Thank you

I missed posting last week because of computer problems and had to order a new PC. This was an unexpected cost that I could hardly afford, and I appealed for help from the cycling community on the Dave Moulton Bikes Facebook Group.

Members of this group came though and made donations that covered the cost, for which I am most grateful. The forced down-time also caused me to do some serious thinking about the future of the Blog and the Bike Registry.

It is not so much financial help I need going forward, but practical help. This month I turn 87, and I am in good health for the most part, except for my Parkinson’s Disease. I can control the symptoms to a certain extent, but it does make typing increasingly difficult. It can sometimes take me 5 or 6 hours to write a single blog post.

Even if I live to be 100 what physical state will I be in? And at 87 that is only 13 years, and time becomes increasingly precious. I also have several other (Important to me.) creative endeavors I want to complete as soon as possible.

I need someone to take over the blog. It has been up for over 17 years and has excellent positioning on Google search. It would be ideal if it were linked to a business, or with effort it could be financially self-sufficient, or even show profit, depending how much time and effort one puts into it. I do not have that time.

I am constantly approached by people who want to advertise on the blog, but being uncertain of the future I do not take them up on the offer, also it would involve extra work in placing the ads and tracking payment.

If anyone reading this is interested, or knows someone who might, you can contact me without obligation. Also, practical suggestions would be helpful.

In the meantime, my sincere thank you for your past support.

Did you ever wonder why?

Major Taylor and Leon Hourlier, Buffalo Velodrome, 1909Did you ever wonder why bicycle frames of the early 1900s had such “Laid Back” or “Slack” seat angles? (See the above picture.)

The forerunner of the chain driven bicycle was the “Ordinary” or High Wheeler. It was the first enthusiasts’ bike, and it was initially faster than the chain driven bike. When that big wheel gathered momentum, it was possible for a fit athlete to maintain 20 mph.

It wasn’t until pneumatic tires were invented that the chain driven bicycle became faster and was widely accepted. The early chain driven bikes, were designed to seat the rider in the same position they had been used to on the High wheeler. (See picture below.)

On the high wheeler with the handlebars directly above the pedals, there was no other option but to sit some distance back behind the pedals. However, it was realized that with the chain driven bike, there was no need for the rider to sit upright, and it was an aerodynamic advantage for the frame to be made longer.

Frames were now made in different sizes, (Heights.) to accommodate different size riders, and lower priced bicycles were being massed produced. There was a need for some kind of standardization.

Top tubes became level by the 1900s, as this was the framebuilders point of reference from which all other angles were measured. Level top tubes were standard for the next 90 years.

Head and seat angles did become a little steeper over the years, but this notion that one had to sit back in order to pedal fast and efficiently still prevailed in the 1950s when I started racing. Standard frame angles were 73 head and 71 seat, throughout the entire range of frame sizes.

Frame lugs were heavy steel castings, machined on the inside to accept the tubes at these standard angles. It was not cost affective to make lugs in different varying angles. It was established probably around the 1930s that 73 degrees was the ideal head angle for a road bicycle, this is still true today.

The reason for the seat angle being 2 degrees shallower was because when a framebuilder made a larger frame, the top tube became longer because the head and seat tubes were diverging away from each other.

“These standard angles were not for the benefit of the rider, but for ease of construction for the framebuilder.”

Bike Work Stands

My last post about removal and fitting of a bicycle head bearing, drew the following comment:

“Headset removal should be performed with a bike repair stand clamped to the bike’s seat post and definitely not to a frame tube, since you’ll be hitting the removal tool quite hard with a hammer.”

A valid point, one should never clamp a frame tube in a work-stand, and personally I would never do any kind of hammering on a frame even if it was held in the work-stand by the seat post.

I would simply place the removal tool in the headtube, hold the frame in one hand, while tapping out the bearing cup with a hammer or preferably a wooden mallet with the other hand. These cups are only a press fit in the frame, and only require a few light taps to knock them loose.

The reason it never occurred to me to mention this when I wrote the piece, not only do I not own a work stand, but I have also never owned one in my entire life.

Even when I had my frameshop, and occasionally had to build up bikes, I worked out of a vise, which was mounted on a steel pedestal and bolted to the floor. When working on frames I could move all around 360 degrees. With a vise mounted on a workbench, one can only work from one side.

Obviously, I did not hold a painted frame in a vise, but I had steel mandrel that was a solid steel bar, 1.5 incches (38 mm.) diameter, with two flats machined on either side, so it would clamp firmly in the vise. The rest of the bar had been turned down in a lathe, to 27.2 mm. diameter, the same size as a standard seat post.

This was in effect a heavy-duty seat post that I used when prepping finished frames prior to shipping them to the customer. It served as an immediate check that the seat tube had been reamed to the correct inside diameter. I could fit a seat bolt and clamp the frame safely to the mandrel, while I fitted dropout and water-bottle screws.

The bottom bracket was faced, and threads cut on a machine before it was painted, and head tube was reamed and faced in a similar fashion. After painting, the paint had to be cleared form the bottom-bracket and other treads. This was all done with the frame safely mounted on this special mandrel.

If I occasionally needed to build a complete bike, I could quite easily fit bottom-bracket and headset bearings and even a chain-wheel, cranks, and pedals, with the frame still held in this fashion. A rear wheel could be added, and the front and rear derailleur fitted, and the limits set.

Remember that this was back when bikes were friction shift, so a chain could be added, and the gears adjusted and set to work correctly. All that was left to do was to unclamp the frame from the mandrel, fit a seat post and saddle, stem and handlebars, brakes, and the job was complete.

A work stand is pretty standard equipment in any bike repair shop where people are assembling, and working on bikes all day, but used without care by an inexperienced mechanic, and a great deal of damage can be done.

I got my first lightweight bike at fourteen years old, and could work on it, even build it up from scratch without the aid of a stand. I would fit the head bearings, and fork to the frame, as described in my last post.

Next fit a pair of wheels complete with tires, also a seat post, saddle stem and handlebars. I could now lean the bike against a wall and kneel to work on it or sit on a low seat. Fit the bottom bracket bearings and spindle.

Derailleurs could be added, and the limits set. Even with modern gears, if the upper and lower limits are set, and the cable tensions are correct, the gears will shift up and down and may only need minor adjustment after a short test ride.

I believe there is more damage done to frames in bike shops by miss-use of bike stands, than any other piece of equipment. If you are a newbie mechanic, learn by doing a few simple tasks without a work stand.

Save yourself some money and learn a lot, with less risk of doing damage. A bike work stand should be the last piece of equipment you buy, not the first.

Headset Removal and Replacement

The great thing about vintage steel bikes is that you can work on them yourself with a few simple tools. Here is a job I will walk you through, namely the removal and replacement of the headset cups and bearings. I will explain how you can do this with a few simple items picked up at your local hardware store.

To remove the bearing cups from the frame I purchased a piece of copper tube. I found a ¾ inch repair coupling that was ¾ inch diameter inside and slightly under and inch outside. These come in various lengths; 12 inch long worked fine for my needs and the ends were already machined nice and square.

All I had to do was cut four slots down the length of the tube about 4 inches long, using a hacksaw, and bend the four pieces outwards as shown in the picture above. These squeeze in to insert through the headset cup and then spring out again inside the head tube. With a hammer or mallet, the cups can be safely knocked out of the frame.

This worked in exactly the same way as the professional Campagnolo tool that costs a great deal more. To remove the lower ring from the fork, I turned the fork upside down resting the threaded end on a wooden block, and drove the ring off with a hammer and flat punch.

It is necessary to tap first one side of the ring, then the other to get it to come off straight. The bottom ring was hardened steel so the flat punch did not damage it in any way.

To press the cups back into the frame I bought a 5/8 dia. nut, bolt, and several large flat washers. I pressed the top cup in first, which again was hardened steel, with the bolt facing up and the nut on top. Tightening the nut on the bolt squeezed the cup into the frame.

Then I removed the nut and bolt, reversed it and pressed the lower cup in. (See picture, left.) The bottom cup was light alloy so I placed the lower steel fork ring inside, upside down.

This brought it flush with the outside edges of the cup so the washers were pressing on the inner hardened steel bearing surfaces, rather than the soft alloy outer edge of the cup.

Don’t press the cups in with the ball bearings in place, or you may damage the balls or the bearing surfaces.

Finally, to drive the lower ring on to the fork. I found a short piece of one inch black iron pipe. This was slightly bigger than an inch inside so it slid easily over the steering column.

Holding the fork in one hand, I drove the bearing ring onto the crown race, using the piece of iron pipe as a sliding hammer. (See picture, right.)

Once again, because the lower ring is hardened steel the iron pipe did no damage.

The piece of iron pipe does not have to be threaded as shown here. It just happened to come that way, in the length and weight I needed to do the job.

Finally, use plenty of grease in the inside of the head tube. It will help the cups slide in and prevents corrosion in the future.

My Wish for 2023

I have struggled for days to find suitable words to express a New Years' message. Then at this late hour I remembered the words to a song I wrote a few years ago:

I always try to help my fellow man

Hurt no one by thought word or deed.

Do to others as I would have them do to me

Is my philosophy and creed,

But there’s someone I find hard to forgive

Though Heaven knows he should be my friend

If I could only show some understanding

Forgive forget and try to make amends.

I resolve to show this man compassion

Lift him from his self-made Hell,

Help him if he should fall or stumble

I resolve.... to be kinder to myself.

If I could only show myself forgiveness

Show tolerance for mistakes I make.

Tell myself I’m only human,

Give myself an even break.

But I’ve always been my own worst critic

So many times, I curse the fool I see

If I could show the patience, I show others

Open up my mind and set me free.

I resolve to show myself compassion

To lift myself from this self-made Hell.

Forgive myself if I should fall or stumble

I resolve.... to be kinder to myself 

My wish for 2023 is that we can all show compassion, not only for ourselves but for each other. I give thanks that I live in a free society but cannot in all honesty do so unless I allow others their own opinions.

I cannot change the world, I can only change my world, or rather my perception of it. The world is in a sorry state, environmentally and economically. I can fall into a state of deep depression over it, or I can learn to adapt and deal with it. 

What is the alternative? If I go on social media to complain and blame others, it not only adds to the sorry state of the world, but I also still have to deal with this sorry state while in a deep depression. 

My wish is for “Peace, Love and Understanding” to come back into fashion. May the Joy be spread to my fellow countryman, rather than the joy it must bring to my enemies to see us fight amongst each other.