Well we are done working on the house, for a while anyway. So hopefully I can get back to repairing and or restoring. A while back a friend asked me about doing some work on a bike he was cleaning up for his son. This rigid mountain bike will be used as a campus bike, at least I think that was the idea. Anyway, it took a little while but the bike finally made it here. As always it needed a little more work than I originally thought.
Above: I was only supposed the replace the rear derailleur shifter, but when I test rode the bike this front "D" shifter was not working at all. So I guess I will be replacing both. Which is what I would rather do anyway as we are changing to a simple and reliable Shimano thumb shifters.
Above: The soon to be replaced shifter for the rear derailleur. This one is totally 100% seized-up. This is not really a project So I did not take as many pics as usual. So for most of the "before stuff" you will just have to take my word for it.
Above: Here I have installed the new (salvaged) shifters I also replaced the cables and housings as well, using Jag Wire basics shift cable w housing. I did however reuse the short cable housing at the rear derailleur. Of course I added a few drops of oil before inserting the new cable. At any rate both shifters are working fine. And the rear d shifter is SIS just like the original. S.I.S. = Shimano Index Shifter. You know..... click, click, click. At least on this rear d shifter. You can turn off the SIS if you are so inclined.
Above: I have a tub full of salvaged bicycle reflectors, so I went ahead and installed a front reflector. I also covered up the rust on the bars using 3M plastic trim and detail tape. (which I think is no longer available)
Above: Since I had to remove the handlebar grips anyway, I took them inside and scrubbed them down using hand soap and the old fingernail brush. They were really grimy and really needed a good cleaning. To remove the grips I carefully inserted a small screwdriver and sprayed a little WD40 in between the bar and inside of the grips. I have used soapy water in the past and it works well too. But this is quicker and more convenient, as I always have a can of WD40 close by. I picked up this method from one of my blog followers, I don`t remember who it was though.
I also trued both wheels on the Truing Stand. The rear wheel looked to be beyond truing. But it actually trued-up quite nicely to within about 1/16th of an inch. The rear cantilever brake was "maladjusted" to accommodate the wobbling back wheel. So after reinstalling the rear wheel I replaced the cable and the front part of the cable housing. Then I reset the the post type brake shoes or shoes correctly, and it stops really well now. Although it will need new shoes soon.
Above: I had this Bontrager rear rack laying around and I had already decided "the next bike that comes in that this rack fits properly I am just going to install it {for free} and be rid of it". The damn thing isn't doing me any good laying around, so why not just put it to good use?
Above: I noticed the bike had no water bottle cage either, so I installed this salvaged Specialized cage. I will be donating this to the cause as well.
Above: Some of the spokes were rusty, so I sanded those down. The dust cap was missing on the drive side, so I installed a salvaged one (also donated). I could write a book on "How not to make money repairing bikes"..lol. Who gives a s#1% ! It can't always be about making money. Did I mention this bike is going to my hometown, which means it is probably for an O.C.C. student. Anyway the bike looks pretty good considering it's tight budget.
Above: I cleaned-up the sidewalls, rims and everything but the grips using Armor All Cleaning Wipes. So the only "new parts" I used were the cables and housings. The owner purchased the comfort saddle. Everything else I used was salvaged so this bike truly is Recycled :)
Above: Here is what I found the following morning. Even after dropping the pressure to 45 psi this tire blew out sometime during the night. Fortunately I do have a Kenda 26 x 1.95 black wall mountain bike tire. The one I have is definitely a front tire so I will have to move his more "aggressive tread" front tire to the rear. So I now needed to remove both front and rear tires to make this work out properly.
Above: Here I have replaced the front "paddle like tread" tire with my replacement. Note how the tread starts to make the curve up the sidewall of the tire a wee bit. This helps the tire grab better in the turns. A more modern version would have the tread even farther up the side wall. So far so good. Now I need to remove the blown out tire and tube from the rear wheel and replace them with the newer ones that were on the front.
Above: It is obvious that this tread pattern is better suited for the rear than my replacement would have been. I could have just replaced the rear tire with my tire but that would have looked stupid and not performed as well. At least in my humble opinion. Since I chose to bring the cracked tire up to pressure and it failed, I will only charge for the tire not the inner tube. I think that is a pretty fair deal.
above: Ok finished again :) I have bagged up all the parts I have replaced including the tire and inner tube. This is so I can show the customer exactly why each part was replaced. I have found that most people don't mind paying for parts and labor if you show them why it was necessary. This is especially important with new or first time customers. With most regular or repeat customers I do not need to do this. But it is always a good idea to offer to show the old parts and explain the expenses.
Above: It was a little stressful having so much work done on the house this year, especially for my wife. So I put up some Hummingbird feeders to bring back a little peace. It has worked pretty well and we both enjoy watching these tiny birds hover around the feeders and flowers.
Above: The Ducks have returned this year and we have seen more Rabbits than in recent years. The Hawks and Feral Cats (Felis Catus) have kept the Chipmunk population in check. The Hawks seem to prefer the state land for nesting the past few years. I hear them occasionally but rarely see them anymore. If the Chipmunk and Rabbit population increases the Hawks will surely return.
Cheers, Hugh
Good job, cool looking bike. Two things:
ReplyDelete1. You probably already know this, but the original shifters (and most "trigger" style shifters) have tiny pawls inside them that get gummed up, rendering the shifter temporarily useless. But if you carefully disassemble the shifter (don't break the plastic cover!) you can clean and lube the stuck pawls and the shifter will work again.
2. To get your camera to focus on small parts (instead of the ground below) either switch your camera's auto focus frame size to small (some cameras will not let you do this) or hold your hand directly under the part, hold the shutter button down halfway to focus on your hand, then remove your hand and press the button the rest of the way to shoot the photo. And there you go, no more out-of-focus shifters, grips, small parts, etc.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the info.
DeleteI prefer those crappy old shifters. You know the ones that last forever :) I am afraid my photography probably isn't going to improve much. But I promise you I will try this. I tried this once before but I am sure I had the camera on the wrong setting.
But seriously, Thanks for the good information.
Cheers, Hugh
Mighty fine campus beater. Sending my kid off with a curb find. Zero $ spent on the refurbishing it for now. If it lives and gets used upgrades will come next semester. Good pics of the wildlife too, hummingbirds here come through at the same time every day and feed on our hibiscus and rosebush. Dont really care much for the rabbits as they dig holes and carry ticks. Looking forward to seeing more posts. =)
ReplyDeleteThanks John,
DeleteThe owner said he is going to keep this bike for himself and let his son take his bike for school. I did not realize it at first but the MOTIV is actually a fairly decent bike.
Zero invested? it does not get any better than that! You might tell him (or her) the level of upgrades will depend on the level of his grades :)
We have wood ticks here, but they are worse up north. But you still have to be careful, that's for sure. The skunks here are always digging through the grass for grubs. I am reluctant to spray pesticides on my grass as we have a well. They lawn spray guy assured me "all the chemicals are government approved". I said "yeah just like Agent Orange". I don`t think he had a clue as to what I was talking about....lol I hope to have more posts coming soon now that the remodeling is hopefully finished for this year.
Cheers, Hugh
Nice Job doing a overhaul your friend is getting a great deal, and if you need me to contribute a chapter or two on the "How NOT to make money rebuilding bikes" book I have a few ideas ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe $5 ride I posted last week will follow a similar path that this mtb did, I am looking to get it functional and safe at the lowest cost and will leave it a bit "grungy" as a theft deterrent.
RR
lol.... Thanks Ryan I`ll keep that in mind.
DeleteI hope it (the grunge look) works. But it seems thieves have lowered their standards. I had an owner who had his Huffy 626 stolen. The thief had to cut through the hand rail of the front stairs to get it!
P.S. did you see my shout-out on my latest post?
Cheers,Hugh
We just got a well-weathered one of these bikes. Hope we can find someone like you to fix it up on the West Coast. would you say they are worth fixing up, just for riding around town? How much could we expect to pay someone to fix it up? TIA
ReplyDeleteThat depends on what it needs. I don't think it would be worth paying a bicycle shop to fix it. Maybe find some old fart like me who can fix it with a mix of recycled and new parts. Depending on the paint and how well it cleans up.. I wouldn't invest more that 50.00 if it is in fair condition. And maybe 75.00 if it cleans up real nice.
ReplyDelete