Resurrected

This is what happens to a frame when someone drives into a garage and forgets they have bikes on the roof rack. Don’t let it happen to you. When I saw the above pictured Fuso frame offered on eBay earlier this year, my advice would have been, “This is not worth restoring.”

My thoughts were, by the time someone has two tubes replaced, plus the cost of a repaint, they could find another Fuso on eBay in good condition for less money. However, there was one option I had not even thought about.

Michael Maher, a friend and local Charleston bike enthusiast, who also owns a custom ‘dave moulton’ bought the frame for $22.38. He then sent it to framebuilder Steve Bilenky, who replaced the top and down tubes and fitted a pair of S&S Couplers.

This converted the frame into one that can be used for a “Travel Bike.” One that can be broken in two and packed into a regular size suitcase, thereby avoiding large surcharges the airlines levy for oversize bike boxes.

The frame was powder-coated plain white, and I created a special set of red decals. (Picture above.) Michael brought the frame to me, and I applied the decals and clear coated over them.

Michael has just returned from a trip to Italy with the Fuso, where he took part in a vintage bike rally called L’Erocia. Michael wrote about the trip here, with some videos included.

Fuso frames in good condition go for around $300 to $400. By starting out with a damaged frame, Michael offset the cost of replacing the tubes and probably came out somewhere near where he would had he started out with an undamaged frame. Plus this one was the right size (59cm.) and there was no guarantee he would have found another in time for his planned trip.

Anyway it is nice to see a Fuso that was destined for the scrap heap, restored and put back into good use.

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Campagnolo Athena: A joy to work with, a joy to ride

Some ten weeks ago I bought my wife Kathy a 1985 1st. Generation 49cm. Fuso frame in really nice condition. I built it up with parts I had laying around and bought a few items on eBay. My wife had expressed for some time that she would like a frame that I had built.

We are neither that much into material things, we like the possessions we do own to have some special meaning, so naturally a frame I built would fall into that category. Kathy immediately took to the Fuso, and she put several hundred miles on it. However, the limited gear range of a straight up 6 speed freewheel, and friction shifters left a lot to be desired.

So after I sold her previous bike, (A carbon fiber Schwinn Peloton.) I took that money a bought a Campagnolo Athena 11 speed group. I have a black Athena group on my new Russ Denny built Fuso, for Kathy’s Fuso I got a silver group. There are other Campagnolo groups that are lower in price, but the Athena group is the lowest price 11 speed group. It is also available with carbon fiber components, which is more expensive of course.

I thought readers might like step by step account of how the bike went together. Any home mechanic who has worked regularly with vintage Campagnolo and Shimano equipment, would have absolutely no problem building a bike with this group.

In many ways I find the modern stuff is easier to work with than the vintage equipment. The only special tools I needed was a special wrench to screw in the outboard cups into the English threaded bottom bracket. And a set of Star (Torx.) wrenches. If you are not familiar with these, they work like Allen wrenches, but are star shaped rather than hexagonal. I already had both these items in my tool kit.

The combined brake/shifter levers may look intimidating but could not be easier to fit and set up. First peel back the rubber hood from the front end of the lever. I becomes apparent that there are special parts molded into the inside edge of the rubber hood, that fit into little slots and holes in the metal housing to hold it in place.

Peel back the hood from the front and turn it inside-out. About half way back in the top of the lever hood is a screw hole, (Picture left.)

Insert the star wrench into the screw head. Loosen the screw and slide the lever on the handlebar until the top of the lever hood is level with the top of the bars. Tighten the screw.

When satisfied with the lever’s position, repeat with the second lever, laying a straight edge across the top of the two levers and sight up with the top edge of the bars to see if the levers are level.

As a double check set the handlebars on a level table top, resting on the tips of the brake levers. If the levers are not level the assembly will rock like a four legged table with one leg short. Adjust one lever until level, and when satisfied, pull the rubber hoods back in place making sure all the little holding tabs are where they should be. The bars are now ready to attach to the handlebar stem.

The brake and gear cables are also easy to install, which makes it nice, not only when assembling the bike, but for routine maintenance when re-greasing or replacing brake and gear wires. The rubber hoods need to be peeled back, this time from the rear end nearest the handlebars.

First I fitted the outer cable housing. (Brake and gear cable.) I cut back the plastic sheathing about 1/4 inch to ensure in went all the way into the lever and sat firmly against its stop. The gear cable exits at the top of the hood, where there are two channels the wire can run in.

This gives the option for the cable housing to run along the rear edge of the bars, or the one I chose, to run it along the front edge next to the brake housing. The brake cable exits inside, just below the gear cable.

I placed two pieces of electricians tape on either side round the bars to temporarily hold the cable housing in place. (Handlebar tape was later placed over this.) Next I cut the housing to length at the down tube cable stops and at the brakes, and all that was left was to grease and feed the inner wire through.

I placed a rubber band around the handlebars to hold the brake lever open, this allows both hands free to feed in the wire, possibly hold a flashlight because the inside hole where the cable enters can be a little hard to find. Make sure the roller that holds the pear shaped nipple on the end of the brake wire is facing the right way.

Once you poke the wire through the hole in the roller, aim slightly downwards and keep fishing until the wire goes through the tunnel and into the cable housing. The hole for the gear cable is underneath the hood, push the wire up through this hole. When it exits at the top of the hood the wire needs to be fed along the channel and into the cable housing.

Campagnolo’s gear shift lever design is so simple. When holding on the lever hood, the rider’s fingers are on the outside, the thumb on the inside. The fingers work the lever to shift down, the thumb clicks the little lever on the inside to shift up.

Once the gear cables are installed, pull on the wire with one hand while clicking the down shift lever two or three times with the other. Feel it pull on the wire, then click the small thumb lever until is stops clicking and the mechanism is in top gear position.

The rear derailleur needs the star wrench again to attach it to the gear hanger. Adjust both limit stops so the jockey wheels line up with the small sprocket, and the large bottom sprocket when the derailleur is pushed by hand all the way across against the spring. (Assuming wheels are in place with a cassette. There is no chain fitted yet.)

Cut a piece of cable housing to go from the chainstay stop to the adjustable stop on the derailleur. Don’t make the loop too big or too tight, but let the inner wire follow a natural line at the entry and exit points.

Thread the inner wire through, remembering to grease it, and pulling the wire tight, attach it to the clamp just below the adjuster.

Operate the downshift lever one click at a time and see if the rear derailleur jockey wheels line up with each sprocket on each click. If they don’t adjust the cable stop until they do.  Fit the front derailleur in the normal way, this frame had a braze-on fitting.

Adjust the inner and outer limit stops so the derailleur yoke centers on the inner and outer chainrings. Operate the up and down shift levers to check they are working correctly. After fitting the chain and test riding the bike, I found the front and rear derailleurs shifted perfectly and no further adjustment was necessary.

The frame is the heart and soul of a bicycle, it determines how the bike fits and how it will ride. Naturally I am prejudiced towards my own frame, and it is natural my wife would want a frame I built.

Building it up with modern equipment, especially Campagnolo, makes a bike that is a joy to ride. It will last for years, and should someone in the future want to rebuild the bike again with period correct equipment, the frame has not been compromised.  

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Do you recognize this bike?

BART Bay Area Rapid Transit have pictures of recovered stolen bikes on their website. Interestingly the first bike shown is a pink, white and blue Fuso FR1. If you recognize it call (510) 464 7040.

They will need to see proof of ownership, like a receipt with a frame number, which may be difficult to produce. So if your bike was stolen and recovered how would you prove ownership? Do you at least have the frame number written down somewhere; or better yet a photo of the bottom bracket with the number clearly showing.

If it was a frame I built, do you have it registered, possibly with pictures on my registry? That would be a good way to prove ownership. Another idea is to place a business card or maybe a copy of your driver’s license inside the seatpost. That way you ask that the seatpost be pulled and state what will be found there.

If you live in the San Francisco area you may know who owns this, and even if not please spread the word any way you can. Post it on Facebook and Twitter

My thanks to Karl Fundenberger for bringing the BART website to my attention.

                       

Applying Fuso Decals

 

I am now making replacement decals for those wishing to have one of my frames repainted. I wanted to post these instructions here so that anyone refinishing one of my frames in the future will be able to refer back to this article. I am hoping also that others might find it interesting to know what went into the Fuso paint process.

Fuso 1^st. Generation Decals 1984 – 1986

The white decal panels are the “Peel and Stick” self adhesive type. The frames are painted in a two color paint scheme, with the decal covering where the two colors join.

The top part of the decal forms a visual straight line diagonally across the frame shown in the above picture. Because of the camera angle it appears not to line up perfectly. But this is a visual effect anyway not necessarily a perfect straight line. However, painters have been known to put the down tube decal on upside down, which makes the chevrons go in opposite directions and spoils the whole affect. The decal panels are “Arrow” shaped and on both the seat and down tubes, the arrow points down towards the bottom bracket.

The down tube decal should be placed mid way between the top water bottle mount and the gear lever bosses. On the seat tube decal for frames smaller than 60cm. there is a hole pre-cut in the decal to go over the top water bottle boss. The position of this will vary according to frame size. The smallest frames will have 2 holes cut for both WB bosses.

With the position of the seat and down tube decals pretty much predetermined, it is then a matter of positioning the narrow white stripes that go around the rear seat stays so they visually align with the other two decals.

The easiest way to do this is with the frame in the primer coat stage, offer up the decals “Dry” with the backing still intact. Place masking tape to mark the top edge of the “V” shaped decal. Next place another piece of masking tape around the seat stays to line up with the tape on the seat and down tubes. This tape will mark the top edge of each decal including the seat stay stripes.

The two colors on the top and bottom part of the frame will meet 3/8 inch (1cm.) below the point of the wide “V” at the top of the seat and down tube decals. This can be masked straight around the tube, and the widest part of the decal will wrap around to cover the join in the paint. The seat stays will be masked ¼ inch (6mm.) below the tape marking the top, and again the stripes will cover the join.

It is best to paint the top part of the frame first. If you paint the bottom first you may get overspray on the bottom as you paint the top.

Take the time to mask and re-mask when applying the two colors as shown in the picture above; it will save headaches later because a “Step” in the paint will show under the decal. I used to spray 3 or 4 clear coats over the join before sanding. That way I was sanding clear coat rather that cut into the actual color coat where it might show if you sand outside the area covered by the decal.

A useful tool to mark the center of the tubes to ensure correct alignment of the decals is a straight strip of wood or aluminum angle, long enough to lay across two tubes, and with a countersink head screw protruding 9/16 inch from the straight edge. 9/16” being half the 1 1/8 inch tube diameter of the seat and down tubes

By applying small pieces of masking tape to the frame at the top and bottom of the decal you can mark the center by laying the straight edge across the seat and down tubes and make a pencil mark where the screw head meets the tape. Check from opposite sides of the frame to ensure you have the exact center. (If it is not center you will have a double mark.) A straight piece of masking tape at the bottom of the decal with a pencil center mark to coincide with the bottom point of the decal. A small triangle cut from masking tape (Like a sharp arrow point.) stuck to the frame tube to mark the center of the top “V” of the decal.

  

 

Once you are satisfied with the position of the decals, and have done several “Dry” practice runs; position the frame so that the tube you are working on is vertical. In other words if you are applying the down tube decal, have the frame in a vise or workstand so the down tube is vertical; even leaning towards you a degree or so. This will ensure that the decal will not accidentally flop around the tube and stick before you intended it to.

Peel the paper backing from the decal from the bottom pointed end. Hold the decal between your thumb and first finger; one hand at the top and one at the bottom. Align the decal with the masking tape markers and touch to the frame. If the seat tube decal has a hole punched in it to clear the WB boss; place the decal over the boss first then align the top with the masking tape marker.

I always used a paper towel folded into a wad about 2 inches square, to smooth down the decal. With an up and down motion lightly smooth down from the center and work around the tube on one side only. Then the other side; the widest part of the decal should wrap all the way round the tube and overlap slightly. Try to avoid creases, however, small air bubbles can be fixed by pricking them with an Exacto knife then smoothing them down some more.

Allow 24 hours for the adhesive on the decals to cure thoroughly, before clear coating over the whole frame. Imron clear coat will protect the decals from UV damage and fading.

Finally for all Fuso and Recherche owners, NEVER let a shop mechanic clamp the frame in a work stand around the decal as this will mark them permanently. I have failed to tell a mechanic this because I didn’t want to insult their intelligence and lived to regret it.  

Addendum July 2017.

I now make the decal panels that are printed on white adhesive vinyl, with a clear vinyl film laminated over the printing to protect it from UV light. So with these no further clear coat is needed. You can remove the old decals and replace them without re-painting the frame, if the finish is otherwise good.

Before removing the old decals mark the centers with masking tape, top and bottom, as described in the article above. This way you will be sure the new decals are positioned in the exact place as the old ones.

A painter’s hot air gun is useful to soften the old decals to facilitate their removal. (A hairdryer may work as a substitute.) Start by warming the decal at the edges, and pick at one corner, with a thumbnail, where the edges of the decal meet at the back of the tube.

After removing the old decals, make sure the tube underneath is relatively smooth with no lumps of glue or old decal remaining. If so further scraping may be needed. If necessary, use a mild solvent like white spirit, (Paint thinner.) but make sure the solvent has completely dried, (Overnight if necessary.) before applying the new decal. Traces of solvent may impair adhesion.

Follow the directions in the article above, to apply the new decals. If you have questions, email me, Dave Moulton. An email link is in the right side column of this page.

                        

My New Fuso: First Pictures

If my posts here have been a little sparse this week it is because I have been assembling my new Fuso bike with the frame that my ex-apprentice Russ Denny built for me.

I finished the build yesterday and went for a 20 mile ride this morning; I was impressed. I will write more after the weekend and I have had time to put some miles on it. I just wanted to post some pictures as many of you have been anxiously waiting to see it.

Not immediately apparent in the picture above is the very low 10 inch bottom bracket height. This has the affect of lowering the saddle in relation to the handlebars, but without compromising the appearance of the bike.

Above: The stainless steel head tube badge, and seat tube decal.

The drive train: Campagnolo Athena group with 11 speed cassette.

I am keeping my Brooks Pro saddle; I'm allowed one piece of old skool equipment, right. Actually this is a Ladies model which is wider and shorter than the regular Professional Model. It is very comfortable and, I think, looks better.

Above: With welds as neat as this I can live without lugs.

My Italian Rear View Mirror; I love it and wouldn't be without it now.

Bigger pictures on Facebook. Click on each picture to view the next.