Thread count?

   No I’m not selecting some quality sheets for my bed; thread count is an important detail I learned about while trying to find a Campagnolo freewheel for my Atala bicycle project. It turns out there are several different types of threading, particularly British, French and Italian, on older freewheels, and having the wrong kind can damage your hubs. The threads made of a comparatively soft aluminum alloy on the hubs can be easily stripped by those on a steel freewheel.

   I’ve heard that you can actually install a British-threaded freewheel on an Italian hub, but after doing so, you will be unable to undo the process. The thread is supposedly at a different angle, and will cut into the hub threads, making them looser if you ever attempted to swap out for an Italian part in the future. Considering I am reselling this bike, I didn’t think that would be a very fair “surprise” to spring on a buyer.

   At this point I’m having some trouble trying to find a relatively inexpensive “Campy” freewheel. Not only are they prized because of their prestigious name and quality, but the six speed models are fairly rare. I’m thinking most vintage bicycle owners are simply keeping the parts on their bikes, and, although I’ve found a bunch of unused (sometimes called new old stock) freewheels, they are collectors’ items and VERY costly. So far I have been having incredible luck finding the other Campagnolo parts at prices that balance well with the money I’ve recovered by selling the Shimano parts that came with the Atala, but I’m afraid the freewheel may throw my budget all out of whack!

 

   One of the first steps of cleaning up the frame was wiping everything down with a degreaser. The previous owner had used black electrical tape to secure the wiring of the bike computer, and it left a gooey residue on the fork and frame. I used a product called Goof Off, which is very effective in removing this gunk, but I had to be careful with the chemical, which will also attack the older bicycle decals. Unfortunately this Atala pre-dates the modern vinyl cut logos that are covered in clear coat. 

   The chainrings, brake calipers, seatpost and bars cleaned up really nicely, but the chrome was in pretty sorry condition on the headset and the top of the fork. This is a usual trouble spot because of sweat dripping off the head and face of the rider. There was some pitting that just couldn’t be remedied, but I’m always surprised how a bit of light oil and some scrubbing with steel wool effectively restores chrome's shine. Check out the before (left) and after pictures below.

 

 

   On one of the nicer days last week I took the wheels outside to work on them. I cleaned up the rims and polished the hubs, which came back to a nice shine. I couldn’t restore the shine to the spokes, but I wanted to remove the light gray scale of oxidation that had formed on them. Because steel wool creates too much flaking and debris that I didn’t want to get into the hubs, I used a trick I learned a while ago to scour the spokes with some crumpled aluminum foil instead. Although the old tires still held air, they showed signs of drying out and cracking, so I put on some new Vittoria Zaffiro tires.

   It seems counter-intuitive because of the dirt and grease sometimes involved in cycling, but bikes of this style and era often had white saddles and handlebar tape. I keep thinking how a repairing a tire or dropped chain could really mess things up, but it really was a classy look, so I'm sticking with it! I installed a new Selle Italia XR saddle, but I’m going to wait until last to install the new Cinelli bar tape, so I won’t accidentally grab it with grimy fingers while finishing work on the bicycle.

I’ve actually had a couple tune-up jobs come in this week, so I’d better get back to the real "work".