Ricardo project

[ag23q]

Can anybody shed some light on this frame?


sorry about showtime pics

[drubie]

Aussie / Adelaide based company, made a wide range of bikes from basic hi-tensile "10 speeds", good quality cr-mo "sports" bikes, tandems, ladies bikes. Bought by Repco eventually.

Stem shifters, chrome dork disk on the cottered steel cranks, safety brake handles makes that one an entry level job, probably early eighties. Good candidate for fixed conversion as it will have a minimum of braze-ons for derailleurs (should have an axle mount derailleur at the back), plenty of room in the drop outs for chain adjustment, not one of the road frames that somebody will complain about (not an elite in other words). Only bummer being 27" wheels and it'll probably be heavy but otherwise if it isn't rusty it should make an adequate bike.

[ag23q]

your a legend mate

[ag23q]

sorry i might sound a bit noob
but could somebody link me to a nice and cheap crank that would fit onto this bike

[brauluver]

Low end clunker,Heavy.

[drubie]

sorry i might sound a bit noob
but could somebody link me to a nice and cheap crank that would fit onto this bike

You'll have to measure across the bottom bracket and then the axle and get the widths first, it might be a standard 68mm bottom bracket with english threading (should be). Toss the cottered crank and BB out.

This thing:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/New-DRIVELINE-Track-Fixie-Bike-Crank-Crankset-SILVER-/170545290241?pt=AU_Sport_Cycling_Parts&hash=item27b54a9c01

With this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SHIMANO-FIXIE-TRACK-BIKE-BOTTOM-BRACKET-68x118-68-x-118-/290462174681?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43a0e50dd9

It's important to measure first - buy something too narrow and it won't fit, too wide and your chainline will be a mess.

(and brauluver, that frame might be no good as a retro racer, but as a fixed it saves hacking up a high-end frame)

[brauluver]

[quote="drubie(and brauluver, that frame might be no good as a retro racer, but as a fixed it saves hacking up a high-end frame)[/quote]

I'm hearin ya...but I happen to think these bikes are better left as a lock up around town/station type of bike, that is highly unlikely to get stolen.
A nice Cro mo roadie (ala repco/apollo) would make a much nicer conversion.

[drubie]

I'm hearin ya...but I happen to think these bikes are better left as a lock up around town/station type of bike, that is highly unlikely to get stolen.
A nice Cro mo roadie (ala repco/apollo) would make a much nicer conversion.

True, but with fixie stuff being popular, you could park two Ricardos next to each other (say, that one with the axle mount derailleur and a nice late eighties Tangie 900 elite) and the lower spec one would go first - simply because the dropouts are more suited to fixie conversion.

I see a bit of it here at the tip shop - people are taking some seriously crummy frames and leaving the good ones. Great for me this month (scored an Olympic 12 AND a Ricardo Elite), puzzling on the face of it to see hi-ten Centurions and Road Kings being "more valuable" but digging through the pictures on this site, I am really impressed with the bikes that are getting turned out.

[ag23q]

thanks drubie!
is there any good and easy to follow tutorials on the cottered to cotterless conversion?
i would really like to read up on that and do it /

thanks again!

[drubie]

is there any good and easy to follow tutorials on the cottered to cotterless conversion?
i would really like to read up on that and do it /

Start, as always, with Sheldon:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html#bottom

[ag23q]

just went and played around with it a bit, its not a cottered crank thank god,
and the bottom bracket measures 68mm
i just need a crank puller now!

[munga]

loosen the bolts 3 full turns and go for a ride
voila! cranks off.
i hold no responsibilty for missing teeth or testicles

[ag23q]

does the bottom bracket stay in tho?
and does just the crank come out?

[drubie]

does the bottom bracket stay in tho?
and does just the crank come out?

The crank is held on by compression - loosening the bolts on either side of the axle allows it to slip sideways on the axle itself.
The axle won't move until you take off the "cups" that are screwed into the bottom bracket.

Munga wasn't joking about teeth etc. damage - I'd loosen the crank bolts rather than take them off completely. Better still, an crank remover is less than $30 and a well worthwhile investment. They screw into the crank and pull the axle off without putting your, ah, self in any danger of injury.

[ag23q]

oh kay,
when i install the crankset will it automatically be aligned with my fixed gear cog on my rear wheel?

[ag23q]

coming along nicely, just stripped the forks to see how it would turn out
im just waiting on a crank puller


ps. does anyone know how to get a chain off without the tool [dw i will not be re using aha]

[yehuwdiy]

Well, there are a few ways, all of them frustrating and possibly dangerous! Seriously, just buy the tool. I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but, it is one of those tools you will use a lot. That, and they last forever and are cheap. I've honestly spent more on tools than I ever have bikes.

This of course assumes you will be doing more work on bikes in the future!

[aaron]

There is no tool to take the chain off!!!! Use your fingernails, knife or screwdriver!!

[brauluver]

Grinder, bolt cuters if you don't want to salvage it.

[ag23q]

yeah, iv been thinking about buying the tools but iv also wondered if i just poped in to a lbs and just asked them to borrow the tool for a min infront of them would they mind do you rekon?
i dont mind paying a small fee or whatever but its cheaper than them charging me for a full job and on top of that i want to learnnnnn!

mmmmmm maybe i should just buy the tool ahaha

[aaron]

What tool do you think you need to take off the chain?
Can you see the chain link bit?
Looks like this...but all together

[ag23q]

cant you use a chain breaker tool?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Chain-Breaker-To ... _500wt_749

[aaron]

cant you use a chain breaker tool?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Chain-Breaker-To ... _500wt_749

Yes but if there's a link it'll cost nothing and be over and done with in 2 minutes.

[drubie]

cant you use a chain breaker tool?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Chain-Breaker-To ... _500wt_749

Yes but if there's a link it'll cost nothing and be over and done with in 2 minutes.

Quick links are relatively new - and unlikely to be found on that bike. If it's one of the older "fish swims upriver" type ones that you've identified in the picture above, just use pliers to remove the sliding plate and the rest comes apart easily.

Seriously though, a chain tool is somewhere between $5 and $12 on the wall at your local bike shop or occasionally as part of the folding bike tools down at k-mart and big-w (not always). They are seriously cheap and save lots of time.

[kerolah]

screw a crank puller, those cranks are ugly anyways. Sorry

get a hammer a old rag wd 40 it then hammer away. it will pop off in 30 hits =] exactaly...