a cohesive list. Here are some general thoughts:
Avoid department store bicycles (poor quality),
low-end Schwinn bicycles (inconsistent quality, requires odd Schwinn-specific parts)
bicycles from Eastern Europe (inconsistent quality, inconsistent threading and tube dimensions, sometime requires odd Slav parts).
Avoid any bicycle where all of the components are made of steel.
Don't buy a bicycle if the bike has no braze-ons or cable stops for the brakes or derailleurs.
I am running out of steam.
Hope some of this helps.
>>930009
The whole point of a LIMIT is that it is a LIMIT. Not a "oh, I'll eyeball how far past I can go".
You're a shit person.
>>930106
How do u know the wheelset works?
Also that red is ugly
U right about the post and stem tho
I put 8 speed on my 1985 Cannondale. Wasn't very difficult
Planning on upping it to ten speed when I've got a load to blow on a new drivetrain
>>930007
I don't understand why you would feel the need to replace a quill stem
>>930006
I'd need a better picture, but this looks more like the standard vertical groove minimal insertion mark. File name was appropriate, but not for the reasons you think.
I hope you don't get anyone else killed with your crackhead mechanics.
This, folks, is why we don't advise our mechanicaly handicapped friends to restore a tenspeed when they ask us how to get a cheap bike.
Got an old french frame for free. The rear fork is 120mm, shoud it be? I assume someone rode the frame as a singlespeed/fixed and fitted 120mm track hub to the bike and therefore the rear fork bent to 120mm. How wide it should it relly be, is it the 126mm or some weird french standard? Could I fit a modern 130mm road hub to the back? Because I want gears.
>>930200
You could probably set it for a 130mm hub without problem, though french frames aren't worth the trouble. Everything is non-standard even by bicycle standards. You'll fin dit near impossible to find a BB, seatpost, or even compatible stem down the road.
Yes, you can, but there's a reason you got that frame for free.
>>930185
For the same reason you replace any stem; wrong angle, length, or - in the case of quills - also height.
>>930200
most French bicycles are made of pretty mild steel, so you should be able to space the rear triangle pretty easily. Setting up your bicycle with a more modern drivetrain can prove tricky, and I wouldn't advise it unless you have a nicer frame. Sheldon Brown was a huge Francophile, and his website has a lot of information on older French bicycles. If you need replacement parts, Velo Orange makes a decent French bottom bracket and French headset.
>>930201
Don't forget that French bicycles typically have odd ball seat post sizes, their front derailer clamp diameter is slightly smaller than the standard 28.6 mm that most old bicycles used, the derailer hanger can be an old Mafac style, the steerer tube threading is French, pedal threading can be French-specific, and to top it all off, most of the French bicycles that were imported to the US were bike-boom boat anchors only good for beater bikes or scrap metal.
