Definitely got to second that opinion. I still have very strong memories of Triumph and Dunelt 3-speeds coming in to the shop, they'd been owned by teenagers who let them sit outside in all weather, took the usual abysmal care of them.
We had a product called Rim Strip - it was sort of like rubbing compound, a white paste which had some of the most abrasive grit you'd ever felt mixed in. We're talking major league industrial here, don't ever let it near paint. You'd spread it on as a chrome polish and start rubbing. You'd rub holes in the rags rather quickly but those British rims would clean up wonderfully!
In fact, I seem to remember that the Raleigh/Triumph/Dunelt rims even cleaned up better than the Schwinn. Now, if something French came in with rusted rims (Astras come to mind immediately - we carried them as a small sideline), I'd just plan on cutting the spokes and building a new wheel. We wouldn't even try to save the rims.
Haven't seen that Rim Strip in decades? Anyone know if it's still made?
George R. "Syke" Paczolt Montpelier, VA
Don Wilson wrote:
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 07:09:37 -0800 (PST) From: Don Wilson To: Classic Rendezvous Subject: [CR]Who's chrome was the most durable? Message-ID: <20051231150937.39310.qmail@web52503.mail.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Precedence: list Message: 5
Raleigh's chrome seems to be the most durable to me. It can be covered with rust and I can usually clean it with Simichrome. French and Japanese chrome seems worst. Don' know the Italia bikes that well. Why is some chrome so durable and restorable and other not? Is it the thickness of the chrome, or the electrolysis used to bond it to the metal, or what? I believe Raleigh used some unique, or at least not widely used process for chroming.
Don Wilson Los Olivos, CA
D.C. Wilson dcwilson3@yahoo.com
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Shopping
Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping