I picked up this bike for $40 at an old farmhouse that was having a garage sale. I’m wondering if it makes sense to try and restore it or just clean it up and enjoy it. I’ve never restored a bike but am fairly handy, watched some YouTube videos, and think most of it is within my ability. If it makes sense to restore it, would you use nice new parts, clean up the existing parts, or try and get clean original parts. Thanks for your thoughts!
TerdKaczynski on
I would disassemble and clean/grease all moving parts.Youll prob need new cables, brake pads,grips,tires,tubes. Maybe wet sand the paint with a high grit to remove scratches and marks. Meguiars makes a chrome cleaner that would make alot of those parts look new again. With original paint you can enjoy it sooner and worry less about a new paint job getting scratched while out having fun. That being said, it’ll prob still cost you another $150 in parts to get back on the road safely.
brdhar35 on
Cool cruiser but a low end bike, don’t put too much money in this, still a fun project
tiregroove on
Yeah like brdhar35 said… low end. These were so heavy that they made the Peugeot U08s, the quintessential 70’s bike-boom French gaspipe rolling boat anchor look like a lightweight in comparison.
I hope this bike is your size, it’s for someone at least 6’2″ or taller. If not, BAIL NOW.
Also, If you have to replace the tires? DON’T. These are STEEL 27″ rims that brake like shit in the rain, and you don’t want to be emotionally /financially invested on them after spending $40 on new tires. If you REALLY have your heart set on keeping this bike at the very least get some 700c alloy wheels.
Fictitious_Moniker on
I’ve had a couple of them – because my first one got stolen. I’ve probably put 10 – 15k miles between the two of them. Not a thing ever went wrong with them, never once went into a bike shop – simple derailleur and brake adjustments and new rubber were the only things ever required. Always shifted great, any front/rear sprocket combination was smooth. They cost about $110 – $120 new. Your handlebar foam is not original but probably everything else is. A good cleanup, a little chrome polish and maybe new tires…. Probably all you need, especially if you can clean and lube the bottom bracket yourself.
If you wanted to sell it a nostalgic boomer such as myself would probably buy it if reasonably priced. (Not me though, already have too many bikes)
candlehead69 on
I’ve got the same bike, mate. It’s a cool one! Two big things. 1st, The stem is a weird 21.1mm standard. I replaced mine with a BMX stem and moto bars. 2nd, this frame has massive tire clearance. Swap in a 700c wheelset and some 42c tires for a cushy ride. The original brakes reached on mine but I swapped them out for a nicer Weinmann pair. I went single speed but you can still run gears. I used an adapter for the bottom bracket and put a much lighter crank on it. The frame is heavy but not terrible once you replace all the steel components.
jwdjr2004 on
It’s a great bike to learn on. I’d clean everything and probably put fresh chain, tires, bar tape, cables+housings on. Repack all the bearings (hubs, bottom bracket, headset), and adjust the brakes (new pads of you’re feeling fancy). You’ll learn a lot and have a nice rider.
Kooky-Air339 on
I would not spend very much money on that bike, it’s only worth $50 to $100 in that condition unless for some reason it’s a dream bike that you always wanted.
Bicycle paint is thinner than car paint, hitting that paint with high-grit wet sanding could destroy the paint. I wouldn’t use anything stronger than Turtle Wax rubbing compound on the paint. That means that those deep scratches will remain, but at least the paint will be original, which makes it worth a tad more than a repaint will make it worth. After buffing it go over it with Meguiar’s Ceramic spray on wipe off wax, this will make the bike shine like crazy, just follow the directions.
If you want that bike to learn how to restore bicycles, then that’s the perfect bike to do that since if you damage or screw it up you’re not out anything.
Tire size wise there are actually quite a few good quality 27″ tires on the market from the likes of Schwalbe, Panaracer, Continental, and I think Specialized still has one, not to mention a slew of cheap low-end 27″ tires; so don’t let the tire issue stop you. Even if you get new rims, going to a 700c rim means you’ll probably have to change the brake calipers since the reach of the current calipers will not be long enough to make the brake pads contact the rims properly, and changing the calipers makes the restore price go up, something you want to avoid as much as possible.
Good luck with the restore, just keep it as inexpensive as possible if you’re going to flip it, but I doubt you will recover from the cost you spent getting the bike plus all the stuff you need to restore it. Even if you make $25 over the cost of the bike and parts, you’ll spend 5 to 6 hours working on it, not sure about you, but my time is worth more than 5 to 6 bucks an hour!
8 Comments
I picked up this bike for $40 at an old farmhouse that was having a garage sale. I’m wondering if it makes sense to try and restore it or just clean it up and enjoy it. I’ve never restored a bike but am fairly handy, watched some YouTube videos, and think most of it is within my ability. If it makes sense to restore it, would you use nice new parts, clean up the existing parts, or try and get clean original parts. Thanks for your thoughts!
I would disassemble and clean/grease all moving parts.Youll prob need new cables, brake pads,grips,tires,tubes. Maybe wet sand the paint with a high grit to remove scratches and marks. Meguiars makes a chrome cleaner that would make alot of those parts look new again. With original paint you can enjoy it sooner and worry less about a new paint job getting scratched while out having fun. That being said, it’ll prob still cost you another $150 in parts to get back on the road safely.
Cool cruiser but a low end bike, don’t put too much money in this, still a fun project
Yeah like brdhar35 said… low end. These were so heavy that they made the Peugeot U08s, the quintessential 70’s bike-boom French gaspipe rolling boat anchor look like a lightweight in comparison.
I hope this bike is your size, it’s for someone at least 6’2″ or taller. If not, BAIL NOW.
Also, If you have to replace the tires? DON’T. These are STEEL 27″ rims that brake like shit in the rain, and you don’t want to be emotionally /financially invested on them after spending $40 on new tires. If you REALLY have your heart set on keeping this bike at the very least get some 700c alloy wheels.
I’ve had a couple of them – because my first one got stolen. I’ve probably put 10 – 15k miles between the two of them. Not a thing ever went wrong with them, never once went into a bike shop – simple derailleur and brake adjustments and new rubber were the only things ever required. Always shifted great, any front/rear sprocket combination was smooth. They cost about $110 – $120 new. Your handlebar foam is not original but probably everything else is. A good cleanup, a little chrome polish and maybe new tires…. Probably all you need, especially if you can clean and lube the bottom bracket yourself.
If you wanted to sell it a nostalgic boomer such as myself would probably buy it if reasonably priced. (Not me though, already have too many bikes)
I’ve got the same bike, mate. It’s a cool one! Two big things. 1st, The stem is a weird 21.1mm standard. I replaced mine with a BMX stem and moto bars. 2nd, this frame has massive tire clearance. Swap in a 700c wheelset and some 42c tires for a cushy ride. The original brakes reached on mine but I swapped them out for a nicer Weinmann pair. I went single speed but you can still run gears. I used an adapter for the bottom bracket and put a much lighter crank on it. The frame is heavy but not terrible once you replace all the steel components.
It’s a great bike to learn on. I’d clean everything and probably put fresh chain, tires, bar tape, cables+housings on. Repack all the bearings (hubs, bottom bracket, headset), and adjust the brakes (new pads of you’re feeling fancy). You’ll learn a lot and have a nice rider.
I would not spend very much money on that bike, it’s only worth $50 to $100 in that condition unless for some reason it’s a dream bike that you always wanted.
Bicycle paint is thinner than car paint, hitting that paint with high-grit wet sanding could destroy the paint. I wouldn’t use anything stronger than Turtle Wax rubbing compound on the paint. That means that those deep scratches will remain, but at least the paint will be original, which makes it worth a tad more than a repaint will make it worth. After buffing it go over it with Meguiar’s Ceramic spray on wipe off wax, this will make the bike shine like crazy, just follow the directions.
If you want that bike to learn how to restore bicycles, then that’s the perfect bike to do that since if you damage or screw it up you’re not out anything.
Tire size wise there are actually quite a few good quality 27″ tires on the market from the likes of Schwalbe, Panaracer, Continental, and I think Specialized still has one, not to mention a slew of cheap low-end 27″ tires; so don’t let the tire issue stop you. Even if you get new rims, going to a 700c rim means you’ll probably have to change the brake calipers since the reach of the current calipers will not be long enough to make the brake pads contact the rims properly, and changing the calipers makes the restore price go up, something you want to avoid as much as possible.
Good luck with the restore, just keep it as inexpensive as possible if you’re going to flip it, but I doubt you will recover from the cost you spent getting the bike plus all the stuff you need to restore it. Even if you make $25 over the cost of the bike and parts, you’ll spend 5 to 6 hours working on it, not sure about you, but my time is worth more than 5 to 6 bucks an hour!