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Squadra1

The steel wool tip is working well. I can't bring myself to use it on the paint though.My stem is stamped with an SR on the sides. Any ideas? I know this sounds strange but my chain I think is original! The side plates are stamped 'SEDIS' and 'FRANCE' I measured the life with the chain-checker tool and to my shock it is practically brand new! Im trying to get the rust off. I found replacement jockey wheels. They are replicas, with sealed bearings and shims to fit a miriad of RD's. Any use for the original ball-bearing wheels? No teeth. Somewhere I stumbled upon a post of the specs and components from an early 70's TdF. Can I get directions please?

verktyg

Your SR stem was made by Sakae Ringyo a Japanese bike component manufacturer that was also involved with Suntour - long story....

If the stem is 22mm or 21.9mm then It's a metric stem that may have come off of a Motobecane. It probably takes a 25.4mm (1") bar.

Light use of super fine steel wool on the most rusted painted surfaces can be polished out afterwards with rubbing compound.

In the 70s I used to replace my chains every 3000 miles. French made Sedis chains were cheap back then - $5.00-$7.00. I saved all the used ones in plastic bags and threw them in a box.

Last Spring I bought a Park CC-3 chain checking tool to try to solve a shifting problem I was having with one of my bikes. I wanted to rule out the chain.

Here's Park's site that shows how to use the CC-3:

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=5&item=CC%2D3

I checked the chains on all of my bikes plus all of the old chains from the 1970s. I was really surprised to find that they all measured good, even the old ones in the box! Shocked

Sedis chains in my opinion always worked better than the more expensive Italian made Regina chains. Sedis was bought out by Sachs which in turn became SRAM.

If the old chain shifts OK the rust shouldn't make much difference except for cosmetics. You could hit it with some coarse steel wool and see what it does.

When you want to get a new chain I recommend one of the SRAM PC-870 (Formerly "PC-58") chains. This chain is wide enough to work with 5, 6 and 7 speed rear sprockets whereas many newer chains are narrower to fit 8, 9 or 10 speed sprockets. These chains shift very well and come with a "Power Link" that makes it easy to install and remove.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/chains.html

Here's a link to Sheldon Brown's (RIP) website on chains:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

Frequent lubing is the secret to long chain life and good shifting. I experimented with all kinds of chain lubes but now days I prefer "dry" wax based lubes. The dry lubes such as Boeshield T-9 and White Lightning are liquid when applied to the chain. I wipe of the dirt first then apply the lube to the chain and rear sprockets and let it dry. I wipe of the excess and I'm set for hundreds of miles of riding.

The dry lubes don't work as well in wet weather conditions but under normal riding conditions they pick up less dirt and grit. Also they are not as messy as lubes that remain oily - less leg tattoos! Laughing

Speaking of "Tats"
http://www.blackbirdsf.org/chainwheels/ Wink

Click on the full size picture after it loads to get a larger view...

http://www.gitaneusa.com/images/catalog/1970_pg11.jpg

Chas.