bells

[Matt2matt2002]

Thanks agin Dan. Nice articles to read.
I have ordered the correct size and asked for it to be engraved with
Matt's Old Bird.

Any guidance to offer re the fitting? Guess I undo the hex nut on top and lift things upwards?
Got a few spacers so can fit the bell at a nice height.

Can anything go wrong?

Matt

[Danneaux]

Can anything go wrong?

Anything can!

No, Matt, you'll do fine. If the bell's mounting plate is fitted between the spacers beneath the stem, you might have to re-adjust the headset, but that's easy enough. If there's a T-bar clamped below the stem to hold the headset bearings in adjustment, then even that concern is gone.

Best,

Dan.

[Matt2matt2002]

Anything can!

 
Yikes
I'll have to take a couple of clever pills before I start loosening my nuts.

[Matt2matt2002]

Noticed the LionBellWorks also sell wingnuts.

M9 x 1 threads with integral grip washer.
http://www.lionbellworks.co.uk/index.php/shopecwid#!/~/product/category=3884036&id=16654134

Could someone explain the sizing? M9 would fit?
They look very retro and could suit my Raven.
Would they fit anywhere?

Matt

[Danneaux]

They look very retro and could suit my Raven. Would they fit anywhere?

Hi Matt!  Sorry, no...these wing nuts are intended as a "quicker release" (no wrench needed) for those using nutted hub axles. Your hubs are equipped with genuine quick-releases (a lever you throw by hand) and won't accept these pretty wing nuts. And no, I can't think of any other fittings on the bike that would accept that diameter/threading.

All the best,

Dan. (...who also likes the look of wing nuts, but is very grateful for the tool-free ease and security of genuine hub quick-releases)

[Matt2matt2002]

Thanks Dan.

New bell took just 3 days to arrive, with engraving!

Very impressed indeed.

Fitted with no problems - thanks Dan


Looks great - so off this afternoon for a test ride.

[Danneaux]

Wonderful job of fitting, Matt, and that bell looks ever so nice on your beloved Old Bird -- "just right" in appearance and "well done" to you!

The engraving is an especially nice touch.

A treat to see the photos!

Best,

Dan.

[Matt2matt2002]

Thanks Dan
Much appreciate the advice and compliments

Just back from my first run with the bell and much enjoyed the sound of the ping.

On a technical point...
my pictures don't open up when i click on them. Is that because I saved them 'small'?
Other ones I have posted here, do expand.

Matt

[Danneaux]

my pictures don't open up when i click on them. Is that because I saved them 'small'?

Kinda.

They only "open up" if you upload them as attachments (the pictures appear in thumbnails below your text. These are stored in a separate section on Thorn's server). You do that by clicking on the blue "Additional Options" link below and to the left of your text when composing a post.

In this case, you inserted your photos in the body of your text using html tags to reach out to where your photos are stored off-site and display them when the post is accessed. Photos you link to that way will display at whatever size you uploaded.

Best,

Dan.

[energyman]

Sunday morning so I have polished my bike bell much to the amusement of family.  Gentle ride this afternoon on quiet (hopefully) country roads with wife to visit Roman Archaeological dig. Oh how I love summer.

[Andre Jute]

17C here, sunny, and the pedalpals want to ride to Newcestown to avoid the big hill in the shade which was my suggestion. I don't have anything to polish as my bike was thoroughly shampooed as a recently as three years ago and I'm a very clean rider, but I've dusted the cobwebs out of my cycling sandals, which I haven't worn in a couple of years, what with the miserable weather we've had. Leaving at 1pm when all the Sunday drivers are home from church and sitting down to a big meal after which they will, we hope, be too sluggish to go on the roads.

Andre Jute

[Matt2matt2002]

HI Dan
Trying out your advice for the picture as an attachment.
Need to polish my brass bell. Any advice on a cheap solution - as in cheap solution
 

[Danneaux]

Wow! Very nice job on the photo attachment, Matt...and a self-portrait in the bell as well!

As for polishing, my favorite of all is Blue Magic metal polish: http://bluemagicusa.com/index.php/blue_magic/products/96/blue_magic_metal_polish_cream/
http://bluemagicusa.com/index.php/blue_magic/products/94/blue_magic_liquid_metal_polish_8_oz/

It is largely non-abrasive, and also works well for removing scratches on clear plastic lenses. After polishing, it leaves a protective coating to protect from tarnishing. The MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) for it shows it to be largely harmless as such things go: Kerosene, non-fibrous aluminum oxide, fatty acid and ammonium hydroxide. Amazon carry it, of course: http://www.amazon.com/BlueMagic-400-Metal-Polish-Cream/dp/B000BO8Z9I

A lot of people use and prefer Brasso ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasso ) or Happich Simichrome polish ( http://www.simichrome-polish.com/ ). I know a number of people who have had good results using various automotive polished and waxes. One I know did well was Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and rust remover. It contains what amounts to solvents, silicones, water and fine abrasives. Nu-Finish car polish works well also.

Your pretty brass bell is really an alloy of zinc and copper, which are reactive metals. A lot of commercial and decorative brass is coated with lacquer to shield it from air and prevent corrosion, so many brass items stay nice for a long time...until the lacquer breaks down or wears off. If you're dealing with uncoated brass, then -- yes -- it has to be polished if it is to stay nice and not corrode.

Most commercial brass polishes -- Brasso comes to mind, as does Simichrome polish -- (and their inexpensive homegrown alternatives) tend to be either acidic, abrasive, or some combination of the two, and incorporate a protective component to prevent re-corrosion. If you're really after "cheap", there's lots of DIY methods, all of which might alter the appearance of your brass bell. Among the methods I've seen or heard...
• Rubbing with tomato catsup (ketchup) -- or tomato chutney, precursor to ketchup. (acid)
• Vinegar/salt/flour paste (acid, abrasive). I have seen this cause pitting.
• Water/salt/white vinegar mix. (acid)
• Lemon juice. (acid)

Matt, the homegrown products will get your brass shinier, but they can also cause scratches or pitting, and leave no protection behind to prevent corrosion. In fact, being unprotected, the brass may corrode even faster. For these reasons, I'd strongly suggest buying a small tube of a commercial polish like Brasso and using that to keep the bell looking pretty. It is a real beauty, and it would be a shame to have it damaged in some way while trying to keep it nice. By the way, the engraving looks especially nice!

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Gentle ride this afternoon on quiet (hopefully) country roads with wife to visit Roman Archaeological dig.

E-man, that sounds wonderful to me...you do realize, of course, it sounds very exotic when viewed from my location some 4900mi/~7900km away, at the edge of another ocean.

Oh how I love summer.

Oh, me too! If I could arrange it, most of the year would be like this...but then I'd have to name it San Diego, California, where it really *is* like this most of the time (an annual temperature average of around 70°F/21°C...and the place I'd most like to relocate to for that reason alone. Not so much the city as the county, where it quickly becomes rural outside the towns).

17C here, sunny, and the pedalpals want to ride to Newcestown to avoid the big hill in the shade which was my suggestion.

Andre, see, this is one of the reasons why I enjoy this Forum so much. It is often the equivalent of meeting up at the corner cafe for a spot of tea and catching up on cycledoings. It must have been a lovely ride. Did you happen to take photographs?

...cycling sandals...

Now *that's* emblematic of summer in much the same way as the scent of fresh strawberries. I recall a quote and title from the late Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite authors: "All (of) Summer in a Day". A brief synopsis of his story is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Summer_in_a_Day ...and a .PDF of it to read in its entirety available for free here: http://staff.esuhsd.org/danielle/English%20Department%20LVillage/RT/Short%20Stories/All%20Summer%20in%20a%20Day.pdf For those who are also Bradbury fans and familiar with The October Country, Something Wicked This Way Comes and even Dandelion Wine, I am not an Autumn Person, but a Summer instead. Both tendencies live within us, but I have embraced the sunnier climes of Self. This theme ran through all of Bradbury's works to some extent, sometimes as a major plotline and was a proxy for man's better self versus his baser impulses.

I don't have anything to polish as my bike was thoroughly shampooed as a recently as three years ago and I'm a very clean rider...

'Mark of a Gentleman Cyclist, Andre (intended as praiseful admiration).

Leaving at 1pm when all the Sunday drivers are home from church and sitting down to a big meal after which they will, we hope, be too sluggish to go on the roads.

<nods sagely at a familiar strategy> Agreed. I've found it is best -- especially -- to avoid riding past the driveways of church parking lots immediately after the conclusion of services when people seem focused only on that big meal, completely forgetting the lessons of the sermon just heard. I've had some of my closest calls and narrowest squeaks in such places/times. I forgot to account for staggered services, which can run as often as three times on Sunday at some churches. Surprised me!  

Thanks for sharing the rides of the day, fellows; wish I could have joined you on each.

All the best,

Dan.

[Slammin Sammy]

Oh, me too! If I could arrange it, most of the year would be like this...but then I'd have to name it San Diego, California, where it really *is* like this most of the time

Dan and all,

I used to think I wanted to live in San Diego as well. Then I found REAL heaven. These photos were taken this morning, in the first week of "winter", a few hundred meters from my place in Newcastle NSW. The temperature at the time was about 18C (65F), before reaching 20C(68F) later in the day. As it was a public holiday (someone else's Queen's Birthday  ), the beach was full of visitors, families, surfers, etc. A great place to start the day with a well-made coffee, and finish it off with a top beer!

All was well with our part of the world today...

Slammin!