Pete Lambert

I didn’t think expect to get this far into my singlespeed project so quickly but I suppose my impatient side is coming through. I pretty much got straight to work on taking the bike to bits. Every spare moment I’ve had since I picked up my 1980s Dawes Milk Race last week has been spent either researching how to take something to bits, or actually taking it to bits, followed by painstakingly smoothing and polishing the chrome to make it shine like new.

I can’t get the dirt out of my fingers and I stink of a mix of WD-40 and metal polish but I’m having a great time. Last night when I finished work for the day I set up in the kitchen with a cloth and a bowl containing the ball bearings I took out of the headset.

I’m trying to do as much of this as possible by myself and I’m making heavy use of the Park Tool website and the many invaluable instructional videos on YouTube. There are jobs I can’t do and they’re basically the only jobs that are left.

I came across an issue in getting the old freewheel off the back wheel. It needs a very specific freewheel removery tool, one referred to as a Maillard type (or sometimes as a Normandy type). These are only made by one company in the US and as far as I can tell not sold anywhere in the UK. I’ve taken the wheel in to see my good friends at York Cycleworks who also don’t have the tool but do have the confidence to take the freewheel apart by force. I don’t have a great deal of luck with rear wheels so I’m staying well clear of doing anything that could damage it.

Other jobs that need doing are the removal of the bottom bracket (I don’t have the tool but I know a man who does and he’s on holiday) and taking the headset cups out of the steerer tube. That’s another one that calls for a tool I don’t have and I don’t particularly fancy the “Oh you can just do it with a broom handle and a mallet” advice that some corners of the internet are offering.

Once those last jobs are done it’s ready for its re-spray. I’ve even decided on the colour scheme. Olive green frame with white bar tape and brake cable housing. I can’t wait.