Must be a Finnish brand because there is a frame lock that says Made in Finland, so nothing fancy in that sense.
It rides ok, nothing seems to be seized, the previous owner put it to storage after getting a new bike, and the only issue was that the back hub is somehow loose, the entire wheel is not tightened correctly.
What I understand is that it is a 6-speed Shimano Positron drivetrain and Tourney cantilever brakes. The Continental tires seem ok and the brakes work fine, the gears shift ok but the drivetrain needs a thorough cleaning.
My other bike is a new e-mountainbike so this is something completely different. Can’t wait to get this cleaned, polished and rust-free!
by pneumokokki
8 Comments
It’s vintage, I’ll give you that. Seriously, a great place to start learning how to wrench.
The biggest limitation on upgrading this and making it fun to ride is probably that the frame is made for one piece cranks [https://www.sheldonbrown.com/opc.html](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/opc.html) These are a cheap, heavy system relative to threaded bb’s with removable crank arms. Positron is also harder to work with than most other shimano shifting systems, including cheap 70s stuff. If you have a nonprofit bicycle cooperative nearby, these often offer classes on repair and maintenance, and should have parts and tools to work on this.
something fun to do (if possible) is to switch out that 6speed for a single speed freewheel. put a new chain, change all the brake cables and housings, clean up the brake surface on the wheels, and change the brake pads, and you’ll have a decent amount of work to do, plus you’ll end up with a sweet bike. new tires is always a plus but not necessary at all.
happy wrenching!
Once you start just the minimal understanding in how it all works everything becomes so much easier. I basically started only a few years ago and what i did was i tore it apart. Took tons of pictures on my phone. Took some video of moving parts just to understand how it is supposed to go back together. I then looked up what type of cleaner what type of grease for the parts and when i put it back together it was much better. Getting some tools will be really helpful. Pulling apart a bottom bracket without them can be a shitty job, but there are also tons of youtube videos on how to do that stuff without bike specific tools. Rj the bike guy on youtube is great. I am doing an upgrade job on an old bike to new components and his videos are really easy for people like me know don’t know a ton.
Positron is an early version of indexed shifting. It was developed for more modestly priced bikes. Rather than a pull only system with spring return found in every other shifter, Positron is a push/pull operation. The shift cable is unique to Positron (as well as the derailleur and shifter can’t be used with other than Positron). As long as it is working, I wouldn’t mess with it (other than keeping it clean and lubed).
The handlebars and brake lever placement is giving me a sore back just looking at it.
Great bike to learn to wrench…
Check that the stem bolt is tight, it looks like it might be loose. If it is, you might unexpectedly lose steering. Take an allen key of proper size and tighten the bolt in the center of the photo 5(/7) until it’s really tight.
Same in finnish:
Stemmin pultti näyttää siltä, että saattaa olla löysällä eli kannattaa tarkistaa. Muuten ohjaustanko saattaa alkaa pyöriä haarukkaputkessa. Väännä kuvan 5(/7) keskellä olevaa pulttia sopivalla kuusiokoloavaimella tiukalle, tavallisella lyhyellä avaimella voi käyttää ihan kunnolla voimaa.
Well, the fact you paid nothing for it is a good start. This gives you a little wiggle room on maybe spending a few dollars here and there to replace or upgrade some small parts.
With another old donor bike (or 2nd hand parts source/swap) and maybe some new cabling; you could probably relatively easily replace and upgrade the positron shifting system. It was kind of a proprietary system that Shimano pushed for a little while, never really succeeded, so they abandoned it when other alternatives came along.
iirc, the system used a solid core wire, vs. the more ubiquitous braided cabling and parts weren’t very interchangeable.
As others have said; the bike looks like a great starting platform to learn with!