Well, I like C&V bicycles. Resurrecting an “oldie” or maintaining an “oldie” is a special job that just appeals to my sense of history and fun. I found a 1971 Dawes Realmrider for a reasonable price and picked it up. It really doesn’t need much, but I will give it a complete going-over, a coat of wax on the frame, a coat of framesaver on the inside, and some judicious polishing of the chrome. It’s not a lightweight, and the steel rims aren’t helping. I’m considering relacing the original hubs to a set of alloy 27″ rims. That alone should save a couple of pounds. The chrome cottered crank probably weighs as much as a deep-dish pizza but it’s original and just needs some polishing.<\/p>\n
The brake lever hoods could stand to be replaced, and the shift \/ brake cables too. The brake levers need to be shifted up the handlebars about 2″, so I will need to rewrap the bars. The wrap that’s on there now may work just fine for a rewrap – I’m going to try.<\/p>\n
The tires and tubes will be replaced, either on the steel rims on the relaced alloy rims – I haven’t decided which just yet.<\/p>\n
Give me a month or so, and it will be looking just out of the factory. Not bad for a bicycle that’s 40+ years old.<\/p>\n
Maybe we’ll meet up at one of the C&V rides this summer.<\/p>\n
Photos to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, I like C&V bicycles. Resurrecting an “oldie” or maintaining an “oldie” is a special job that just appeals to my sense of history and fun. I found a 1971 Dawes Realmrider for a reasonable price and picked it up. It really doesn’t need much, but I will give it a complete going-over, a coat … <\/p>\n