Hoofddorp Barn, BSA folding Bicycle

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bill, Dave, Cliff, thanks for your reactions.
@ Dave......yes I am working on the tired power plant as well......I eat my vegetables and cycle to the train every day on my way to work

A quick update.

My bike came with a non-original fork; the top was too "elegant" compared to the BSA style and the sheet metal "washers" were missing, near the axle.
Bill Miller helped with a series of pictures of his bike and along with measurements from another BSA survivor I was able to modify the fork to look like the BSA one.

[Alex van de Wetering]

I welded the little elegant edge into a flat, straight line, like the BSA fork and also added extra material to the top of the fork, also creating a flat surface at that end.


At first I used washers with the correct inner and outer diameter to weld to the end of the "legs". Unfortunately these washers were very thin, so I wasn't able to weld them to the fork, without the welding equipment "eating" the thin metal. So, I found some thicker washers in the garage and welded these to the forks without trouble. I welded the holes shut, so I can drill a smaller hole later on (the second washers had a slightly oversized hole).

I discussed these "washers" with Bill and they were most likely intended to fit a fender or luggage carrier. The folding Bicycle didn't have these, so BSA probably used a "civil" fork for the production of their folding bike.


Currently I am working on the frame and steering wheel. Removing the paint and dirt from the frame takes more time than I anticipated. But, I work on small section of the frame at a time and spray zinc primer in stages afterwards.

Oh. Bill was correct about the pedals. They were originally painted, but paint wore very quickly during use of the bike. I have removed the paint of mine, so the sliding system works properly.

Alex

p.s. the last picture shows a wheel I bought two weeks ago; it's 26inch and 32 spokes, just like the oiginal. The shape is also very close to original. The only thing is the rough surface on the sides of the rim.....I will try to remove a little bit of the surface, hopefully creating a flat surface again....

[Alex van de Wetering]

Finally the frame is done; a time-consuming job for anybody without blasting equipment. I sprayed a coat of zinc primer, than satin black paint, masked the arrow on the front frame tube and sprayed the frame in the green shade. I decided to add an extra step to the paint process and add a Matt clear coat on all the green parts......the green I used was just too matt for my liking and the matt clear coat gives it a little bit of a satin/matt look.

Also attached are pictures of my front wheel....before and after grinding off some metal to get rid of the small "dots" in the rim sides.

Last, but not least...I got the steering wheel done. I bought the steering wheel a few weeks ago. Tube diameter, shape and measurements are pretty good, but the centre tube and attachment is different. The pictures basically show the modification.....grinding, welding, grinding, welding, sanding...etc. Last night I was able to spray a coat of zinc primer, after I grinded off all the remaining chrome.........I want the bike to rust when the paint chips off....not show a bright chrome underneath

I am spending some more time on the bike now.....Normandy is coming closer and last week I lost my job due to the current economic climate .....the bike ensures I can put my mind on something else.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

front wheel

[Alex van de Wetering]

Steering wheel

[cletrac (RIP)]

Alex, you're doing a great job there. That was an interesting comment you made:
".I want the bike to rust when the paint chips off....not show a bright chrome underneath"
That's the reason I don't use any of that bright blue type primer on my truck. The paint IS going to chip and rust will look better than bright blue or chrome.

[Bill Miller]

Looking good Alex!

Sorry to hear about you losing your job, hopefully it is not too stressful a situation for you. (I lost my job two months ago now )

Grinding off the texture on the rims looks like it was a very tedious job... have you sourced your brake calipers yet? In working on my bike which looks like it has NOS pads on it and not ridden in some time (maybe decades), I noticed that the original calipers are set too tight/close too the rims for really effective braking power. When the calipers are relaxed, the pads only sit about 5mm or less from the rim. I don't know just how far and how long you plan on riding this bike but you may, in the interest of safety, chose to use a less original style caliper over a more effective one. Personally, I think the BSA calipers are over designed with too many moving parts, I also noticed that when there is not enough tension on the cables the the spring that pulls the two sides together may shift to one side and the calipers jam, giving you NO brakes... of course the soles of your boots may be the most reliable brakes of all The bike is so bloody heavy your not likely to get up much speed unless you going down a steep hill! Getting UP that steep hill will give you a heart attack first...

Give me disc brakes or Vee-brakes on an aluminum framed bike anyday.