A buddy of mine offered his road bike for 60€ because it is too small for him. I am interested in taking it up as it feels solid, how likely am I to be able to tune it up as I go? Maybe change to disk brakes, change the gears to a single up front and 7-9 down the back and different handlebars/wrapping.
by EmanicTP
6 Comments
It is impossible to switch to disc brakes on that bike, it doesn’t have the proper mounts for anything other than caliper brakes (caliper brakes are perfectly fine). Changing to a different drivetrain is possible if you purchase an upgraded wheelset and drivetrain components. I say if the bike fits, go for it! I bet the ride feel on that thing is amazing. It won’t ever be a race bike but it will give you many years of excellent riding.
You won’t be able to change to disk brakes. That requires a completely different frame. That being said. well adjusted rim brakes work perfectly fine as long as it’s not too wet, and end then it’s fine.
The main thing that worries me is that it looks like it’s set up with out shifters and derailleurs, but there’s multiple gears. I’d get that rectified as soon as possible. Downtube shifters can be a little cumbersome but are fine. Either that swap out to an actual single speed chainset and freewheel/cog. Multi-speed chainsets and cassettes aren’t actually meant to keep the chain on the gears withtout the derailleur to guide the chain, so I think that it would drop the chain somewhat often the way it’s currently set up.
Other than that just get some nicer tires and it should be good to go. You probably won’t be able to change a whole lot but you really don’t need to. When you’re ready for something more, you’ve only spent 60€, so you can just sell it and get most of that back, if not more, and move on to your next bike.
You can buy it and ride it but I wouldn’t buy it with the expectation you can make it more modern. Disc brakes aren’t really possible on something like this. There are no frame mounts for disc brakes. You’d need entirely new wheels that can mount disc brakes as well. Running a 1x drivetrain on that frame would also be a pain that would likely require a new back wheel. Vintage road bikes are cool and great but they are a pain or straight up impossible to modernize.
Also, this looks like it’s been converted into a kind of makeshift single speed, which makes it even less of a road bike. If you need something to ride right now, it’s fine, but I don’t think this will make a very good project bike.
I don’t see a rear derailleur on that bike but it has gears? Come to think of it I don’t see a front one either. Is it a self made fixie?
Steel frames are a lot of fun to build. Part upgrades are (relatively) easy. I have an old Panasonic frame that I’ve swapped SRAM & Shimano parts onto. I swapped my wheels and rear gears for a more modern configuration and ended up getting my bottom bracket machined to take a cartridge style BB. Brake and wheel upgrades were limited by the fork width. I ended up keeping the same handle bars, stem (I need to swap those bearings though), and seat post. New seat, too.
I’m not being super specific on parts because I simply don’t remember what I’m running right now but I enjoyed the process quite a bit. You can take it piece by piece. I recommend finding a small town mechanic in your area to work with so you can go back to someone that knows your bike when it’s tune up time.
[Sheldon Brown](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/) is your best friend. Best of luck, and have fun.
60$? It rides and fits you? Buy it and ride it, as it is.
Don’t mess around with bullshit upgrades, collect money for the “next bike” instead.