I'm sure some on the list aren't familiar with Ted. Here's one of his
rider's cards from back in the day. Enjoy:
http://www.velo-retro.com/
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
Ted Ernst wrote:
>
> Hi all! The CR has had some good topics recently.Here's my take on some:
> All the commentaries as to our bike boom were on the money and when
> taken as spokes in the wheel the finished product is quite true. Thanks
> to all who posted.
>
> On the Rally derailleurs. I agree that the Japanese shifters made for
> wide range were better shifting, but they all had a much shorter life
> span. But for average use recreational riding as most Americans
> practiced it, it didn't make much difference as they weren't used
> enough.
> Those heavier mileage riders just replaced them a little sooner and were
> happy. For Campy friendly types the slightly less response was an easy
> trade for the durability and when set up well the Rally performed just
> fine on most bikes. I found that people who had good touch in shifting
> fared much better with the Rallys.
> Don't ask me why but some bikes, chain, cluster and chainwheel combos
> didn't work right. When we played and moved parts around, bingo. I'm
> sure many of you who massage(d) the 1/2 step triple grannies know
> exactly what I mean.
>
> Time to get shellaced.
> The posts on shellac brought an almost lost art to light.
> I don't think any one uses shellac anymore, glues like 3m and others
> have taken over the job.
> All the track riders I ever knew had at least 1 extra set of wheels to
> race with, or two complete track bikes and an extra wheel set at the
> races. At the six days or derbies we had two complete bikes and at
> least 2 sets of extra wheels, ALL shellaced.
> Usually when we had a flat on a shellaced tire we were able to pull the
> tire off at the puncture spot about 6/8 inches and open the tire, patch
> it and reshellac the tire without having to take the tire completly off
> the rim and redoing the whole wheel. This follows previous description
> on proper prep to build up the bed so it stayed on the rim.
> The sprinters and pursuiters who wanted to save weight took the base
> tape off and saved another 20 gms.+ or - and glued the tire (and
> stitching) right to the shellac. This made the tire hard to patch, and
> it usually got enuf use so that the tire was pitched after defect.
> It could take several weeks to properly prepare a wheel, but never heard
> of boiler room tactics. There was enough hot air and steam in the
> locker/mechanic rooms after races that the boilers were hardly
> necessary. Having a real thick, firm but not brittle bed was the key.
> When the tire and rim with their thin coats were stuck together and
> inflated to 80/90%, it took the stretch out of the tire without
> squishing the wet shellac out and it bonded so that the tire couldn't
> roll off unless the base tape and shellac didn't get along. It did not
> happen often, as the manufacturers tried to have everything compatible.
> The shellac tended to bond the base tape to the casing.
>
> Perhaps this is a good time to mention the difference between track and
> road protectors. Track tires have a consistent thickness of rubber strip
> (protector), compared to road tires which have a tapered strip, thicker
> on the top and middle, getting thinner at the edges. Track tires handle
> more critically exact when the strip is of uniform thickness for control
> at high speed on steep banking. We even off-centered the tire a little
> toward the right to even out the wear and control because of the
> different angle at different speeds on the track, especially in team
> races. It took some of the pressure off the edge of the strip so it
> wouldn't loosen with slower riding and more acute angle at lower speeds.
>
> Motor pace tire prep is even more critical because of the extreme speed
> and pressure against the track at different angles.
> The bed build up is the same. Motor pace tires are delivered WITHOUT the
> base tape. No chance is left for a base tape to loosen. The tire is
> shellaced and seated solidly into the shellac bed. If done correctly,
> when a tire is removed the sewing will leave a tread like a fossil in
> the shellac.
> As to the linen bandage, it was done as a secondary safety factor. The
> linen was glued to the casing just at the edge of the protector, nice
> and evenly with the tire at 90% inflation, after the shellac had set.
> The bandage was contoured to the tire and over the rim, the glue was
> TIGHT and FLEXIBLE so it would not chaff the casing and puncture! The
> first layer was cut in with a scissors at the nipples and laid over and
> glued at the far edge of the rim. Then the other side was done with the
> same procedure and overlapped the first layer to secure the taping. I
> was taught by the old timers at the tracks in Europe, and did all my own
> work, not wanting to trust my hi-speed wheels, even tho the guys were
> cracker-jack mechanics, some thing one likes to do for ones' self.
> Besides it kept me from chasing the gals. Idle hands are the devil's
> plaything and all that jazz. Never had a tire come off, either.
> Maybe Aldo can find that picture of the guys at the track burning the
> shellac to soften it he had up some month's ago. It gave a little flex
> and with a quick coat of shellac made it stick like hell. It was called
> 'burning the shellac' on. That's the vintage word/term of the week. I'll
> try to post one oldie each week.
> Too late to rubberneck the latex tonight. I'll try to catch you all
> tomorrow.
> Ted Ernst
> Palos Verdes Estates, CA