Puch Mini Restore

[ossum]

Hi Folks

I have been lurking for a while since I first had ambitions of building up an old vintage bike. What I really wanted was a beautiful old Italian racing bike, but the more that I read here the more I realised how much fun it would be to have something totally unique. I eventually decided to take the plunge and got my grand dad's old Puch Mini out of his garage to start on. My first goal is just to get it mechanically sound for riding (riding bikes is what I really love doing, the building is secondary), then when I move into my new place with a bit more space at the end of the month I will hopefully be able to look into the aesthetics.

Here are some pics of what I am starting with.

 

[brett4christ]

That ought to be alot of fun! Take lots o'pics....I'm gonna keep up with this one!

 

[ossum]

I have made a little progress. Got almost everything off the bike for degreasing and cleaning, then put back the basics (I'm leaving off the fenders, rack and kick stand for now, man those things are heavy!). I couldn't figure out how to get the cranks off just yet, but that wasn't really necessary anyways.

Since I know you all love pictures, here are one or two.

I wish I had found this clever little quick link before I broke the chain, but it was hidden in gunk. It sure helped when time came to put the chain back on though!

Not pictured are the new brake cables and blocks which I installed this morning in a rush before heading off to work. I decided to ride the bike the 3km to work, but it was an aborted attempt. Apparently I didn't torque the rear wheel down tight enough because it came loose. I also haven't figure out the 3-speed hub yet, there were some settings that effectively put me in neutral.

 

[ossum]

I have been having trouble with the 3 speed hub (The Styria 3-Gang is apparently a Sturmey Archer clone). It seems almost as though the thread that the indicator chain screws into is stripped, because it screws in for a half turn or so before slipping out. Has anyone had this problem before? I have searched all over the web and not found any mention of it. I am really hoping that the thread isn't stripped because that sounds expensive. The indicator rod itself looks fine.

The gearing in the highest gear is remarkably high too, I really wasn't expecting it to be so high with 20" wheels! (I found this out when the indicator chain slipped out 8km from home. Defaulting to highest gear is just mean! )

 

[Singlespeed92]

IDK anything about the issue you mentioned,I just wanted to say I'm digging the bike,my friend,can't wait to see more. Is that a folder too,or just small framed?

 

[ossum]

Thanks for the interest, helps me to keep motivated on the bike. It is not a folder, although I think Puch made a folder which was extremely similar this non-folding version.

This frame is tiny, I look pretty funny on it. I am definitely thinking about getting a bit of a layback seatpost and figuring out a way to get the bars further forward. unfortunately it isn't as simple as just getting a longer stem because the whole stem/steerer is on solid piece.

 

[Singlespeed92]

It's still a cool looking little bike

 

[ossum]

No real update because the bike is packed away while I move house, but I did notice this decal on the rear fender while I was boxing it. It should define the bike's age, but Puch's history is a bit confusing, I'm not sure what exactly this is a 100 year commemoration of.

Wikipedia claims that Puch was founded in 1889 which would imply the bike is from 1989, making it a mere 23 years old.

Strangely, as far as I can make out, the "Steyr" was only added to the name in 1934. Perhaps my bike is from 2034 and that is why I can't find any information on it

 

[mos6502]

I remember reading that the "100 years" decals refered to Steyr. Steyr was founded in the 1860s.