Mongoose 24 inch 21 Speed Girls Mountain Bike

Whenever I don't feel like working on a department store bike. I remember a time about 34 years ago when I needed my front wheel trued on my Sears 10 Speed. (it may have been a 12 speed) Anyway, when I took it to the local bike shop in Rochester Mi I got the "bike snob treatment". I remember this total ass telling me my Sears 12 speed was not the sort of bike they work on. And then he quoted me some ridiculous price for estimated labor to true the wheel. Knowing what I know now, I am sure it would have only taken a few minutes to true the slight wobble out of the wheel.

I sprayed a little White Lightning Clean Streak on the rear derailleur and cleaned it up a bit. I then sprayed it and the freewheel with Tri Flo and also sprayed the chain (as I rotated it on the stand) with the Tri Flo. Then I wiped off the excess with a rag. The real wheel was badly in need of some truing. I tried to "true it up a bit" on the bike (with the air let out of the tire) that wasn't getting it. So I removed the wheel and brought it inside with my truing stand. My vision is pretty bad now so I really needed to flood the room with light so I could true the wheel correctly .

Well I managed to get the wheel trued up pretty good and put it back on the bike and re-set the brake after installing a new cable. The 7 speed grip shift for the rear derailleur worked fine, so I left it alone. But the Grip Shift for the front derailleur was locked up tight. I could move the front derailleur by hand. So I disconnected the cable and removed it from the housing. I thought maybe it was just stuck inside the housing due to excessive corrosion. The grip shift still wouldn't budge, so I removed it.

As I have done in the past I replaced the 3 speed grip shift with this salvaged thumb shift lever. I found it in a box that contained some salvaged shift levers of different sorts. It worked just fine. I thought I should check e bay latter for a replacement, which I did. A new 3 speed grip shift with cable delivered to my door for 13.00. Air Cav Paul (my friend who brought me this kids bike) said go ahead for 13.00 we'll just replace it. Which I did latter. Sorry no pics of that.

As is typical of department store bikes none of the bloody cables had crimp-on tips, and they were all frayed on the ends. The new cables got new tips of course and the other two cables got trimmed and new tips installed.

There was no front reflector so I found one in the "old reflector box" and put it o the stem.

Once the new grip shift was installed I trimmed the cable and crimped on a cable tip. At just under 200 lbs I had my doubts about test riding the bike to make sure everything was working. I went ahead and rode it just far enough to go through all the gears and make sure the brakes were ok. The brakes screeched a bit but they do work. I didn't have any "threaded post" brake pads so I told Air Cav Paul to order a set. And if he needs me to do so, I will install them and adjust the brakes "free of charge".

I think I took this pic before I installed the new grip shift for the front derailleur. Doesn't really matter, you can't see the bloody thing anyway. With my vision not being anything like normal I have learned to slow down, and be real careful where I set things down. A few weeks ago Paul brought me his old bike for a few adjustments. I don't look for bike work anymore. But if it comes in I'll do it "if I can". I will be around the house more in the near future, so I expect I'll be starting some sort of bike project soon.

Above: This is Jimmy. He was one of our guests for Memorial Day. His back legs don't work anymore, so he has this cart. He is a very happy dog and he loves people. When I first heard about his injury I thought, "maybe they should just put him down". But after seeing how happy he is. And seeing how much he loves his cart and his owners.. Well I think Jimmy is doing real fine, just the way he is. Sometimes you can learn a lot from a dog.

Above: A minute on the Duck Lake Pines path today 05-30-17
Until next time, Please Ride Safe and Remember to Always Rescue, Restore and Recycle. Cheers, Hugh