Bike repair for a complete noob?

[meerkat]

Some neighbors were moving out a couple months ago and among the other stuff they had by the curb to be taken away was a bike. My husband saw it, looked it over briefly, and wheeled it over to our house and has done nothing with it since. I'm thinking of taking a stab at repairing it. I have some rudimentary DIY skills but I've never done any sort of bike repair. Hell, I can't remember the last time I even rode a bike. But we have one other bike so if we have two adult bikes then we can do family outings and I really, really like the idea of that, so that's my carrot to get this done.

The bike's condition from what I saw looking at it briefly earlier:
*Chain is completely rusted and will need to be replaced.
*The round bits the chains go around (gears?) are also very rusted.
*The handles have some sort of grippy material where your hands go and on the outside there used to be about 1/4" of metal (probably for aesthetics). This is also rusted.
*The front break works. The back break does not. Squeeze the handle and there's no movement on the break clamp.
*I think the tires are in so-so condition. Need to double check that to get a better idea.

Progress may be slow due to lack of available time to work on this, but if I'm too slow the weather will get hot again (we have about 5 months of "omg hot" summer here) so I'll try not to be too pokey. Also, if you've read this far, you see my lack of bike tech-speak so you have a good idea of how little I know - but I'm willing to learn.

1) Where do I even start with this? I just want a bike that works, it doesn't need to be fancy.
2) Would pictures be helpful? I can post pictures but I won't bother if it's not helpful for you knowledgeable types.
3) Am I better off getting a cheap Walmart bike? I have no concept of how much a new chain/brakes/etc. can cost. I'm guessing I'm probably better off repairing this bike. Or - there's a bunch of bike shops in town. Would they take this in trade and give me a credit towards a super basic model? Or would it be like $10 in trade for a $100 basic bike (totally made up numbers)?

[Metric Mouse]

I can't imagine you'd get much in trade for such a bike.

Just looking at parts, to pay a shop to repair and replace what is needed on that bike, and the stuff you probably don't know that you need (rims need re-truing? Frame damage? Bearings need re-packing or replacing?) would probably not put you that far from the basic walmart bike. SO unless the bike is a model that fits you well, and has high-quality components on it that can be kept, I wouldn't waste several hours of my time to possibly save a few bucks. Trash it, or donate it, and buy a cheap-o for the few family rides you might take.

[auxym]

You first need to determine if it's worth fixing. Post some pictures and give us as much info as possible (all markings, stickers, etc on the frame), I'll try to help.

Does it fit you? How tall are you and are there any size markings on the frame? Can you try to ride it around a bit and see how it goes? If it's an old road bike (curved handlebars, thin steel tubes), I've gotten pretty good at eyeballing frame size from head tube height on craigslist pictures.

You definitely do not want to buy a walmart bike. If you have 400$ or so minimum budget, you can get a decent hybrid/commuter bike at a bike shop, brand new. Otherwise, you'll have to go the craigslist route. With some luck you can find a bike on there around 50-100 $ that will need minimum service to be good, but you need to know what you are looking for. Ideally, the help of a friend who knows bikes.

If you want to get a rough idea of what is involved in a "full" overhaul, you might be interested in this thread I posted 2 years ago. If you head down to post #15, you can also see what a more "minimal" job might involve on a 100$ lightly used bike.

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/do-it-yourself-forum!/follow-my-25$-cl-bike-resto-project!/

[Poundwise]

I once took a bike mechanics class and they recommended a great book called, "Anybody's bike book". I bet you could find it at the library, and also there seem to be downloadable PDFs. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL4895605M/Anybody's_bike_book
It's a wonderful book that doesn't assume that you know anything about bikes. It has friendly cartoon drawings.

You need a new chain (~$12), and lube for the chain. You may need a new brake cable(<$5) , lube for the brake cable, and maybe a new housing for the brake cable (housing is the metal-lined rubbery stuff that goes around the brake cable and protects it). Although it's possible that the brake cable just came loose and simply needs to be clamped down properly.   These are all inexpensive, and at any rate you'd need chain lube for any bike old or new.    You'd need access to a chain tool to take off and put on a new chain... they aren't so expensive, but if you can borrow one that's even better. Also you need a set of small wrenches that will fit the brake bolts.

The gears are a little more money. I might try giving it a light scrub with a steel wool, wire brush, or similar plus a degreaser till the worst of the rust is cleaned off. Rinse well with water, dry, and then lightly lube with your chain lubricant.

It might be worth your while to take the bike in to a shop and see what they say it needs. I find that the biggest expense in fixing old bikes is the tools.

[meerkat]

I'll try to get some pictures when it's light out in the next couple days (the bike is currently being stored outside which I'm sure isn't helping things).

[GuitarStv]

On a cheap bike like that, I'd start by making the mental note to put no real money at all into repairs.

- Lube up the chain with some bike specific lube.  See if you can pedal around, see if you can change gears.  (I wouldn't spend money on a new chain because often badly worn chains damage the cassette, and then you'll have to replace the cassette (often in the 30$ range) and the chain (10 - 20$ range) to get it working properly.)

- Check the rear brake.  It might not be moving for a variety of reasons . . . is the brake cable attached (worst case scenario, this is 3$ for a new cable)?  Is it rusted and fused into position (try wiggling the calipers back and forth, if they don't move smoothly you can take them off and grease the bosses that they're mounted on then replace)?  Is the brake pad really badly misaligned and jammed into the rear wheel?  Is there a problem with the brake lever itself?

- Check if the wheels are true.  If they're not, adjust them with a spoke wrench of the correct size.

- Check if the tires hold air.  (If not, pull the tube out that seems to be leaking, stick it in a bucket of water to find the hole, and patch it).



The odds are that following the above will give you a bike that will ride OK for effectively no money at all.  Ride it for short distances for a while, and if you end up liking cycling you'll know better what you want in a bike when you buy a quality one.

[Poundwise]

- Lube up the chain with some bike specific lube.  See if you can pedal around, see if you can change gears.  (I wouldn't spend money on a new chain because often badly worn chains damage the cassette, and then you'll have to replace the cassette (often in the 30$ range) and the chain (10 - 20$ range) to get it working properly.)

True, if you can manage to unfreeze the chain so that every link pivots smoothly, it's not worth getting a new chain.

Maybe a few closeup pictures of the rear brake calipers and the brake lever will help us diagnose your brake problem.

[GuitarStv]

- Lube up the chain with some bike specific lube.  See if you can pedal around, see if you can change gears.  (I wouldn't spend money on a new chain because often badly worn chains damage the cassette, and then you'll have to replace the cassette (often in the 30$ range) and the chain (10 - 20$ range) to get it working properly.)

True, if you can manage to unfreeze the chain so that every link pivots smoothly, it's not worth getting a new chain.

Maybe a few closeup pictures of the rear brake calipers and the brake lever will help us diagnose your brake problem.

I've brought some rusted chains back to life with some oil and a little elbow grease.  It depends how bad the chain is, sometimes they look much worse than they are.  Worth a shot at least!

[meerkat]

Okay I finally remembered to take pictures when it was still daylight. The bike is a Schwinn Sidewinder, looks like a new one is going for $192 on Amazon.

Pictures: Overall picture of bike, chain and gear area from each side of the bike.

The chain has completely broken so it will need to be replaced right?

[meerkat]

Breaks pictures. Looks like they'll have to be entirely redone, when when they are connected the break lines are all rusted.

Between that and the chain and the overall rust, is it worth working on? Or should we just find a bike shop in town and get a used one?

[GuitarStv]

Your rear brake is released, that's why it's not working.  You need to slip the noodle back into the noodle holder:



Rusty brake cable is no big deal, I'd try applying a little light oil to get it sliding easily into/out of the cable housing and reconnect the back brake.  (Worst case, brake cables are a cheap disposable item and only cost about 3-4$ to replace.)

[GuitarStv]

I've seen chains in worse condition rust-wise.  Is the chain actually broken from damage, or just disconnected?  Since the chain is loose already, you can soak it in some lubricant overnight and see if you can get it to move freely/easily.  It should be possible to put the chain back together either by using either a quicklink/master link type thing, or by using a chain breaking tool and pins.  (The way to go about it will depend on the manufacturer of the chain.)

quicklink (usually only a couple dollars):


chain tool inserting pins:


If the chain isn't rusted stuck in position, putting the chain back together shouldn't be a costly operation either.  (You probably will need to go to a bike store so you make sure you get the right parts to do it though.)


Surface rust on the bike is unsightly, but shouldn't really be a cause for concern.

[Poundwise]

Thanks for the pix, meerkat!  You know, your bike looks a lot better than I thought it would. 

What GuitarStv said. He posted while I was still typing my reply, but I'll post anyway.

If it were mine, I would replace those brake cables... it's really easy and cheap. Basically a case of removing the old ones, checking the housing for cracks and ragged ends, buying new cables and new housing if needed, then greasing the new cables (though I hear modern brake cables don't need grease), threading them through where the old ones used to go, and lightly attaching to the calipers (looks like you need a hex wrench.)  Then adjust the length to make sure that the brakes work with a comfortable squeeze of the lever, give the hex wrench another couple of turns to make sure the brake is well attached, and finally snip off the excess cable.  There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube of how to change brake cables... look and see if you think you could handle it.

Then I'd give those gears a scrub and lube... they really don't look too bad.

I'd also look at the ends of the chain and see if it is really broken (twisted or cracked), or whether the chain could be reattached to itself.  If it could be salvaged, I'd clean it off and lube it a little, making sure each link moves smoothly.
Whether or not you can reuse the old chain or must get a new one, here's a good video on replacing a chain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWchudX-Tqs
I wouldn't trust that your old chain was the right length (might be missing a link or two) so I'd use his method for finding the optimum length at 3:06 on that video.

Both of those fixes are easy and cheap.

[Poundwise]

Also, if just reassembling the rear brake works, it looks like it still needs some adjustment.  Search YouTube "how to adjust bike brakes" to see if you find a video that makes sense to you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg6s596PPRY