Sachs Duomatic schematic.  Thanks to Marco the Sachs Duomatic Master for this diagram and an explanation for a common hub misassembly issue - below:  I assembled the hub without pushing the spring, part 19 through the hole, part 14.  And I didn't insert the wires from 13 into the slots in part 11.  The hub worked for a few yards or a few miles, then it just locked up.  Marco came to the rescue with the explanation below.

".....

25 - 13. It´s important that the part Nr.19 reaches with the wire into a hole on part 14. Also the wires of part 13 (14) must be reach into the little spaces of part 11."

Living Better and Longer - a 'howto' by a fellow cyclist

See Dan Buettner's interesting learning from his international cycling tours.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Buettner

Also, see his site: http://www.bluezones.com/

Sachs Duomatic - 2 speed kickback hub

Finally got one.  It came from a wonderful hub geek in Germany and it's in NOS condition no less.  I've overhauled it and laced it into a nice DT Swiss 700c rim.  Then I put it on my single speed and took off.  It was a perfectly smooth 2 speed bicycle ride for 2 miles.  Then the hub trouble started.  It just stopped turning as though I had applied the coaster brake. 

I'm looking around for solutions and will post on a few forums.  It's a rookie hub mounting mistake I suspect.  I'll bet my hub geed friend in Germany will have the answer!

Stay tuned

Cool Old Bikes (that need riders!)

If you're looking for a 70's or 80's steel roadbike to tool around in, check out http://sites.google.com/site/coololdbikesthatneedriders/

When in Minneapolis

In Uptown Minneapolis, on Hennipin, check out Re-Cycle. You'll see a wall of 60's and 70's Schwinns, the occassional Raleigh, Fuji and even a disguised Zeus. All are rideable, some are already converted to fixed but most are still the 3, 5 or 10 speed they were first built to be.
And they show the patina of several previous owners in a worn-in jeans kind of way. As it should be, the repair stand is the first thing you see as you enter and it will make you smile. I saw a WWII era fat tire as I entered. It's the first thing I noticed walking by. The owner is as happy to talk bikes as he must be to sell you one but there is no buy pressure. It's a living bike archive. Check out his site. http://re-cycle.com/city.aspx?city=Minneapolis

The pizza around the corner is great too so this is the perfect $5 night - pizza and a vintage bike shop.

First Ride on the Zeus

Rebuilding a bike from the bearings up as a rookie wrench, new Dad with a new business is a slow process. But that first ride makes the build-up, frustration, humiliating mistakes and lucky breaks worth it all. I finally rode the bike to work. Steel frames are amazingly smooth and this one is no exception. Sewups provide tigher responsiveness to turns, braking and any move, including hopping bumps. Clinchers, by comparison are squishier. However, riding on sew-ups is a non-stop stress fest. If I flat, then what? Will the replacement even stay on the rim when turning? Or do I grab the mobile and call headquarters for a lift? The shame....

Mistakes along the way that taught much:
pedals - I didn't know about pedal threading - French is an outlier in that topic and this bike had a pair of French threaded pedals. So the Zeus pedals I won first on eBay did not fit. Fortunately my Zeus Crit project needed them. I found NIB Zeus French threaded on eBay. So now the pedals are the only new element on a scratched but solid frame. I have to admit, they make you want to paint the frame.

brakes - don't go for the stealth brake look by putting 'cross brakes ONLY on the handlebars. True, the bike looks more fixed gear clean from the side but the lack of the classic hands on hood riding positiion is a problem. I'm putting the original handbrake levers back in version 1.1. The hoods were another education. Mafac racer hoods are required. They are top of the break only rather than wrapping around under the lever. And the Mafac racer hood contains an adjuster - the lever has no cable tension adjuster. My mentor mechanic at Peachtree Bikes filled me in on that vital detail. I would have had a sloppy brake cable installation without his guidance.

chain - had to get a 5 or 6 speed chain (SRAM).

front derailleur - still trying to figure this one out and a picture will be required to explain the problem - new at blogging too so stand by for pic's. The front derailleur lever is in the highest tenstion position for the inner front chainring. That ain't how it's supposed to be! I'm done tinkering with this one. Peachtree Bikes is on the way home from work so I'll find out today how it's supposed to go on. It's likely a cable routing issue but I don't see it.

Zeus Headset

It was stuck. It would not turn. The grease had turned to hardened tar. I'll admit to using 10W40 to degrease it and free the bearings from the grease turned epoxy. Some elbow grease, Park Polylube 1000 and the headset is as smooth as you would expect a 70's bike to be. The next step, after returning from the beach, is to install the '80's campy brake levers, calipers and pedals.