Pillar to Post

The Univega bike had (surprise surprise) a stuck seat post.

Tonight I pulled it out, with a combination of heat, penetrating oil, and violence.

Tomorrow I will get a replacement, and some new cable housing, and this bike will be back in action.

After some deliberation I decided to sell the Raleigh Superbe as-is. The ad lasted about 20 minutes before it was sold. Another happy customer!

The Stack

It's a constant struggle to be rid of the bikes I'm always acquiring.  The current (and long running) projects is a neat old Raleigh Superbe.  However, it is very close to being finished, which will be worthwhile!

Then, it's back to the fabrication shop to build some sort of contraption that will bash out stuck seatposts.

Old 10-speed buyer's guide

I figure this is handy knowledge to have around, whether or not anyone finds it.

Let's say you're standing in front of a bike.  It's so shiny!  Or dusty.  Or greasy.  The seller may or may not know its value.  (Hint: it's as worth as much as someone will pay for it; no more.)  How do you decide if it's "good"?  Here are some tips!

• Weight.   Pick up the bike.  Do you think "wow, light!" or "wow, heavy!"?  Lighter is better.  Also consider yourself.  If you're a big person, don't get a featherweight bike.  It could break.
• Tubing.  Check for a tubing sticker on the frame - right below the saddle.  No sticker means a cheap bike or a clever previous owner.  Good things to see are "Tange", "Reynolds" or "Columbus".   Bad things are "Hi-ten" or "all brazed steel".   Flick the tubes with your finger, if they ring, it's nice steel.  If they thunk, it's not nice steel.  This test doesn't work for aluminum or carbon fiber.
• Lugwork / welds.  Nicer bikes tend to have more interesting lugs.  If it looks like plumbing, it's probably just a utility bike - great for a beater but will never be as nice as something made with better tubes and lugs.   Also inspect the soldering jobs, sloppy work means a weak joint.
• Dropouts.  They can be stamped, forged, or machined.   Look for a manufacturer's name on the dropout.  Don't trust the fork, it could be a replacement (although factor this in, and consider a replacement fork could have meant a crash)
• Shifters.  Cheap bikes have the shifters up high on the stem.  Nicer ones have them on the downtube, or on the bar ends, or integrated into the brake levers.
• Brakes.  Cheap bikes have "cheater levers" that you can pull when riding upright.  Maybe you want these, maybe not.  Don't let the brake levers or shifters dictate what you buy, if the frame is super light you can always change the brakes to suit yourself later.
• Cranks.  Less important unless you're keen on upgrading.  Know the differences between one-piece, three-piece, and cottered cranks.  Consider the origin of the bike if you plan on swapping out the drivetrain, some French and Italian bikes use different threads in the components which can make upgrading more of a chore.
• Wheels.  Aluminum is better than steel, hands down.  If you disagree, wait until it rains.

An easy rule of thumb is to add $10 for every "good" thing you can think of and subtract $10 for every "bad" thing.  Generally, a nice bike in poor condition is worth about $100.  A crummy bike in great condition is also worth $100.  Tires, pedals, attachments (water bottle holder!  yay!), handgrips and saddles should rarely factor into the value of the bike, unless they are unique or desirable.  And that's more for personal preference.

The consumables to give a bike a tune-up cost at least $25.  More if the chain, saddle, or cable housing needs to be replaced.

Until next time...

Hooray for Drummond

The big old Heidemann bike (the Vainqueur) never worked out for me - so I've been prepping it for sale.  However, because I foolishly went ahead without reading the internet, tightening the nuts on the cotter pins broke the non-drive cotter.  Horrors!

So this evening was spent in the machine shop, fabricating a new cotter pin.  I used a chunk of steel from a kick-stand and the Drummond Round-Bed Metal Lathe to do the deed.

Normally one does not go to such efforts to make the bits & pieces, but this was more convenient (and fun!) than trying to find the right sized one in a shop.  The Vainqueur uses such a variety of parts that I figured it would be a difficult job finding a new cotter!  

Folder is as folder does

My dad got this Raleigh Folder from the St. Vincent De Paul. I bought it off him for $40, cleaned it up, sorted out the brakes and bearings, and flipped it to Bicycle-itis for $75. They'll sell it for $150. Everybody wins!

In and Out like a Supercycle Storm

A while back my brother bought a 15-speed Supercycle from the thrift store for $15.  He didn't ride it much, so it wound up in my care.  I swapped out the 6-speed freewheel for a 5, straightened it out, and sent it on its way for $40.

Other accomplishments: built up the Innova with mostly-used parts; grand total $200.  Finished off the dropouts for the Chariot - had to start again as there were too many weird problems with trying to copy the original design.  Went with an "all new" design inspired by the modern Chariot joggers, and lo it works again.

The current build is a 3-speed CCM Elan.  I've rebuilt the wheels with 700c rims, for superior braking and tire choices.  Going to try to lace up the rear wheel tonight, but the only 700c rim I have left is warped so it might not work out.

They cometh, and they goeth away

I got an old Giant Innova for $30 the other day. It's got 700c wheels and a lightweight cromoly frame - it will become a commuter for a co-worker (to replace his "iron-side" hybrid that weighs more than him)

Sold the 5-speed Raleigh, and the Fiori, in a flurry of activity today. I'm glad to see the Fiori go, even though it was a nice bike and a decent conversation piece.

I am negotiating another trade deal - a comfortable hybrid/MTB for a Gardin racer. Hope it works out for all involved; my offerings are either a built-up complete bike using the Sasquatch frame, or the readymade Kuwahara my sister-in-law-to-be-probably was riding. She's gone back to Australia (with my brother-in-law-for-real), and doesn't need the bike any more.

Also on the go right now - rigging new dropouts for an old Chariot trailer. It's more difficult than first expected! More on that later, once it's done...