Viscount Aerospace road bike conversion to single speed

Here are some images of my Viscount Aerospace road bike circa 1977, the is is a nice winter project I really didn't know how far I would take this until I started to strip this down. By the time you take off Derailleur gear systems that have had 35 years of use and bottom brackets with cracked ball bearings you really are left with a frame and that also will need work

Please see this link as this is one of the best most well informed blogs I have read more later C

I waited four weeks after spraying , it really does pay to let the paint harden.

This is when I could see it looking like a bike again, its at this point where people give up and the frames end up on ebay , or worse.

That funny bottom bracket .

These needed carborundum bars and a buffing wheel.

 Putting the whole thing back together.

I stripped and resprayed the old Viscount light ivory RAL number 1015 ( got it in Berlin ).The wheels are Mavics , paid 30 £ at a cycle jumble. The single speed freewheel is a Shimano 17 tooth.

I put a Miche crank on this and it was ok for a while but the bottom bracket failed. I found another at Dave Marsh's bike shop in Maltby (he also found a set of original front tube decals.

For the benefit of the American gentlemen who e-mailed me close  to tears, don't believe all you read on chat rooms thats why they are called chat rooms. If you have a frame and want to change the bottom bracket there are a couple of options for you (1) You can have your BB threaded , a good bike shop will be able to do this. or (2) Velo Orange make a press fit BB, this works! I know because I fitted one for a friend. Now I bought mine from Tokyo Fixed in London (excellent shop) or get one here Velo Orange

 October 2012

 January 2013 , well the Miche has gone and I stripped down and polished the old SR crank , I am running at at 17 - 52 gear ratio , not perfect but ok, Oh and I did a deal on some old Campag quills.

I went Brooks mad with this bike, honey leather B17 seat tool bag and bar tape , but the cross bar protector I made and it works really well, 

 I lost the old crank bolts (please keep all of your parts together) they are an old british thread and I had a new pair made in stainless steel (thanks John Hargreaves and his Father )

Those front tube decals from Dave Marsh's bike shop in Maltby

 The bars are now Cinelli and the brake top levers and brakes are by Condor

Other links
This guys blog is really comprehensive and inspired me along
http://viscount-lambert-bikes.blogspot.co.uk/

Other information is here courtesy of two guys from southeastern Minnesota
http://sheldonbrown.com/lambert.html