Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Tue Dec 02, 2014 8:01 am
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Thu Dec 11, 2014 1:35 pm
Man this bike is gonna look great when finished.
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:16 am
Reviving this thread some 4 years later! After pulling everything together and getting ready to do my restoration, life got in the way again. The bike went back in the shed and the parts on the shelf. That is until recently.
I met a guy in my bowling league who is a well experienced bike mechanic. I asked him if he would be happy to take on the rebuild of my Elan and he has agreed. Work is progressing and the job is nearly finished.
But we've run into a snag. The Suntour GPX calipers I purchased to replace the old Suntour Blaze are too short! Who would have thought the sizes would be different?
Does anyone know if there was more than one size available, and if not, is there any way to make them fit?
Thanks,
Mark
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:10 pm
Nice bike, my favourite era as well..8Track wrote:Hey all,
Reviving this thread some 4 years later! After pulling everything together and getting ready to do my restoration, life got in the way again. The bike went back in the shed and the parts on the shelf. That is until recently.
I met a guy in my bowling league who is a well experienced bike mechanic. I asked him if he would be happy to take on the rebuild of my Elan and he has agreed. Work is progressing and the job is nearly finished.
But we've run into a snag. The Suntour GPX calipers I purchased to replace the old Suntour Blaze are too short! Who would have thought the sizes would be different?
Does anyone know if there was more than one size available, and if not, is there any way to make them fit?
Thanks,
Mark
Unfortunately, I've had this problem once before as well (a while ago). The difference between what was on there (Edge ?) and the GPX was only 2-3mm. After finding that GPX calipers only came in 39-49mm reach, I got the rotary tool out and very very carefully created a 51mm reach GPX caliper. Short of finding and buying a set of long reach Superbe Pro calipers (57mm), this was the only solution I could find.
While I'm here, I'm just going to mention that AccuShift is really sensitive to the cable housing to the rear derailleur being just right, just in case you're having shifting issues.
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:43 pm
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Tue Sep 18, 2018 4:19 pm
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Tue Sep 18, 2018 4:43 pm
- singlespeedscott
- Posts: 5510
- Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
- Location: Elimbah, Queensland
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby singlespeedscott » Tue Sep 18, 2018 4:53 pm
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:05 pm
No problems at all, but do a whole heap of measuring first and minimize how much material gets taken out of the caliper arm. Is it only a matter of 2-3mm in your case ?8Track wrote:Awesome! Thanks fro the tip. No problems in use after the modification?
Anything more than that and I'd suggest different calipers..
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:15 pm
So I'm open to all manner of suggestions. How about if I had an adapter bracket made up? One end bolts to the bike, the other to the caliper? That might fix it.
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:11 pm
Picture of caliper issue in the posts above!
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:32 pm
Think you may need the long reach Superbe units.
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Tue Sep 18, 2018 6:53 pm
- 10speedsemiracer
- Posts: 4904
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
- Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 10speedsemiracer » Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:05 pm
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/57-75mm-Dro ... 1548226375
- find_bruce
- Moderator
- Posts: 10598
- Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 8:42 pm
- Location: Sydney
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby find_bruce » Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:45 pm
With imugur, right click on the image & copy the image location, so that
Code: Select all
[img]https://i.imgur.com/OdLx1FS.jpg[/img]
- singlespeedscott
- Posts: 5510
- Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
- Location: Elimbah, Queensland
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby singlespeedscott » Wed Sep 19, 2018 2:52 pm
Your frame looks about the same vintage as a couple of my own Leisure Cycles manufactured frames using the same tubing and lugs. All mine required 57mm reach calipers.
Looking at you photos I think the GPX caliper might work on the front but on the rear you may have to give the original Blaze caliper a cleanup.
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2017 4:09 pm
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby adsjax » Wed Sep 19, 2018 5:55 pm
These should work but are $20 for two.
Looks like you will need cartridge brake shoes aswell though
- singlespeedscott
- Posts: 5510
- Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
- Location: Elimbah, Queensland
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby singlespeedscott » Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:54 pm
Never seen those before. Looks like a great idea.adsjax wrote:https://www.google.com.au/search?q=aica ... hp8wboKY4M:
These should work but are $20 for two.
Looks like you will need cartridge brake shoes aswell though
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Wed Sep 19, 2018 10:11 pm
Thanks! Looks like a good idea. What are cartridge brake shoes (sorry I'm not well versed in this) ?adsjax wrote:https://www.google.com.au/search?q=aica ... hp8wboKY4M:
These should work but are $20 for two.
Looks like you will need cartridge brake shoes aswell though
- singlespeedscott
- Posts: 5510
- Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
- Location: Elimbah, Queensland
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby singlespeedscott » Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:57 am
The best ones are salmon coloured ones by Koolstop.
-
- Posts: 2842
- Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:44 pm
- Location: Middle East, Melbourne
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby ironhanglider » Thu Sep 20, 2018 7:24 am
-
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:08 am
Re: Restoration of my 1989 Pulteney St Cycles Elan
Postby 8Track » Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:14 pm
DING DING DING! I think we have a winner! This looks like the most elegant solution to my problem with the brakes. I'll definitely be grabbing one of these so I can fit those beautiful GPX calipers.
I'm really pleased to announce the build is finished. Pete, of Hey Bikes has completed the work and I took delivery this afternoon. I can't say how stoked I am with the finished result. The bike looks pretty much like the day I bought it, only better, and the attention to detail is superb.
Pete has done an awesome job with the wheels. They've been rebuilt with stainless spokes using the GPX hubs. They roll so wonderfully and there isn't any observable run-out at all. And the Schwalbe gumwalls look perfect for the era!
Little touches really stand out. For example the cable sheaths were originally clear, and Pete has sourced some new sheaths that are also clear. However, he's gone one step beyond and used Schwalbe inner tubes because they have clear valve caps which match the aesthetic of the cables. It might not sound like much, but little things like that really set the bike off.
Pete worked hard on my old Christophe toeclips. All the rust has been removed and they now present wonderfully. They fitted the GPX pedals perfectly and he's also fitted new white leathers.
The Selle Italia white handle bar tape matches the white Selle Italia Turbo seat perfectly with its black finishing tape and endcaps complimenting the black Turbo logo on the seat.
The GPX groupset looks wicked on this bike. The blue/grey colour really contrasts with the mint green of the frame. I can't wait to remove the Blaze calipers, grab a dropbolt and get those GPX ones on board to complete the look.
Finally the decals from Cyclemondo went on without a hitch and again look superb on the frame!
I'm so happy! I feel like I've gone back in time to 1989 when I first purchased the bike new! Its just stunning and I can't stop admiring it!
So a massive thanks to the guys on this forum who've assisted with recommendations and parts for the build, and a huge thanks to Pete at Hey Bikes for turning my dreams into reality.
Now the bike's age has been turned back 29 years, I need to do the same with my body! This bike is all the motivation I need. Hoping to turn cycling into a regular activity and lose 20kgs over the next 2 years.
Photos to come tomorrow!
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross and Gravel Grinding
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Cargo Bikes and Utility Cycling
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users
- All times are UTC+10:00
- Top
- Delete cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The Australian Cycling Forums is a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.
Bicycles Network Australia
Forum Information
Connect with BNA
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.