Rust on the fork crowns The Problems The bike didn’t make it out unscathed from that long storage in a shed. Strangely enough, it was the chrome fork crowns that fared the worst and were heavily oxidised.

Motobecane Serial Number Database I bought this bike at a thrift store last year for $30. I know it was a steal because even WalMart bikes are a hundred dollars.

Why, is an interesting question, but I can only assume that chrome is more prone to rust than a bike frame itself, which is protected by layers of paint. The fork crowns were the second thing that struck me after seeing this bike for the first time, after my initial thrill of seeing it’s beautiful frame. Next were the wheels; flat tubular tyres and crusty hubs, suffering from years of neglect.

I wasn’t sure they’d be any use any more, they were seriously close to being nothing more than scrap. The Huret Titanium Derailleur Rust and Titanium The Stronglight 105 ter black crankset looked in pretty decent shape, save for rusty dust caps. I’m not a big fan of the black finish of this model, I think the silver finish looks much better on any bike. Nevertheless it had survived well, unlike the poor Huret front derailleur which had been frozen in one position for decades, eaten by rust and now a strange golden bronze colour. Black and decker dustbuster problems. It’s rear counterpart had come off much better, having a titanium body and therefore immune to oxidation. The Weinmann brakes were now the colour of clay and under a coat of grime, but I could see that the stitched leather grip and the superb Philippe Professional bars and stem would recover well. Stronglight 105 ter Crankset The Dilemma It’s amazing how quality parts recover when you think they could be destined for the bin; how they are able to shine once more, move freely and become perfect working machines after years of abandonment.

Perhaps this is where the addiction is to restoring old bikes and classic cars, that great feeling of discovering a logo underneath years of dirt, seeing the shine return to forgotten beauty. Needless to say that after a lot of hard graft, cleaning off rust and road dirt, spider webs and hard dust, then polishing each part to the best shine possible, the difference was amazing. However, the wheels being badly affected by age, and needing new tubulars, it was going to be quite expensive to rebuild the bike to its original specification. Sony ericsson xperia x10 mini. It was a tough choice to make between a full restoration or parting it out. The Frameset, Restored It was the wheels that did it For a complete restoration, this bike need a new set of wheels, and I’d already spent far too much on rescuing it from its original owner. Don’t get me wrong; I’d much prefer to restore than part out a bike of this quality.

However, I believe it could be rebuilt into a more beautiful bike: with a new classic silver crankset, a better saddle, new wheels and a caring owner, this C5 frame set could be better than ever. The frameset is for sale on EBay for £79, which is a steal for a Columbus frame of this quality. Long live the C5. Before Restoration Specs • 58cm Frame Size, C-T, 58cm top tube C-C • Columbus Tubing, Frame and Forks • Huret Dropouts, Long Lugs, Chrome Fork Crowns • Braze-On Mounting, Made in France in 1980 • Frameset Weight: 3134 Grams Complete with Headset and BB • Huret Success Transmission • Stronglight 105 ter Double Crank 53/42, 170mm Arms • 5 Speed Super Champion/Alpin Tubular Wheelset, Wolber Tubs • Challenge Pro Saddle, SR Laprade Seatpost • Weinmann 605 Brakes, Medium Reach • Philippe Professional Bars and Stem • French Threaded BB, 22mm steerer, 26.6mm Seatpost. This bike is not a C5 but a C4c. The C4c was marketed in North America as,”Le Champion.” The C5 was marketed in North America as the, “Team Champion,” and in Europe as,”Le Tour de France.” In both cases the C5 was speced out with a full campy drive train. By 1980 the C4c’s for the North American market were equipped with the Shimano 600 Arabesque gruppo.

Previous incarnations of both bikes were built from Reynolds 531 tubing. I’m not sure if the Columbus variant of the C5 was called the C5c because I always hear them referred by their name, but I would assume it to be the case. Youll and Dominic, If Barry and Dominic can comment I would like their Thoughts. I took a chance on a no name frame sold as a possible European Motobecane Le Champion with no original decals nor original paint. I probably paid too much, but seeing it came with original French sized headset, bottom bracket, and seat post and fork I thought it a decent prospect. It looks like a 1979 Columbus tube Le Champion or Team Champion with cut out Lugs and Campy dropouts. The seat stay is finished with a concave fishmouth end as do other Columbus tube versions, including some Team Champions, which I guess it might possibly be.