I recently got this bike (for free), and there are a few/many things that need fixing: The back gears don’t work, the brakes need changing, cables are rusty, chain is rusty, it makes many sounds… I wanted to try to repair it myself, but I don’t have much equipment and the stuck screws are discouraging.
Do you think it is worth it to have it repaired? I would like to use it for backpacking for about 80km/800m elevation per day.
Thanks for the help!
Pure-Nose2595 on
The bike is worth basically zero. It’d be worth zero even if it was fully working.
This isn’t to say it’s an inherently bad bike, if it was brand new condition it’d probably be a good one. But there are so many bikes like this that there’s no value to them.
My painful personal experience trying to rehabilitate a worn out 90s hybrid was painful, and I’m a guy who’s very good with bikes. Every nut and bolt on the thing was corroded and I lost count of them snapping when screwed back together. Every component was “well it’s dirty but it’s workable” until I tried to adjust that or clean it and then it was junk. Cantilever brakes fucking suck too.
I keep the frame and forks on my balcony. I occasionally look at it and get annoyed because it’s a good chromo frame but worthless and a bad memory. Pick something else.
Famous_Bill_7488 on
its not bad if stuff gets a bit rusty, just oil it. but this type of brake is really old, might be that you will have problems with descents. and if you need to put too much money in it i wouldnt recommend. also check the tyres if there are lots of cracks it gets dangerous too. dont think you will have much fun with this.
Classic_Barnacle_844 on
If the bike can be tuned up it will make for a decent touring bike. It has rack mounts front and rear so you could have a full complement of bags. I would not use this for bike packing as it has zero off road capability.
A tune up with new cables, housing, chain, brake pads, etc… could quickly get up to $500+ at a reputable bike shop, FYI. You could get the drivetrain in order and tune up the rest piece by piece to save cash, or learn to do it yourself.
jbrans on
Hey there. Pretty cool looking bike even more if it was for free! Why don’t you try going to a bike shop that seems trustworthy and ask how much would it cost to tune it up?
This is and always was an entry level city commuter/touring bike but depending on the type of travels you have planned it could be more than sufficient. Normally on those type of freebie bikes, since they’ve been sitting somewhere for a long time, you can expect to have to change the tyres (good opportunity to replace with some puncture resistant ones), brake pads and chain. Maybe cables, and if you’re very unlucky maybe also the rear sprockects and the chainrings. If you were in Spain you could be looking something between 80€ to 150€.
If you’re planning on mostly paved surfaces or some hard packed gravel this is more than sufficient to see if you want to buy something else in the future.
Ro-54 on
Most parts need replacing and will cost. If you’re good with that it should be fine.
6 Comments
Hi everyone!
I recently got this bike (for free), and there are a few/many things that need fixing: The back gears don’t work, the brakes need changing, cables are rusty, chain is rusty, it makes many sounds… I wanted to try to repair it myself, but I don’t have much equipment and the stuck screws are discouraging.
Do you think it is worth it to have it repaired? I would like to use it for backpacking for about 80km/800m elevation per day.
Thanks for the help!
The bike is worth basically zero. It’d be worth zero even if it was fully working.
This isn’t to say it’s an inherently bad bike, if it was brand new condition it’d probably be a good one. But there are so many bikes like this that there’s no value to them.
My painful personal experience trying to rehabilitate a worn out 90s hybrid was painful, and I’m a guy who’s very good with bikes. Every nut and bolt on the thing was corroded and I lost count of them snapping when screwed back together. Every component was “well it’s dirty but it’s workable” until I tried to adjust that or clean it and then it was junk. Cantilever brakes fucking suck too.
I keep the frame and forks on my balcony. I occasionally look at it and get annoyed because it’s a good chromo frame but worthless and a bad memory. Pick something else.
its not bad if stuff gets a bit rusty, just oil it. but this type of brake is really old, might be that you will have problems with descents. and if you need to put too much money in it i wouldnt recommend. also check the tyres if there are lots of cracks it gets dangerous too. dont think you will have much fun with this.
If the bike can be tuned up it will make for a decent touring bike. It has rack mounts front and rear so you could have a full complement of bags. I would not use this for bike packing as it has zero off road capability.
A tune up with new cables, housing, chain, brake pads, etc… could quickly get up to $500+ at a reputable bike shop, FYI. You could get the drivetrain in order and tune up the rest piece by piece to save cash, or learn to do it yourself.
Hey there. Pretty cool looking bike even more if it was for free! Why don’t you try going to a bike shop that seems trustworthy and ask how much would it cost to tune it up?
This is and always was an entry level city commuter/touring bike but depending on the type of travels you have planned it could be more than sufficient. Normally on those type of freebie bikes, since they’ve been sitting somewhere for a long time, you can expect to have to change the tyres (good opportunity to replace with some puncture resistant ones), brake pads and chain. Maybe cables, and if you’re very unlucky maybe also the rear sprockects and the chainrings. If you were in Spain you could be looking something between 80€ to 150€.
If you’re planning on mostly paved surfaces or some hard packed gravel this is more than sufficient to see if you want to buy something else in the future.
Most parts need replacing and will cost. If you’re good with that it should be fine.