Austro-Daimler

Austro-Daimler is an Austrian manufacturer that made limousines for a very long time. I think they may have made the limo that Archduke Ferdinand was shot in. For a time, they also made some fine bicycles. the best thing is that not many people know about them, so when you find one it's often a pretty good deal. Anyhow, here's one that I got to refurbish a while back. The previous owner had left it outside for a long time down in San Diego, so the parts were pretty rusty. Much worse than that, when I brought it home, I found to my chagrin that the seatpost was fused to the seat tube. (For those who don't speak bike that means you couldn't move the seat up or down, a very serious limitation.) Yep, that's what happens when you fail to grease the seatpost. After soaking it in ammonia for several days to eat away at the aluminum oxide, I clamped it a vise and used the frame for leverage. In the end it took two people, simultaneously using all our might, about half an hour to twist it free. Ugghh.

It was a learning experience and in the end it was worth it. Here's the final product, complete with shellacked cloth bar tape for old-school authenticity.