Checking in

OK so I have been quiet, mostly due to work commitments, but I am still cycling and still finding interesting things to do that are cycle related. And yeah I still haven’t got the Dayton on the road but it is now in the loft workshop, almost at the front of the queue (well it was at the front until I accidentally picked up a beautiful early 1980’s Mercian in pieces which will be a doddle to put back together. More on that to follow.

For Christmas I got a fantastic book – Bike Snob by BikeSnobNYC – I just spent the morning reading his blog having finished the book in 24 hours. Thoroughly recommended – and I love his views on hipsters. He has a great turn of phrase and I have realised I am probably a Schizophrenic Retro-Grouch by his definitions. Schizophrenic as I do stray into other genres such as Mountain Biker, Roadie (well sort of) and maybe just a bit of Lone Wolf at times.

Other stuff, well the cute pic below is a genuine 1984 Mongoose Californian, built in the US of A (not Taiwan) and rebuilt by me and number 2 daughter in London with a few minor colour variations but basically 100% original apart from the saddle and tyres. It has proven to be a great performer over a modern day BMX track, it’s light, well balanced and strong. The original forged alloy MX brakes are surprisingly effective as well.

Some sod stole my kid’s bike

Detailed description:

• Apollo steel frame (late 1980’s vintage) in original blue with a few scratches – for an older child. This is not a full sized road bike, more about 3/4 size (it actually started life as a very early 24″ kids MTB but with thin steel tubing so more like a road bike)
• ITM alloy drop handlebars in an alloy 1″ threaded road style stem with shiny blue bar tape. Shimano indexed road shifter/brake lever assembly.
• Gears: Shimano Sora front and rear.
• Wheels: 26″ (559) Mavic black rims (XM317 I think) with blue anodised spoke nipples, silver spokes laced to Campagnolo alloy hubs. These wheels are very distinctive having been handbuilt by me. Tyres: narrow “Bronx” black road tyres, showing some cracking in the surface.
• Brakes: Miche alloy road brakes. The rear brake is mounted on a modified hanger to reach the rim correctly.
• Cranks: Black SR Suntour with blue translucent plastic pedals. The bolts holding the cranks on have anodised blue washers.
• Gear and brake cables – blue housing, again very distinctive. The cable ends are also anodised blue.
• Saddle: Dark blue (not the one in the photo) with blue flame motif.
• Blue anodised bottle cage.

Apollo Baby Road Bike

Please do let me know if you spot it. It was a labour of love.

Another Dayton Elite… in Russia!

Well, there aren’t many Daytons about but they do seem to pop up in the most interesting places.

Alexey from Russia just got in touch with some photos of his amazing Dayton Elite. Like mine it has an amalgam frame and from the components I suspect it’s a similar vintage, around 1956-7, but the decals are different from mine, more similar to Bernie’s and some other Daytons I have seen. He tells me that the bike has been in his family for many years and he received it via his grandmother. I would be fascinated to know more about how it got to Russia and when.

The condition is incredible but as he appears to work at a professional bike restoration workshop, so perhaps that is no surprise. The chrome work looks really good as do the decals and paint.

The detailing on the frame is lovely. Enjoy…

Alexey’s Dayton Elite – frame in detail

Alexey’s Dayton Elite – Head Badge

Cyclo Benelux Sport Derailleur

From looking at the derailleur, it is different from mine (Cyclo Benelux Mk 7, dating from 1957). Alexey’s appears to be a variant of the Cyclo Benelux “Sport” which was in production from 1952-1958. Thanks to Classic Lightweights for this reference.

Alexey’s Dayton Elite – Note the lugless amalgam tube joins

Alexey’s Dayton Elite – Downtube Decal

Alexey’s Dayton Elite – beautiful chrome

 

 

Alexey’s Dayton – All the bits

It’s been a while…

Just realised I haven’t done anything for 6 months. Work and family have got in the way but I have the urge again. Thinking about that Dayton, and prompted by a recent comment, I’m thinking of building it up but without replacing the paint and decals. Like my uncle’s old Sunbeam, it is probably of more interest if I can keep its original paint on, no matter how tatty. Where possible I would probably re-chrome selected parts. The big problem may be the forks – the chrome is completely gone but I don’t think I can get it re-done and still preserve the paint on the upper parts.

So, I might dig it out from the back of the cupboard and take another look. I am pretty sure the rims are nearly beyond recovery, but maybe I should strip the wheels down and take a good look. They are the classic 32/40 arrangement, and 40 hole rims in particular are hard to find.

1920’s Sunbeam

Last summer we went camping at a farm belonging to my uncle’s family. Whilst there I rode the oldest bike I have ever seen, a 1920’s Sunbeam. It has rod brakes, 2 gears and is surprisingly comfortable and well balanced, albeit rather hefty. Worth noting, too, that it is NOT restored – it is in original condition. My uncle is a purist about these things.

1920's Sunbeam

I had a bit of fun riding it about and later in the week I was asked to take it back to London for my uncle. So we loaded it onto the roof carrier and took it back home.

The Sun Beam

The next day I rode it the 10 miles from home into work which was near my uncle’s London house, and dropped it off to him. I only wished I had a tweed jacket and deerstalker cap to ride it in, but I had a lot of fun. At the time I was feeling pretty fit due to regular riding so I was in a mood to take all comers. On the “Silly Commuter Game” I certainly took a few scalps that morning. The bike ran beautifully and was perfectly geared for fairly high cadence speeding through London streets. And the rod brakes stopped it pretty effectively so once I was confident taking it at speed I really gave it some, sitting completely upright and taking on (and beating) many considerably lighter and faster bikes.

Upright cycling position

I must have looked a sight and my careering journey was only slowed by the saddle, which flipped back on the oldfashioned mount quite a few times.

Now THATs a saddle!

Anyway I reckon its a good many decades since the old girl went that fast in London and for an octagenarian she did very very well.

... and that is a headlamp.

Tandem Rims – Update

Well I ordered the 2 x Velocity Synergy 650b rims, with custom 48 hole drillings today. Ken Self’s were very friendly and happy to help.

I did subsequently find out that Brick Lane Bikes are the UK importers so could have done it via them perhaps, but it’s sort of nice going via my old LBS, and may also be less hassle as my parents were visiting here anyway so I don’t have to go across London to collect.

Looking forward to seeing these rims now. Will look into spoke options but I’m thinking Sapim Strong or similar single butted spokes, at least for the rear drive side.

Also, now I know that Velocity are so good to deal with, my mind is going to other custom drilling options, like paired spokes and even maybe tripled spokes (eg 36 holes in 12 groups of 3…)

Hmmm that could be fun for another project.

Bernie’s Dayton

Well the weather has been too good to sit inside blogging so I have been out on the road as much as possible. Over Easter I finally met Bernie, and more importantly perhaps, his Dayton Elite.

Bernie and his Dayton, me and the Falcon

I met up with Bernie in Richmond Park, on a stunningly hot Easter day. His (clearly very understanding) daughter accompanied him and kindly managed the photography for us. His Dayton really is in excellent condition, especially when I compare it with my poor old rusted example. It is such a pity he has lost the original drivetrain, but he’s done a fine job resurrecting it with newer parts and the old Simplex derailleur he found looks the part.

Having now seen a Dayton in the metal, so to speak, I am definitely motivated to make this the year for my Dayton’s resurrection. Right now it is still waiting, safe and dry, in my store room for me to find someone who can reproduce the decals. I toyed briefly with taking a “grunge” approach and simply preserving it as it is, but returning it to rideability. But the chrome and the paint are so utterly terrible it’d just look hideous and the old girl deserves better.

My one concession to modernisation, probably, will be to add alloy rims, primarily as the old steel ones really seem thoroughly rotted. But they will be laced onto the original hubs and I will use all the original gears and drivetrain (well, a new chain will be needed). I have found a 40 spoke rear rims, a Mavic Module 4, but I’m yet to find a suitable 32 spoke front rim of similar design. I will try, I promise, to resurrect the old rims but I think the rust is too extensive and they will probably fall apart. I will however keep them for posterity along with any other bits which need to be replaced (very few I hope).

Singlespeed Project – 6 months on

The Falcon hit the road some time back and I’ve never really looked back. I have a few other projects on the go and arguably never quite finished this one but she’s great to ride and I’ve racked up a good many commuter miles on her.

Falcon Olympic Fixie

The final spec is a bit different from what I anticipated, so here is the detail:

• Falcon “Olympic” steel frame and forks, Reynolds 531 tubing, (approx 1971)
• Token 102mm ISO bottom bracket (45mm chainline)
• KMC z610HX chain
• Suntour Superbe Pro cranks with Velosolo 48t 3/16 chainring and Campagnolo bolt covers
• Mavic Open Pro rims with Suntour Superbe Pro hubs, Sapim DB spokes
• GB 70mm Hiduminium stem
• Dawes drop bars
• Tektro RL341 brake levers
• Alhonga “mid-drop” 57mm front dual pivot brake caliper + Acor “deep drop” 73mm rear brake caliper
• MKS GR-9 pedals
• Generic steel 17t screw on cog with 24tpi (bottom bracket) lockring
• Zeus steel headset
• Lycett L’Avenir leather saddle
• Fluted seatpost (I now think it is original as I’ve seen another)
• Michelin Dynamic 700-25 tyres
• SKS Bluemels mudguards for winter.

Suicide Hub

After the usual “fettling in” period, a few component swaps (3TTT stem was too long, plus it did not actually grip the old Dawes bars properly), I have really just ridden this bike. A 20 mile round trip commute most days is a good way to learn riding fixie. The frame is tight and runs silky smooth over rough London roads, and she is so bewitchingly light and fast.

I had a brief flirtation with a 16t rear cog, taking my gearing to 48:16 from 48:17. It may have been a bit faster on a downhill but on the flat I think there wasn’t much in it, plus it was joyless up hills so I swapped back and I’m satisfied that 48:17 is right for me.

Superbe Pro + Velosolo Crankset (I really must polish it...)

I chucked out the cheap brake pads that came on the cheap brakes and have re-used some spare Campagnolo pads I had, they are so much better and don’t cover the wheels in crap.

I never did paint the frame, it’s still covered in rubbish Hammerite, but I like the “ghetto” look for now. I think also it looks less appealing to thieves. I hope so. I have now got a reproduction Falcon Olympic head badge (decal) so I will think about new paint this summer.

And finally, I got the most beautiful Lycett L’Avenir leather saddle. It was on eBay and not being Brooks didn’t get many bids. It looked old and worn in the photo and when it turned up it was pretty hard, but I conditioned it (Brooks Proofide) and have ridden it through the winter, and now it is polished up to a deep rich mahogany. It is also incredibly comfortable. You’d never believe I paid £11 squid for it.

Lycett L'Avenir

Bernie hits the road…

Just a quick and slightly belated update to all you Dayton of London fans out there…

Bernie’s Dayton Elite has, he reports, made it onto the road. Apparently it’s light, fast and smooth as silk. He has fitted it with some newer Weinmann 27″ alloy wheels and screw-on hub, a 5 speed block and 1960’s vintage Simplex derailleur. Not quite original but certainly in keeping with the vintage of the bike. He has re-used the original steel Williams cranks and it all works beautifully.

What’s more, it looks pretty good too…

 

Bernie's Dayton Elite - almost complete

More Dayton Info

Inspired by Bernie’s Dayton I have done a bit more web searching and found some more Dayton Cycles London info, linked below.

• Dayton Cycles of London – a brief history
• Dayton Sales Catalogue
• Another sales catalogue for the patent Amalgam frame
• A Dayton in Thailand
• Images of a stripped Dayton Roadmaster amalgam frame

And just to cap it off, a Dayton ridden by Tom Saunders won the Tour of Britain in 1948.

PS A bit more trivia. Dayton Cycles of America comes from the same town (Dayton, Ohio) as the Wright Cycle Co, established by Willie and Orville Wright to finance their experiments with flight. There are some suggestions out there that the companies may have been related. But neither of these is in any way a relation to Dayton of London which was established a few years later by Chas Day.