Before and After Pics by all restorers

[Danny83]

Untitled by danny_838383, on Flickr


Untitled by danny_838383, on Flickr

[mark field]

jbchybridrider and dany83 well done, sublime efforts.

[old al]

As I said in another post not one for the purists and still a work in progress. Here is the Europa before and after so far.

Al.

[elStado]

As I said in another post not one for the purists and still a work in progress. Here is the Europa before and after so far.

Seat looks pretty high.

Cables are a bit messy - colour OK as it matches the decal.

Not a massive fan of the red chainrings.

Looks pretty damn sweet otherwise. How much does it weigh do you know?

[old al]

As I said in another post not one for the purists and still a work in progress. Here is the Europa before and after so far.

Seat looks pretty high.

Cables are a bit messy - colour OK as it matches the decal.

Not a massive fan of the red chainrings.

Looks pretty damn sweet otherwise. How much does it weigh do you know?

Weight is 9.6kg. Kept with the original colours of red and yellow. Red chainrings match the red Rino derailleur which is still under repair.

Seat height is correct for me and the seat handlebar relationship is spot on for racing. The drops are a bit low with the old fashioned deep drops but I kept them to keep the bike a bit in character for it's era. It is actually a shorter reach to the hoods than my racing bike.

Al.

[ldrcycles]

As I said in another post not one for the purists and still a work in progress. Here is the Europa before and after so far.

Al.

DROOOLS So shiny! Looks great to me.

[Mulger bill]

If I was gonna be picky, I'd say that rear brake cable needs shortening to reduce friction by removing that reverse curve at the seat cluster.

Everything else is sweeeet.

[old al]

If I was gonna be picky, I'd say that rear brake cable needs shortening to reduce friction by removing that reverse curve at the seat cluster.

Everything else is sweeeet.

I agree. I left the cables long as I am waiting for a new set of black calipers that are a bit longer than the Shimano's that are on the bike now. I had to turn the brake shoes upside down to get them to contact the rim and not the tyre.

As I said, still a work in progress. The original brakes were really rusted out and I did not trust my restoration skills (I don't have any) to make them work.

Al.

[BillP]

I've got Before, During & After

1983 "Before"

"During"

"After" After Around the Bay yesterday actually. Bill P

[Velo13]

Very nice BillP

[morini]

Bicycles are wonderful.

How many lives do they have?

Chris

[vaeske]

wow, that Europa looksB very very cool indeed and Bill P, nice job man! great to see so many faces of your steed. That's why you can never do something similar to a carbon bike! The beauty of having vintage steel!

[elStado]

wow, that Europa looksB very very cool indeed and Bill P, nice job man! great to see so many faces of your steed. That's why you can never do something similar to a carbon bike! The beauty of having vintage steel!

Agreed. Materials like carbon fibre as a greater reflection of our 'throw-away' lifestyle where things are not made to last. People knowingly sacrifice durability and longevity in order to have something that is lighter and prettier. I mean, can anyone imagine bringing a 25 year old beater carbon bike back from the dead like what Bill managed with his bike?

[BillP]

I rode her in Melbourne on the weekend . 16,000 bikes and I only saw a couple I liked, ha, I must be becoming a grumpy old man.




The internet and Bike forums are invaluable to keeping older bikes on the road. This refurb contain parts sourced directly from Belgium, Cypress, US, UK, Japan, and Aus. Couldn't have done that 20 years ago. Thanks for the kind words. Bill P

[HappyHumber]

The internet and Bike forums are invaluable to keeping older bikes on the road. This refurb contain parts sourced directly from Belgium, Cypress, US, UK, Japan, and Aus. Couldn't have done that 20 years ago. Thanks for the kind words. Bill P

Bill P... I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one who'd love to see a bit of a build list to ID some of the components you've reused and sourced for the reno.. I'm guessing there's a lot of Nitto stuff on it, maybe some Velo-Orange repro stuff? What exactly is the crankset & drivetrain is made up of?

[lunar_c]

BillP .. remember me? I sold you some clamp-on cable stops on eBay and emailed you after to see what you were building and it was the beautiful randoneur you just showed us

Like Kym, I'd love to know more about your rando! Specs .. and the story behind it!

[WyvernRH]

BillP .. remember me? I sold you some clamp-on cable stops on eBay and emailed you after to see what you were building and it was the beautiful randoneur you just showed us
Like Kym, I'd love to know more about your rando! Specs .. and the story behind it!

So, (just asking) is 'Randonneur' the new term for what I would call a touring bike? Over the last few years I have had my Swallow touring bike described as a 'Cross bike', 'All terrain', 'cyclo-cross', 'commuter' when what it is is a fully kitted out 700c wheeled heavy tourer? The term Randonneuring tends to be used to describe Audax events and 'Audax' when applied to a bike describes something a bit sporty these days, seeing the old rules about mudguards etc got discarded.
I know however that Jan Heine seems to have started a fashion for French style large handlebags with high front carrier in the USA Audax events along with very wide tyres and the French style alloy mudguards.
Cheers
Richard

[lunar_c]

Richard,

I'm by no means an expert on cycling terminology .. but I always took "randoneur" to mean sort of light touring bike somewhere between a racing bike and a loaded tourer, so I guess in that respect I've actually just proved myself wrong Oops..

[BillP]

Hi Kym, Here is my rough worksheet for the rebuild:

Hey Ben Thanks for the clamp- works a treat!

The bike is a 1981 Japanese version of the 1950's French touring bicycle.

Richard, read this a few times : http://translate.google.com.au/translat ... rmd%3Divns

I'm grateful to the Americans for their current fad with more sensible bikes such as 650B & randonneur- parts availability is very good now.


Cheers Bill P

[lunar_c]

No worries dude! Glad it went to such a nice bike.

[elStado]

I like everything about that bike except for the tires. If I owned it it would just be rolling with some nice black slick touring tires.

The paint job looks awesome in that last picture - what colour is it? Looks like a metallic cherry red or something - surely not a cheap powdercoat job? ED: Just noticed in your works table you detailed the paint job. How much did that set you back?

[HappyHumber]

Hi Kym, Here is my rough worksheet for the rebuild..

Thanks for sharing!
Who's the supplier "BQ" you list amongst the first few items?
Did you originally plan to drill & tap the stem to mount the bell? I see reference to then filling the hole

I know you've already posted this bike in another thread - but it's such a beauty it almost deserves it's own discussion for all of our inane questions taking over this thread

[BillP]

BQ was Bicycle Quartertly, Jan Heines shop I thinks it s Compass now or something. The hole I filled was on top for a 1st generation cateye velo speedo I had as a teenager. The bell hole is a afterthought, its a much more courteous french tribute

The paint was $74 for a small tin- Its Cobra auto paint, metallic cherry red.

Maybe I should get off here & onto another post, happy to talk at length re bikes, I dont want to hog. Bill P

[elStado]

The paint was $74 for a small tin- Its Cobra auto paint, metallic cherry red.

Yes for guessing the paint colour!

Looks like a perfect touring/commuting bike.

[BillP]

Yes for guessing the paint colour!

Well guessed elStado, but you lose all your points for dissin' the worlds best tyres! Bill P