Author Topic: Questions about my first build (Read 5884 times)

Big E · « **on:** December 24, 2012, 12:00 PM »

I recently bought a Redline 500a f+f from a mate at work that to be fair for a frame this old seemed to be in pretty good nick. Anyway i spent a bit of time yesterday polishing the old girl with Autosol,Meguiars and Goddards silver polish in that order,course to fine to find out what condition the chromes in. Having done that the questions or issues i have are;

1, The chrome has very slightly started to pickle up on the top tube close to the headtube. Should i leave it as it is, or get it stripped and painted,and does it matter to people if the colours not an original colour or is it worth having it re chromed?

2, The headset cups and knurled adjuster are still present and in good condition, can i still get the missing parts above the knurled part, nuts etc?

3, I need a full set of frame decals and looking on the forum it seems Del is the man to speak to. Does he have a web site i can order from?

Sorry to bombard you all with questions so soon after joining the forum, but i want to get started and dont really know how far to take the build regarding using nos or good usable parts .

Thanks Ian

Gnarlyscoots · « **Reply #1 on:** December 24, 2012, 12:05 PM »

Welcome to Rad buddy

Nice frame set to start with. If you have photobucket, load some pics up to that and copy and paste the IMG links to here so we can see it

A picture speaks a thousand words.

Terry

delbert · « **Reply #2 on:** December 24, 2012, 12:40 PM »

Quote from: Big E on December 24, 2012, 12:00 PM

I recently bought a Redline 500a f+f from a mate at work that to be fair for a frame this old seemed to be in pretty good nick. Anyway i spent a bit of time yesterday polishing the old girl with Autosol,Meguiars and Goddards silver polish in that order,course to fine to find out what condition the chromes in. Having done that the questions or issues i have are;

1, The chrome has very slightly started to pickle up on the top tube close to the headtube. Should i leave it as it is, or get it stripped and painted,and does it matter to people if the colours not an original colour or is it worth having it re chromed?

2, The headset cups and knurled adjuster are still present and in good condition, can i still get the missing parts above the knurled part, nuts etc?

3, I need a full set of frame decals and looking on the forum it seems Del is the man to speak to. Does he have a web site i can order from?

Sorry to bombard you all with questions so soon after joining the forum, but i want to get started and dont really know how far to take the build regarding using nos or good usable parts .

Thanks Ian

For decals just use the forum messaging function and sent to "Del", I can vouch for the quality products he sells and is a great man to deal with, his website is below but TBH is only an advert page giving an email address.

http://www.del-cals.co.uk/

Good luck with your first build..

Big E · « **Reply #3 on:** December 24, 2012, 01:21 PM »

Ok,got the gaffer to show me how to upload pics, these computer things drive me mental

.The only computer i know how to use is for vehicle diagnostics

As you can see the chrome has blemished, seen more easily with the flash on my camera. It doesn't look as bad in the flesh.

CustardLips · « **Reply #4 on:** December 24, 2012, 01:34 PM »

Nowt wrong with that. Leave as is.

Pooch · « **Reply #5 on:** December 24, 2012, 03:14 PM »

Leeeeeaaaaavvvve it.

bobbbbsy · « **Reply #6 on:** December 24, 2012, 03:35 PM »

leave it as is .. yours is the only opinion that matters when it comes to your bikes !

b45t4rd · « **Reply #7 on:** December 24, 2012, 03:36 PM »

That looks nice as it is, good score.

BENDYCAT ELEVENTEEN · « **Reply #8 on:** December 24, 2012, 04:23 PM »

With bmx and chrome, it comes in different stages and sort of is graded by how well it has lasted and looks in the end of a clean up

total rust - mean some times it needs paint or a re chrome - money will go up with the better finishes needed

surface rust - can be cleaned and look good with the right products and finishing

grease and dirt - easy clean

some times if a frame is clean with the right stuff, it can look great as it shows that the bike had a life but is still loved enough to be sorted and cleaned up

If you want a perfect frame, then it's a new re-chrome you have to do

your ride looks good enough as it is with a good clean (loose the autosol and use peek next time )

top work there

BADDH · « **Reply #9 on:** December 24, 2012, 05:15 PM »

Welcome to Rad BIG E, that Redline really nice you should leave it as it is even the decals, let it show its Vintage Ian that's were the quality is for me pal

As for parts you can pick up everything for these bikes, do your homework on what you would like for the bike, beware of polished tat on EBay and get your site supporter tag on here sorted to post and buy from the wanted and sales threads.

List in the wanted section what you need, these lads are a cracking bunch they'll help you out with everything BMX

stidds · « **Reply #10 on:** December 24, 2012, 08:32 PM »

That frame looks really, really nice in its current condition. Keep it like that 100% or you will regret it.

I had one of those a few years ago and I still regret selling it.

Rossi46 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 24, 2012, 10:04 PM »

I think thats whats commonly known as 'excellent survivor condition'. It might be worth leaving it as it is and maybe just replacing the decals to freshen it up a tad. Your alternatives are a re chrome/repaint/powdercoat etc all of which can be accomodated on this site or at the very least you will be pointed in the right direction as regards the relevant services. There will be loads of information out there on the world wide web with respect of which components would have been fitted back in the day (BITD).

Having said all that its your bike and your rules and if you wanted it skyblue pink its totally up to you. I'm fairly new around here too but that frame looks like a good score and the folks around here are pretty helpful even when asking newbie questions as i have found out.

The best bit of advice i can offer is to take your time with the build and explore your options. There are a lot of parts out there and what seems like a bargain at the time may not end up being so. Buy cheap, buy twice. I made the mistake of buying parts marketed as 80's stuff that was nothing of the sort and the difference in quality can be chalk and cheese. In my experience there aren't many bargains left on places like 'ebay' because most folk in the know will bid up the good parts to ridiculous levels but just persevere and you will end up with the bike you desire. It might also be worth putting up 'wanted' ads on here if you are after something specific as you might get lucky with someone who has just what you're after lurking in their shed/garage/loft/under the bed etc.

Whatever you decide i wish you all the best with it

nosepickben · « **Reply #12 on:** December 24, 2012, 10:40 PM »

Id leave the frame well alone mate, its in great condition. If you treat her to some new stickers and some well chosen parts, it will be smashing. They still ride the same no matter what colour they are.

Check out some old pics of UK redline riders to get some inspiration for parts, how about a sarah jane nicholls tribute?

Gnarlyscoots · « **Reply #13 on:** December 24, 2012, 10:58 PM »

WOW! That looks in amazing survivor condition. As previously said, I would leave it exactly as it is right now and get it put together with some 'choice' time-lined parts.

I have become a firm believer in the 'survivor' look and finish over the years and try my best to keep them that way.

Either way buddy, enjoy your build and build it how you want, just like you did as a kid

deeman · « **Reply #14 on:** December 25, 2012, 12:06 AM »

That frame looks lovely,i would leave as is.As far as a headset is concerned,just get a complete new one and use the bits you need.If you are riding the bike a TIOGA Beartrap 2 seems to be the popular choice.I like the aforementioned idea of a SJN tribute/rep.Whatever you do,don't use the late twin pinch Redline cranks as many do!either use a opc or save up for 401's!!

Big E · « **Reply #15 on:** December 26, 2012, 08:46 AM »

Thanks for the comments and advice lads

.
I wasn't expecting such a great response for my first post. I'm going to leave the frame as it is but i've decided to change the frame decals cause at some point someone (not me) has tried to pull the down tube decal off and it doesn't look right. Also going do the site supporter thing so i can post in wanted and do the dib dob thing in for sale. Not sure on the original spec for the bike as i can't find anything on google,so was hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction in this area., although i will be putting some aftermarket bits on, but no tat from Evilbay. I work in a BMW bodyshop so hopefully i can maybe get parts of the cosmetically challenged type and refinish them to a better standard, or thats the plan anyway.
Thanks again
Ian

stidds · « **Reply #16 on:** December 26, 2012, 10:09 AM »

Ian

The original spec for this bike would have been the following mate:

Ukai rims (black shineshide)
Suzue hubs (black low flange)
Sugino one piece crank set (chrome crank arms, chrome spider and black chainring)
KKT pedals (black)
Redline V-bars (chrome)
Sugino or Win stem (black)
Fluted seat post (silver)
Redline seat (black)
Sugino Arrow seat post clamp (black)
Dia-Compe MX900 or 890 brake caliper (black)
Dia-Compe Tech 3 brake lever (black)
Fuan F1 copy grips (black with white sleeves)
Comp III style tyres (probably Cheng Shin)
Chain (black/silver)

Big E · « **Reply #17 on:** December 26, 2012, 11:02 AM »

Thanks Stidds, that's brilliant.
I'm looking at that picture thinking to myself how many of those parts i'll be able to find. Better get my act together and become a supporter.

stidds · « **Reply #18 on:** December 26, 2012, 12:29 PM »

I can't see you having too many problems with those parts Ian, they are easily findable (is findable a word?

).

nosepickben · « **Reply #19 on:** December 26, 2012, 08:54 PM »

Smashing stuff. Rock with the v bars and take it from there.

deeman · « **Reply #20 on:** December 26, 2012, 09:04 PM »

As Sean(Stidds) has said,there is nothing on there that is too challenging to find.Get a Site Supporters Tag and you should not find it too difficult

Big E · « **Reply #21 on:** December 27, 2012, 09:39 AM »

It's good to know i'm not going to struggle too much with the parts, although while searching through here in the for sale and on snidebay i've not yet seen any v bars for sale. Sent me bangers yesterday for a site supporters tag so i can use the excellent for sale and wanted sections you all have on the forum. While i was having a minute away from the sherry i contacted Del regarding a set of decals, as i've decided to replace some of the nasty ones and might keep some of the others that aren't too bad. Got to say Dels prices are good looking at the quality of the decals i've seen while mooching round the members bike rebuild threads.

stidds · « **Reply #22 on:** December 27, 2012, 11:11 AM »

Ian

You will not always find what you are looking for straight away, this collecting thing is about the fun searching and eventually finding.

Some of us have taken years to get the right bits for a build. I took 5 years searching for a frame that I wanted, you will find what you need someday.

Take your time, get the right parts and build the bike you want correctly without cutting corners.