i know absolutely nothing about mechanics and can’t find anything online (probably because i don’t know where to look/what to google). is this fixable? i assume i’m going to have to replace the wheels, how much would it cost?
housemate told me if i can fix the bike i can have it
byu/neptunian-rings inbikewrench
by neptunian-rings
16 Comments
I just happened to watch a video this morning about replacing a one piece crank like that with a standard BB and crank. [RJ the Bike Guy on YouTube](https://youtu.be/7xTJ4ZmWmU8?si=ehQAxEAyQvcZinz-)
You may not need to go that far but it shows you how they work. You probably don’t have to replace the wheels but RJ will most likely have videos on repacking wheel bearings and replacing tires maybe? When in doubt take it to a bike shop and get an estimate at least.
You’d likely need a new bottom bracket, one specifically for 1 piece cranks… I definitely wouldn’t put new wheels on this bike, maybe tires if needed, if the wheels are in ok condition. Also might need brake pads and chain as well. Sorry to be a downer, but just being honest, I wouldn’t put that much into such a low quality bike. I’ve picked up several bikes much nicer than this, for free off the side of the road, in the past few months. The used [old] bike market is crazy low right now, you can get a pretty nice bike in rideable condition for under $100, instead of spending at least almost as much fixing this thing up.
A cup and cone bb bearing??? Leave it alone and trash the whole bike 😂 some parts for this old of a bike will be unreasonably complicated and expensive
definitely NOT worth your time at all. That thing is a piece of junk
tend to agree with the rest of the posters. if you knew what you were doing it might be okay, as is with no expereience you are going to end up picking and wasting money on many items. Trash it.
A BMX BB on a non-BMX is never a good sign. They used this BB and a steel crank to save some pennies. You will get a better bike for 20$ off craigslist.
Just add a little grease to the bearings, thread the non-drive side bottom bracket back on to the crank spindle, and the bike will be “fixed.” It likely needs a lot more work to be in really good condition, but the loose bottom bracket seems to be the only thing holding it back from being rideable right now.
You’ve saved him a trip to the dump. Don’t waste your time or effort. The money needed to fix it, won’t be huge, but worth more than the bike. Just don’t bother.
I wouldnt take this even if i owned a local bike shop with all the tools, materials, supplier connections and unhealthy interest in restoring old bikes. Doing this with no prior experience, no way in hell. Brakes are toast, cables are toast, bottom bracket probably will be hard to find and requires special press/tools to replace, There is rust everywhere and we haven’t even seen what the front stack looks like.
The correct answer for the neighbour is to ask them to recycle *heh* their trash themselves.
Post should read “Housemate doesn’t want to deal with throwing this junk bike away and said I could have it, can this be fixed?”
Going to buck the trend here and say every bike is worth fixing. It smacks of elitism to say otherwise.
I’ve fixed similar on kids bikes (1 piece cranks) and it’s pretty straight forward, didn’t take long to work things out the first time.
After your first time, that’s another skill under your belt.
I bet he’ll let you have it even if you didn’t fix it.
Take it to the local bike co-op, let them use it for parts or training.
throw the bike in the trash
It’s the kind of thing some guys at r/xbiking would love.
But unless you are one of those guys, just forget about it, it’s not worth it.
The juice ain’t worth the squeeze homie
Remove cranks and you’ve got yourself an adult balance bike