1976 Raleigh Super Course Mk II

I bought this Raleigh Super Course MK II from the original owner. The bike had been stored for a long time, probably in a garage. I could tell the owner was really enthusiastic about bikes and although this one was dusty from storage, it was in good condition. And the Brooks B-17 Narrow is really in beautiful shape.

The frame needed a good cleaning. I then polished it. I used rubbing compound on the chrome. There were some white specks of house paint, I think, on the frame and saddle. I used a flat head screwdriver to very carefully pick the specks off.

The original white bar tape was on the musty side, so I took it off and replaced it.

The tires were cracked and gross, so they came off. The brake pads were also quite dirty and hard, so I removed and replaced them.

I put new cables and nice white cable housing on to keep things consistent with the eye-catching original red and white color scheme. I also installed a new chain.

Basic tools for working on vintage bicycles

The essentials: hex wrenches and adjustable crescent wrench

The first tools I recommend having are a set of hex wrenches and an adjustable crescent wrench. Of course, you'll need a bicycle pump too. Ideally, one for home and one for the road. You'll also need a set of tire levers.

With these basic tools, you should be able to remove a tire, move your bike seat up or down, adjust your stem height, adjust your brakes, adjust your brake lever position, and a few other things.

You'll also need these

You can always use some lube for your chain, and you will need some grease. Grease should go between the metal parts on your bike, basically--on the stem before you insert it, on your seat post before you insert it, between ball bearings and the cones in your hubs. Some people like to use marine grease, which is blue. I prefer clear grease because it's less messy and I can see the ball bearings better through it.

For replacing cables

The next tool I'd recommend is a pair of cable cutters so you can replace your own cables and housings if you want to. And you sort of need a little crimping tool of some kind to crimp those little caps that go on the ends of the cables. I sometimes use a small jewelry-making crimping tool. A pair of needle nose pliers is also great to hold the cable taut while you tighten the anchor bolt on your derailleur.

For chains

If you want to remove a dirty old rusted chain and put on a shiny new awesome chain, you'll need a chain tool.

Pedals

You might want to change out the pedals on your vintage bike. The pedals might not be in good shape, or might be a style you don't prefer. A few times I've encountered pedals I didn't particularly like, such as pedals meant for toe clips, and wanted to change them out for some flat pedals. How do you do that? With a pedal wrench. Tip: save the pedals for a future project or sell them on ebay.

For the aesthetics

I like to use mild dish soap with a lot of warm water to clean a dirty bike. Then I use polishing compound (but not on the decals), and then car wax. The polishing compound works especially well on chrome. For polishing rust off of non-painted surfaces, like steel rims, I use a folded up piece of aluminum foil and water. Rub, then wipe the rust and dust off with a paper towel or rag, and then apply polishing compound.

Overhauling hubs

To overhaul the bearings in your hubs, you'll need some cone wrenches. Cone wrenches are thin and can grip cones where large wrenches can't. You'll also appreciate having a ball bearing gauge to measure the size of the bearings you take out, so that you can put the proper size new bearings back in. And of course you'll need some new ball bearings.

Cranks & bottom brackets

Getting to the bottom bracket to refresh grease and ball bearings requires that you remove the crank. Many vintage bicycles have cottered cranks. Cottered cranks have a cotter pin that must be removed in order to remove the crank. I don't want to mess around with hammering and drilling to get cotter pins out, so I sprung for a cotter pin press. This is a beautiful tool that works, cleanly and reliably.

For alloy cranks, you'll need a crank puller. I have run into a Stronglight crank on a Raleigh that can't be removed with this standard crank puller. It needs its own special size of crank puller, which is available on ebay. I haven't bought it myself though.

This lock ring spanner will let you get past the lock ring.

For headsets

To overhaul your headset with new grease and ball bearings (yep, there too), a headset wrench is a great tool.

Tools, tools, a bag o' tools

This is a good start: just acquiring the hex wrenches and crescent wrench will enable you to customize your bike in ways that you can't without. Having your own tools lets you solve some of your own problems and learn how the bike is put together. It's a good way of feeling that sense of freedom and confidence that comes with knowing how to fix basic things on your bike.

On stupid mistakes

This week I've managed to make a couple of stupid mistakes while working on a Peugeot and a Raleigh. On the Raleigh, I overtightened the cable anchor bolt on the rear derailleur until it twisted completely off. Oops. I managed to locate that part on ebay and ordered it, so this loss was not a calamity. On the Peugeot, I somehow got the rear derailleur wedged against the freewheel and broke one of the plastic jockey wheels. Thankfully I have a Shimano derailleur to replace it with that is working just fine. The Simplex derailleurs don't have very good quality reputations so maybe it's best to replace it anyway.

Learning to do even simple tasks on these bikes is a process and unfortunately I might have to learn a few things, not like not overtightening bolts, the hard way.

Notes on passing other cyclists and being passed

This week while I was riding in Washington, DC, cycling home, a cyclist came up behind me on my left and yelled, "Can you move over to the left, please?"

This was annoying, for two reasons. One, just the arrogance of giving me, another cyclist, instruction, and two, the nonsensical nature of it since moving to the left would put me directly in her path (since she was on the left). I ignored it and continued on, pedaling up a hill, in the left third of the bike lane (to avoid car doors), on a busy street in rush hour with a lot of other cyclists and cars around. She asked again. I again ignored. And then she passed me on the left. I assumed she must have meant move to the right, since moving to the left wasn't possible. As she passed, I yelled, "I don't want to get hit by car doors!" And she yelled back, "I said left!"

This was a very confusing episode to me. It happened a couple of days ago and I'm still thinking about it. Here's my philosophy on passing: If I want to pass someone, whether car, pedestrian, or cyclist, it's my responsibility to do so safely, quickly, and ideally without pissing someone off. I certainly wouldn't think of telling another cyclist to move over so I could pass more easily. I also pass on the left because I don't want to get hit by a car door or pass someone on the right where they're not expecting it.

Here's my problem with some cyclists in DC. Most of them are safe and polite and try not to scare or annoy other cyclists and pedestrians. But there's a vocal minority who zoom into crosswalks, narrowly missing pedestrians, bob in and out of traffic and almost get themselves hurt, and do other dangerous maneuvers to save a precious few seconds. I'm putting this cyclist in the same category. Someone who is arrogant enough to yell out directions to a fellow cyclist is someone with a dangerous sense of entitlement on the road. It simply baffles me. I try my best to be a decent ambassador of sorts for cyclists to people who encounter me. I'm not perfect. I can't always present the best image. But I do try not to scare pedestrians or piss off drivers. I try to be predictable on the road so drivers see me and know what to expect from me. I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable directing another cyclist on where to ride/to move over/whatever. But I do feel comfortable ignoring a person who tries to do that to me and telling the person no if I have to.