gitaneusa.com :: View topic

Beegee225

The French always have had their singular thoughts... Kind of reminds me of the '72 DS21 Safari I had... What a spaceship...

Thanks for the info, Chas. I'll see what finishes this refurb segment off. The hubs are high flange Campys, that came with the frame. I recently had them mounted on some 13-19 Regida Alu's that were still true, and were the closest thing I had to the sew-up width. I still have most everything that was on the original. But this project is just for a rider and to get the bike back to more of a semblance of it's original form, with probably some updated components somewhat. I used it for semi-touring for several years, and had some heavier components on it (for the time). That was with the PW hubs, wider rims, a long-armed Campy derailler to handle the larger Sugino FW, racks, etc. so now I'm making it closer to it's 20lb. weight. That hub thing threw me a bit. Let's see what happens...

Beegee225

I'm starting to take the components off, and there's various issues...
- one of the crank arm hub caps hex hole is past using and it seems welded tight... Do I cut this out somehow and search for a new one?
- the Mafac Comp brakes need deep cleaning as well as some other small parts - what does one use for this?
- Can one use a sheathed cable for the derailleur (going under the chrome BB) instead of the bare origininal type? I would think that would keep the grit out better...

Thanks,
BG

gman309905

If the hex hole is rounded out the cap is shot, you might try drilling two small holes and using an adjustable pin spanner to remove it ( spray liberally with liquid wrench or wd-40 prior to removal) or perhaps using the rounded out hole, extend it on both sides to the form of a slot and use a large flat tip screwdriver to remove it. WD-40 works very well for cleaning parts. If you wish to run your wires fully housed, there are a number of options available on ebay, Clear or white plastic dual cable guides, steel ones are also available . I also found cable housing holders in the form of zip ties which would work.

Beegee225

Good idea... I was leaning toward cutting a slot with a dremel, and trying to twist it with a screw driver, but the two-hole solution sound like it would work, too. I'm thinking that when I replace these (I have a missing one on the other side) I'm going to fill them with grease or something and seal off the hex hole... that may be what's causing the corrosion "cementing"...

The bare cable going under the chrome bracket holder on top of the BB was always an issue and I just wondered why they didn't use the housing in such a vunerable spot for dirt, etc. Friction shifting doesn't need more friction like that to work... Somewhere I saw unhoused deraileur cables that were advertised as sealed or covered with a thin vinyl covering... maybe Jensens? That might be a solution to keeping the "look" of the original bare cables... Id have to run ties along the sleeve if I were to use that, and also deal with the cable end at the derailleur side where there's the stop before the cage.

gman309905

I think this is the type of cable guide you're using now

this is a plastic guide that bolts on to the bottom of the bottom bracket, less friction between plastic and metal as compared to metal on metal

this is a cable guide with pulleys, maybe something like this would work for you

these are self adhesive housing guides which you could use to run your wires, completely housed from shifter to derailleur

steel dual cable guide which you could use at the base of your downtube to route housing under your bottom bracket

vintage suntour dual cable stop usually used with stem shifters or barcon shifters, if your using down tube shifters you could reverse this to hold the housing in place for a full housing set up

I'm afraid I can't think of any way to use housing and still maintain the bare wire "look". If you tried to use the small diameter clear vinyl housing
with a cable guide such as the one in the first picture I think it would wear through very quickly

gman309905

One other thing, I think that just applying a thin coat of grease to the threads on the cap and the threads on the crank would suffice to keep it from seizing
Don't think its necessary to fill the whole thing with grease.

Beegee225

gman... thanks for the pix solutions... love the wheels one! didn't know they had that double for revamps on the seat tube. Reminds me of something I had one of on a city three speed, but certainly would move the cable through without friction. Let me think of those. And yes, probably just grease on the threads of the hub cap and periodic attention to them. Surprising how lack of that overall can make everything go south mechanically... I'm going to try the WD40 on the cleaning... been using a denture brush to get at the crannnies, only to find one needs a face shield because of the spatter... White lithium for the final lube, or maybe a more recent product? Phil's tenacious? (I'm going to use that in the FW)...

BG

gman309905

Glad if I can be of help. All those pictures came straight from items for sale on ebay, just search cable guide.

Beegee225

I was looking at replacing the Mafac gum half hoods and found that these can be iffy NOS or just really OS on ebay. Isn't anyone making replacements these days? Or maybe I should just use something similar? Maybe I could cast them myself...what type of gum rubber is that... latex, silicone? Of course, to be true, I'd have to figure out how to get that metal clip embedded in there right....

BG

Beegee225

Finally got the hub cap off with the drilled two-hole method (thanks, gman!) and a generous amount of liquid wrench + some light tapping to break te seal. Had to use a circlip pin wrench/plier with the pins inserted backwards to have some gain on the two holes drilled about 3/16" on each side of the smooth-out hex hole. Then got the crank arm off with the arm extractor, but the notched outer ring won't budge yet, as well as the inner race holder? Which way does the outer ring turn... Opposite the pedal forward motion? And, is this outer notched ring the first to come off, and then the pin-holed inner ring? This is on the plain arm side and not the chain ring side. Does it matter which side of the BB comes off first?
-Bob Gary
Hightstown, NJ

gman309905

one of the odd things about french bikes is the fact that the bottom bracket threads are right handed on both sides. the notched outer ring is used as a locknut against the face of the bottom bracket. Having said that it should loosen counter clockwise regardless of which side your working on. glad the two hole idea worked for you.

Beegee225

Got the fork and one side of the BB off... the chainring nut is being real stubborn... Forgot to note which side of the ball bearing cage goes up or down in the headset bearing races... the loose side down against the bottom of the fork and the opposite at the top?

-Bob G.

http://postimg.org/gallery/3hyygj4a/

verktyg

Frenchbuilt

The BB fixed cup is very hard to get off and unless it is damaged its not worth trying. There are several methods the best being the VAR tool but
really not worth it unless needs changing. By trying, you will see that there is only one way to put in the ball races.

Beegee225

Good advice guys... thanks. I had a vague recollection somewhere in the past that the ball bearings were fitted loose, and when taking the fork out, I was prepared to catch them as they danced all over the place, so I was surprised to see the cages. Still, the cages were thinned out from wear and all it takes is some piece to break off and start grinding and ruining the races. Chas, I'll check the auction site for the ones you suggest. I picked up some tubed Phil Wood bearing grease that might be thick enough to help hold these in place... Frenchbuilt, I'm going to leave it on as per your suggestion... It wasn't going to budge one way or another it seems. I guess I'll work from the other side and lay the frame down when placing the ball bearings in...