Quick Answers

Location: 3961 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA MAP

Volunteer days are back, in a new format! They're the second and fourth Saturdays, on a smaller scale. See our Eventbrite site at bikex.eventbrite.com for details and to RSVP. Grab your spot and join in on the wrenching for good! See the event calendar for more events and volunteer days.

Donate bicycles and parts by appointment. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and details of what you have. We have specific drop-off times on Wednesday and Friday and other times by special arrangement. We'll let you know if we have a need for your items and get you drop-off details.

The Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange is a Section 501c(3) non-profit organization.

Info: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More Contact info

Facebook icon   Instagram icon

With passionate volunteers, we don't always take the most time-efficient path to restore and refurbish bicycles. This fine restoration is a perfect example of a volunteer going the extra mile. 

At long last, John Felch's Windsor Carrera Sport is done. Here’s an update on the long process of restoring the Windsor Carrera Sport. For the history of this restoration, check out Part 1 and Part 2 on our website from earlier this year. Read on for his thrilling conclusion, in his own words, to this three-part series. 

In Part 2, I had stripped the frame due to the poor condition of the original paint.  The chrome at the forks and dropouts had some damage and I had to paint over some of it at the rear, but still managed to save most of it.  

I painted the frame with Rust-Oleum acrylic enamel in cherry red, one of my favorite colors. Red is just such an attractive frame color. Regular Bike of the Month readers may remember the last time I tried to spray a clear coat over fresh paint, there was a chemical reaction between the layers that left a highly undesirable finish. I learned my lesson and this frame only has a beautiful red top coat without a clear coat. 

Windsor Carrera vintage road bike. Used Bikes from the Bay Area's Bicycle Exchange, Palo Alto. Available at https://shop.bikex.org

The water slide vinyl decals were purchased from VeloCals. They look great against the bright red paint.  I had to wait over a month for them to be delivered and then other projects, like the Carlton Super Course came along and I put off installing them until now.  When I finally cleared off the workbench and installed the decals, I was excited. I quickly got out the rest of the parts and assembled everything.  One thing I left from the original was the saddle.  It is worn but not worn out and with its “Made in Mexico” logo helps to validate the bike's heritage.

Windsor Carrera vintage road bike. Used Bikes from the Bay Area's Bicycle Exchange, Palo Alto. Available at https://shop.bikex.org

The only changes I made to the bike were a Suntour Vx rear derailleur and new handlebars. The Suntour Vx is lighter and shifts better than the original GT. If I could, I would have put a 6 speed Shimano Hyperglide freewheel on this bike, but the Suntour unit at 13-30 is nice and gives the bike some good gear range with the 42-53 chainring in front.

Windsor Carrera vintage road bike. Used Bikes from the Bay Area's Bicycle Exchange, Palo Alto. Available at https://shop.bikex.org

All the collectors in our audience will probably agree that this is one of the best-looking Windsor’s you will see and is worthy of a place in your vintage bike collection. This beautify is sure to be a hit at Eroica.  

Windsor Carrera vintage road bike. Used Bikes from the Bay Area's Bicycle Exchange, Palo Alto. Available at https://shop.bikex.org