Baldy's Panabloga: March 2018

Saturday 31 March 2018

Thursday 29 March 2018

Raleigh/Carlton Grand Prix: Maillard CXC vintage alloy pedals [early '80s]

I really like these vintage alloy pedals from Maillard in France. I believe they were fitted to some Peugeot and other high-end French bikes from about 1980-85. They're handy as they can be run with or without toe-clips, which I am not a fan of while commuting. The plastic Atom pedals that came on the bike have moulded toe-clips that cannot be removed and I find myself flipping the pedal over and using the underside, which doesn't give great grip. These alloy CXC pedals on the other hand are plenty grippy, though it does take a bit of work to get perched properly on them as you set off.

They're certainly well used, but have a great sporty patina. The bearings in both pedals spin freely with no weight on, but are completely dry and very noisy. The bearings are shot completely on the left pedal and there is significant play in it. This can be heard clinking from time to time while pedalling.

It turns out the bearings are 'swaged' in at the outer edge and are designed not to be removed. To give the bearings some lubrication I left them soaking in a tub of thick oil for 24 hours and then applied some fresh grease into the rim of the bearing using a small cable-tie end. In future I will remove the swaged-in bearings and replace them with removable, self-serviceable bearings. These will probably come from my original Atom pedals, as they are French and of similar vintage, so I am hoping they have a pretty similar if not identical bearing diameter. I will do a guide soon.

Friday 23 March 2018

Raleigh/Carlton Grand Prix: New Fibrax Break Blocks [New Old Stock Early '80s]

The original Fibrax brake blocks have been on the bike for 40 years, but were still holding up OK. The front brake had been seized for a long time by the look of it, as the front blocks are only about half worn. The rear blocks are very worn on the other hand and I think the time has come to replace them.

I can find cheap reproduction brake blocks for as little as 99p each, though the original grey Fibrax ones have eluded me for a while. The set I have finally got hold of are new-old-stock Fibrax blocks from the early '80s, which is perfect, but they are however the white-coloured compound designed for BMX with solid Mag wheels. I am sure they are fine to use on alloy-rims.