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Purple Hosteller To Become Single Speed! 
PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2016 10:28 am Reply with quote
torophil
Joined: 23 May 2016
Posts: 6
JUST KIDDING!!! In search of a light duty touring bike I came across this and couldn't be more thrilled. And Criterium Violet! It's a recent EBay sale that so far cost me $160. I have Normandy hubs on the way to convert the current steel hubs/wheels to 700C alloy. There's a lot of neat features on this bike, especially the model specific fenders (certainly compared to universal fenders which are a pain and time consuming to mount, and look universal), and the light system which is accommodated by wire retainer braze-ons. The two bummers about this bike are the three drilled holes on the top of the down tube (why are those there), and the cracked rear Soubitez lamp. It of course will need a new saddle and I might as well drop in an alloy 25mm post while I'm there. Time to clean it up...
















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Phil
Farmington Hills, MI
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:47 am Reply with quote
torophil
Joined: 23 May 2016
Posts: 6




Finally finished cleaning it up. The top picture shows a neat feature of the fender: a rolled edge to keep the light wire in place, and then tighter rolls to keep the wire from moving.
I filled the down-tube holes and filed/sanded all rust and chips before doing a paint touch-up. I had to epoxy a new tab to the rear lens, but the generator and rear bulb still work, not bad for 45 year old stuff. Then I wanted to ditch the cottered cranks, especially since the rust was too far along. Chasing that change forced me to get a new bottom bracket to match the new cranks. Thankfully Velo-Orange makes a great product which fit the bill. The one hitch there was getting a new front derailleur as modern cranks have such small "granny" gears, the old derailleur didn't scoop down low enough so I bought a new one. I then learned that old derailleurs had a neat feature: cable housing end stop. I found an old Hurret cable stop and employed that between the derailleur and bottom bracket shell.
All and all, a neat project. I learned a bunch. I also appreciate the upright riding position while tooling around with my family.

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Phil
Farmington Hills, MI
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Purple Hosteller To Become Single Speed! 
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