Postretrogression

I've been further at work on the Flying Pigeon, I finally got around to having the still pretty wobbly wheels trued up at my LBS. The shop mechanic looked at my wheels for about thirty seconds, spinning them on the truing rig, then he said to me "How do you stop on these things?" I explained to him how Westwood Rims are designed for rod brakes, and the brake pads make contact up against the inner surface of the rim.




Two days later, I had my wheels, put some rim tape on them, and then went about trying to mount the new Schwalbe cream colored Delta Cruiser tyres onto the
wheels. I seemed to have great difficulty with this, after half an hour, I went and consulted with the bicycle oracle (Sheldon Brown's website)- and that is when dear friends, I learned that there was a difference between 700C and 700B, which classic roadsters use. About 10mm worth of difference. Well that had me waiting another week for a special order of Schwalbes to ship direct from Schwalbe USA. That said, I can save the 700Cs for either the Felt Cafe, or for a future bicycle. (I'm considering a Surly Cross-Check). The new Schwalbes roll great, tremendously improving how the bicycle handles. I highly reccomend them.

The new tyres came, and I put them on with ease. New tubes, then did some paint work, as I really did not care all that much for the extensive decaling the bicycle came with. Some of it was even horribly applied, such as on the chaincase- "Made in TiaSQUIGGLE" So I scuffed up the clear coat over the offending decals with a sanding block, masked what I wanted to protect from overspray, and used some Krylon Appliance Epoxy-Black spraypaint. This stuff seems almost indistinguishable from the stock paint in tone and gloss, and has made me quite happy with the toned down looks.

I then spent an extra night or two adding some twine and shellack, tapering the handlebars in front of the grips, and adding a protective wrapping along the top-tube, where it had a habit of getting nicked from collision with the brake-levers.

The final touch, was adding some retro-lighting, in this case a reproduction oil-lamp from Rideable Bicycle Replicas. This is the only current production oil lamp I can find, and for the price is a pretty good deal if you're just dying for a light. The build-quality is so/so, and I had to reverse the side-glass, as it had red on the right, and green on the left, which might have been okay if it was a tail light, but standard position lights for ships, planes, traines have green on the right and red on the left. It does work though, although seems to seal poorly between the kero/oil tank and the burner. I might gasket this with some innertube rubber. A further improvement might be to add a sheet metal reflector internally. But oh my gosh, when it is lit, it is so cool. I got lots of attention on the dusk ride home I made with it tonight. Drivers smiling and such. It stayed lit in some pretty strong winds, with moderate speeds. I have it mounted to the fork-light mount via an old bracket adapter. It does some with a headset bracket as an option.




These little box-style lights seem to be thin on the ground- original items that is. I'm not too suprised though, given the light stamped construction and the high heat gradients, they appear to corrode/warp into unserviceability. A check on Ebay will show a dozen or two good looking carbide lamps, and just a handfull of the black box lamps all ragged looking, and going for more than the ornate carbides! Looking over the construction, it gets me wondering about how hard it would be to make my own. A Niche market to be sure!

Heated Miscellaneous Days

The past few weeks have been more about trying to survive the opressive uncharacteristic heat than much else. Although I did manage to get out on a group ride, this one starting in Iowa City, and held as a benefit ride for an all-ability sports organization. I had expected a quiet trail ride, but at some point a shortcut was taken that had us biking along an extremely busy 55mph road. Yikes. Well we managed to survive that, and made good progress the rest of the way on the trail to North Liberty and suprise, a drinking establishment. There was conversation, beer, and fried food. On the way back I took a detour that avoided the same stretch of dangerous road and stayed on the trail. And that was the last I saw of my fellow riders, who continued on. My detour led through a nice natural preserve and then through an adjoining subdivision with some absolutely fearsome hills to climb.


On the plus side, I confirmed my general fitness and hot weather tolerance, also I just got to ride around in Iowa City, which at least compared to The rest of urban Iowa, is a bicyling paradise. Sharrows, slowish traffic, half a dozen separate bike paths, and an extremely vibrant down-town and campus, filled with things to do. I'll definitely be heading down again. In another year or two, they should have an all but uninterupted trail stretching the 100 some miles of the north-south corridor.

I spent some time fussing with the flying Pigeon, decided to lower the gearing, by putting on a new freewheel sprocket. Wikipedia says the PA02 Pigeon has a 20 tooth rear sprocket. After a protracted session of advanced cursing and manipulations with a pipe wrench- and getting ball bearings scattered over the livingroom floor, I suceeded in removing the stock freewheel... and counting the teeth... It was an 18 tooth! I replaced it with a quality 22 tooth BMX freewheel, then spent the next two evening sessions learning how to join and dejoin chain. Eventually I got everything back together, and suprisingly the case's chain rub was gone! And the 22 tooth sprocket fit fine in the chain case! I managed to fully enclose the case with a few new screws that replaced loose, poorly fitting stock screws. Dropping the gearing about 12 inches makes it so much easier to pedal along. More soon!

Commuting by Pigeon

Me to my Flying Pigeon: Feige, can you take me to work today?
Feige: Sure.
Me: Oh hey, there is a deer, let's stop and take a photo of it.




Really, it wasn't too bad of a ride. Perhaps the only fault of the stock Pigeon, is the extremely high gearing, which makes it a bit hard to get going, or to get up the one steep 30% grade hill, that is on my route. Once you get going though, up to 10 or so mph, it is nice and easy. I'm researching various gearing options. That and some new tyres and tubes. Otherwise the Pigeon is fine, I had to go back down that grade at a walking pace, to make sure the rod brakes could keep up. That's when I saw the deer. Full stop and take out the camera.
It's tremendously fun to have a "project" bike. Every little thing that needs a fix, or dissasembly for examination or upgrade - leaves me more saavy.

Pigeon pedal.

This is suprising, but I took the Feige out yesterday for a brief hour or two of plein-air painting. I picked a forested spot, and fussed with my watercolours, then rode home.  About half way home I started to note a shifting or notching sensation that occurred on my right crank, when it reached the apex of the pedalling, just before the downstroke.  

"Oh great." I thought, probably the cotter on the crank backing out or something un-wonderful with the bottom bracket.  It got me home, and I poked and prodded at the Pigeon, seeing if I could force in my hands, the same sensation. Eventually I took the pedal off (MKS 3000) and replaced it with the Union Platforms that came on Zwartehond.  I had to leave riding it for today. And when I did, the 'notching' sensation wasn't there.  Go fig, the problem is with the MKS pedal.

Pigeon across amber fields

Flying Pigeon PA-02

The Pigeon's new cotters arrived, although I was able to use the original cotter with a little more hammering, assisted with a new nylon lock nut that seems to hold quite fast.
Like the Raleigh DL-1s, the Flying Pigeon has 'loose' seatstays that are joined to the rear dropouts and then are secured to the seat-tube top/cluster with the seatpost binding bolt. One of the problems I had with the build was an inability to really secure the seat. It would always sink in or twist, no matter how tight I got the seatpost binding bolt.  Eventually I stripped its threads.   I took it down and looked at it... the bolt had an anti-rotation shoulder.. and one would suspect the rack adjustments and the seat-stays to have appropriate notches to accommodate the shoulder. (The seatpost lug flanges had the notches)  But nope, inexplicably none of these had notches for the shoulder. Indeed the shoulder had been gouging the rack about considerably as I attempted to tighten it down.

Pigeon of the Proletariat

This was solved by tossing the rack. I was kind of dour on it anyways. Yes, tossing the rack, and more importantly getting an unshouldered 8mm bolt from the hardware store, along with some better nuts and washers for replacing various existing bits. It is funny, how much a single quality fastener can improve something. I barely had to tighten it on the new seatpost, and everything held was held fast like iron. The  B.72 Brooks that I had leftover from trialing various saddles, clamps and seatposts on Zwartehond replaces the somewhat oversprung stock seat.  (Which just goes to show, a quality saddle such as a Brooks is a good thing to have an extra of) With everything tightened up, I decided to take Feige for a sunset ride.

I have many things to be thankful for, one of them is the sudden explosion in my area of bicycle trails. Just in the past 4 months a new rail-to-trail has been constructed and opened, a portion of the route which I can now take, that reduces by 3 or 4 minutes my work-commute, and gets me off the exceedingly bicycle unfriendly streets and into nature.  When completed the total new trail, will allow me to bicycle from my small bedroom community town, down to the city proper, faster than by using a car.  As it stands, the trail meanders through a wooded floodplain of one of the major creeks, crushed limestone pathing with gentle rolling rises, before ending for lack of additional construction by a larger river.   I bicycled through the evening air to the end of the trail, took photos, then leaned back on the bike, watching the sun set and turn the long prairie grasses green to gold, and the clouds purple, orange and blue-white.

the spread of the heavens reflected round in a bell

Every bicycle ride is a journey, although the wheels stop for awhile, they will soon roll again, forward. I have found something extremely spiritual about bicycling, in that bicycles are always of a good nature. They are the amongst the best machines we as humans, as a race have ever created. You do not cheat on a bicycle, it takes you as far as the energy you put into it. You're not borrowing petrol or electricity, it merely re-expresses your energy through a series of cleverly arranged wheels. And so we all roll.

Introspection aside, the Pigeon isn't a perfect bicycle, but for me, I find it a great bicycle.

When the sun touched the horizon, I set off for home, back through the now blue-shadowed woods. I lifted my foot and hit the release for the dynamo-light, letting it press against the tyre with a 'Whzzt!-rrrr' and it started producing a warm illumination, casting over the cool white of the limestone trail. Along up a ways I passed a gentleman walking with his young daughter who was cavorting in childish delight at a magic summer's eve.  He was carrying a pheasant feather.  I doubtlessly looked like an apparition from the 1920s in my clothing, and with the pigeon clanking, whirring and bobbling along. We greeted each other.  I rode through the little valleys and crested the small hills of the all but deserted park.

I can't help but like the Feige. I feel very perched upon it. Very little of the bike comes into my field of view when I'm riding it.  The single speed is set quite high, making for, slow starts, but it cruises nicely. You need to build up some speed for hills, but I find that I can 'drop' forward well and start putting some power down. The B.72 with its only very minimal suspension doubtless helps me feel the bike.  The rod brakes work, not outstanding, but not bad either.  Stay at a reasonable speed, and they'll suffice.  It is less 'twitchy' in the steering than my Felt, or the huge Azor/Workcycles Kruisframe.   It is very likeable, and has me curious about other English style bicycles- all of which are sadly non-existant out here on the prairie.   I'll keep riding about on it though, just ordered a zimbale 7 litre bag for it.

Pigeon Placeholder

notepad watercolour

I learned a few things building the PA-02 Flying Pigeon, one, that I probably need to take a camera with me on maiden voyages,  two: don't attempt to tighten cotters by tightening their nut. You'll just strip the threads.  - Verbatim from the wise Sheldon Brown, but I unfortunately read these words... after I stripped the threads.   I finished up the Pigeon Sunday, tentatively tightened everything up, positioned the rear wheel to what I thought was a good chain tension, got the rod brakes working, put the bike out on the driveway, mounted it-

  And promptly rode the bike I had assembled for four miles.  The bum cotter fell out right as I got back into the driveway.  So the Pigeon is convalescing while some new cotters, and a somewhat better seatpost arrive by post.  It is a bike!  I didn't reduce it to scrap! I learned things!  Rod brakes actually work well when set up correctly!   I just pre-tensioned them a little bit, no problem. They pull at least 70% of regular cable and caliper-rim brakes.

I'll get a proper review done up shortly.

Pigeon Parts, Cafe Flowers

Flying Pigeon in its box

I really can't say that I was in a bit of a lull- nearly every day for the past two weeks I have commuted by bicycle, probably averaging 13 miles or so a day. Nothing special, but isn't that what we strive for? Incorporating cycling as a basic part of our lives?   Hey hardware, that is always easy to write about!

My Flying Pigeon PA-02 arrived on Monday after its trip from Flying Pigeon LA. Thankfully double boxed- well packed.  The box did however exude that un-wonderful eau de 'Guangdong Industrial' also known to people as 'That Harbor Freight' smell. Seems to be a mixture of vinyl plasticizers and some sort of anti-corrosion solvent.  The bike was quickly unpacked and the stinky packing materials were banished to the garage.

pigeon strewn about

I purchased this bicycle for a few reasons, one of which was to have a cheap project bike, preferably something with very basic or old technology. Something that I could assemble, disassemble, and basically not freak about if I scattered parts across the floor and had to spend an hour or two at Sheldon Brown's website, learning how to put said parts back together. Tonight I learned about adjusting the bearing cones on a rear hub. What? I could've done that with the rear wheel mounted?   I've always had reasonable amount of mechanical aptitude, but no in-depth experience with bicycles. Basically, this is my erstwhile tutor.

Actually on review, the wheels don't seem particularly warped. The only thing that slightly bothers me about the construction are the rear drop-outs, basically they're just the chainstay tubing, stamped flat, and with I think another sheet of steel in there, and tacked with a few spot welds, then the slot is milled out.  Forged dropouts would've been nice, particularly when the rest of the bike's structure seems otherwise competent.  That being said, I know from other engineering examples, that formed sheet steel can be stunningly resilient, and I see photos of Pigeons being used day in and day out in China. 

- Update: Upon further examination, I can't find any visual evidence that classic Raleighs were any different in the construction of the rear drop-outs. Indeed on photographic inspection, several vintage bikes seemed to use a system where the chainstay tubes were flattened, and welded, potentially with another piece of thick sheet or thin billet to hold things fast.  I think with the additional reinforcement of the heavy kick-stand attachment plates, that the rear-dropouts are absolutely fine for intended use.

I'm going to build the Pigeon up to stock specs, and ride it around a little. It can be a bike for the low-traffic trail, and for biking up to the Dairy-Queen. All nice and flat routes.  Then maybe I can experiment some. The Sturmey Archer S2C kickshift hub seems like it might be a nice upgrade.

Closing out with a photo of my Felt Cafe3 pausing amidst some flowers.  Having more than one bike is great. The big WorkCycles Kruisframe is smooth and leisurely, but when I'm on the Felt, I approach something that might be called swift and speedy!