Author Topic: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!  (Read 15581 times)

auxym

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Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« on: August 06, 2014, 07:25:33 PM »
Hi! So I recently picked up a late 80s / early 90s moutain bike off kijiji. I plan on fully restoring it and have it be my backup bike and/or winter commuter. I thought some of you guys might be interested in following along and see how it goes. I won't be explaining anything much in detail but hope to give more of a global idea. I will try to post links here and there to detailed explanations of specific things, as there is a wealth of information online concerning bike repair.

If you are new to bicycles, something like this is probably not the most economical thing to do, and definitely not the easiest. The bike itself was 25$, but I'm planning around 100-150$ of new parts to get it in tip-top shape. Especially if you are in the US, where a 300$ bikesdirect or nashbar bike would likely be a much better value.

So why would I do it? First and foremost, I enjoy it. I have a thing for working on machines, and bikes happen to be much more pleasant machines to work on than, say, cars. At the end, you end up with a bicycle that works like new, that you know like the back of your hand, and that is pretty unique, as not many people ride these vintage bikes around. Plus, you can't find a bike these days with such an awesome neon-orange splash paintjob ;-). Last, I'm Canadian, and bikes have a tendency to be 30-50 % more expensive here, making the economical argument a tad bit more sensible.

Let's start this off with the actual purchase!
I'll refer you to this great writeup by Bakari concerning picking off a decent bike off craigslist/kijiji. Let me emphasize some of the most important points however. First and foremost, make sure the frame fits you. Second, since you're restoring this, it's not too bad if some components are damaged or missing, but do make sure the frame is in good condition. This mostly means no excessive rusting (surface rust is normal on 30 year old bikes) or other damage (cracks, things badly bent). Last, when you're checking out the bike, try to take mental notes of what components will need replacement and tally it up in your head to make sure it makes sense financially to you. Concerning components, the single largest cost is likely the wheelset, so do make sure the wheels are alloy (not steel) and in decent shape.

So this is my purchase!


Norco is one of the most recognized Canadian bicycle brands. This one has Shimano Exage components (brakes, derailleurs), which a quick google tells us were mid-range in Shimano's lineup. The frame is Tange 1000 straight-gauge cromoly tubes. Alloy Araya-branded wheels. All this points to a mid-range bike, which is an alright base for this project. Butted cromoly tubes would have made for a lighter frame and higher-end end components are always nice to have, but I find much rarer to come across. I personnally wouldn't waste my time on a bike with a high-ten frame and low-end components or steel wheels.

Now to the bad parts. It's missing a chain and grips. It's quite rusty, likely to have been left outside in the rain for extended periods. The derailleur hanger (built-in the the dropout, not replaceable like modern bikes) is pretty badly bent (see picture below) and the rear wheel has decent-sized bump in it. I hope to be able to straighten both, though it's not guaranteed.


So on to some preliminary tear down...
First thing I do is generally rip off and throw out all the cables. A new set is cheap and will give much better shifting and braking that old rusty ones.

I then take off all the major external components: Handlebars & stem, brakes, derailleurs, various accessories, saddle & seatpost, etc. As I go, I throw every single part in a dedicated parts box, makes sure I don't lose anything and I know where to find something when I need it. I also jot down notes that could help for reassembly or finding replacement parts. Parts box so far:

Note the cable are still in there, I keep them to measure the length to cut the new ones.

Last thing I did now is taking apart the headset. You can see the bearings, cups and locknuts in the baggie in the box above. I do recommend reading Sheldon's article on the subject. On old bicycles like this, as a rule, I take apart every bearing (headset, bottom bracket, both wheel hubs, maybe pedals). There's an excellent chance they have not seen fresh grease in 30 years. Ball bearings are also pretty cheap, so while I'm there, I generally replace them. I measured these to be 5/32 with my digital caliper. These are in a retainer, but they can easily be replaced by a higher amount of loose balls, which are easier to find and as a bonus usually get rid of the indexed feeling of brinelled headsets (see Sheldon's article).

So this is about how the bike looks right now. While the wheels are off, you can try turning the axles by hand. These ones feel pretty rough turning, without great surprise.


More work to be done next week. I'll likely take the frame to my bike coop to use their tools to pull off the cranks and disassemble the bottom bracket.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2014, 07:34:14 PM »
Pretty quiet here, I'll assume at least a few people are reading :P

As planned, I spent a half hour or so at the coop tonight pulling the cranks off and getting the bottom bracket off the bike. Left hand threads get confusing the crank area. The left pedal threads are left-threaded and right ones are right hand. However, the right side BB cup is usually left-hand threaded while the left one is right-handed. Good stuff.

Pulling a crankset is really straightforward with a crank puller. Here's my frame with only the BB remaining:



My BB fixed cup was kind of a bitch to get off, I had to put the frame on the grass and really put my weight on it. The adjustable cup was a lot easier. The lockring was taken care of using the Park Tool 3-prong BB wrench. The cup itself required a pin wrench, but there wasn't one avalaible. Since the cup was pretty loose, a small screw, tapped with a hammer, got the job done. Some good reading on BBs:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/bottom-bracket-tool-selection
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/adjustable-type-bottom-bracket-service

So, teardown almost completed.  Here's the frame and parts bin!


Next steps will be tearing down the wheel hubs, then getting some parts in a degreaser bath.

Eric

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2014, 11:34:39 PM »
Pretty quiet here, I'll assume at least a few people are reading :P

I dig it.  Thanks for sharing so far and I'm looking forward to the next ones.

Primm

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2014, 11:56:17 PM »
Pretty quiet here, I'll assume at least a few people are reading :P

I dig it.  Thanks for sharing so far and I'm looking forward to the next ones.

I'm watching too! I'm about to do this for my 10yo mountain bike - she has been seriously neglected since I got my road bike but I'm going to do more commuting cycling to the library / supermarket etc. I priced a new bike and then punched myself in the face and decided to restore the old one first.

dragoncar

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2014, 12:15:11 AM »

GuitarStv

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2014, 12:35:29 PM »
I'm watching as well!

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2014, 06:37:14 PM »
Got a bit of work done tonight: I disassembled the wheels & hubs.

Cassette/freewheel removal
Overhauling hubs



I then proceeding to clean up and inspect all the important bearing surfaces: hub cones, BB spindle, headset cones (which are pressed in the frame and on the fork). Both Sheldon and Park have good write-ups concerning inspecting bearing surface inspection. Basically, I get a bright light and have a close look at the parts. I also feel it with a ball point pen. What you're looking for is "pitting": tiny chunks of material apparently missing.

In my case, both the front and rear hub cones are starting to pit, sadly. Not so bad, cheap replacement axle kits can be had from BikeToolsEtc.com for 5$, or most LBS in my area around 10$.

My bottom bracket appears to be in mostly good shape. If it were not the case, the basic Shimano BB-UN26 can be had for 8-15$ from a lot of places.

My headset looks good, no brinelling is apparent. As I mentioned in my first post, simply replacing caged bearings for more ball bearings is usually a passable fix for brinelled headsets, so a replacement should rarely be needed. If it were the case for whatever reason, a Tange Seiki Passage set can be had for 10-15$ from a lot of places.

Now that I've got everything torn down, inspected and measured, my next task will be ordering some parts here and there. While I'm waiting for those to arrive, I'll likely start working on the frame: cleaning off the rust and paint touch ups, to get it ready for the build-up.

GuitarStv

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2014, 12:37:50 PM »
*crosses fingers for purple metallic paint job*

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2014, 08:38:26 AM »
*crosses fingers for purple metallic paint job*

Heck no :P I love the original metallic blue + white/orange splash paint way too much.

Plus a whole new paintjob seems like too much effort and/or costs to be worth it. My plan is to use some blue rustoleum on the drive-side chainstay, which got banged up by the chain a lot and barely has any paint left, and clear nailpolish on small spots here and there to prevent rust.

YK-Phil

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2014, 09:09:39 AM »
I'm following, checking in on the progress regularly :D

usmarine1975

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #10 on: August 15, 2014, 09:30:11 AM »
I started volunteering at the local bike recycle shop.  I have 2 bikes in the basement that need gone over.  My next visit I am going to take one along.  This week I took my Little brother with BBBS and he got his bike fixed.  One of the more experienced volunteers helped him fix it while I helped do other odd's and ends.

I am watching as well.  Interested to see how it turns out.  Oddly enough I have started watching FB for good buys.  I don't need one but I am watching anyway.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #11 on: August 15, 2014, 01:29:22 PM »
Nice to see all the interest :)

Wish I could post updates more often (and ride this one sooner)! However, my long distance relationship keeps me busy on the weekends, and grad school on the weekdays, so I only get a few hours on week nights to work on it.

I made my first part purchases last night: a Jagwire basic cable kit on ebay (from china) and a really nice Specialized saddle I found on kijiji for 15$. The original saddle was in decent shape, but doesn't have standard rails to fit with a new seatpost. The original seatpost was steel, heavy, rusty and a bit short for me (only 6-7in long).

Joggernot

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #12 on: August 15, 2014, 05:06:14 PM »
I'm watching, too.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #13 on: August 21, 2014, 06:19:43 PM »
Small update for this week, I only got around to doing the spraypaint patchup on the chainstay. I'm leaving for a week long camping trip saturday :). I ordered every part I think, so when I get back I'm all ready for the build-up.



Sorry for the poor pictures by the way. My cell phone is rather 'frugal' and I kijiji'd my barely used digital camera after reading one of MMM's posts :P


GuitarStv

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #14 on: August 22, 2014, 05:33:55 AM »
You still have the chance to paint the frame hot pink . . .

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #15 on: April 15, 2015, 07:52:02 AM »
Screw hot pink, 80's splash is awesome :D

Welp, sorry for letting this one go, winter rolled around and I had a degree to finish up (or something, excuses, you know). Now that spring is rolling around, I'm getting back into it.

But first, I thought some of you may appreciate this one, given that it's spring. I recently bought another used mountain bike for my girlfriend to use for commuting. Trek Singletrack 820 from somewhere around '98, in much better shape than the Norco above, paid 100$ for. I thought I'd quickly run down what I did to get it ready for riding!

Thourough clean up of the drive chain
Removed the chain to clean it up with degreaser, also removed the cassette from the rear wheel and the right-side crank to get at the chain rings. Derailleur pulleys and FD cage were quickly wiped up on-bike. Chain was oiled after everything was clean.

Derailleur adjustment
After putting the drive train back together, the rear derailer was shifting great, but the front need a quick tension and hi-limit adjustment

Replace the knobby tires with street tires
Found a pair of Maxxis Overdrive on the local kijiji which seemed lightly used, for 20$. Much better for pavement than the MTB knobbies.

Wheel truing
Both wheels werre slightly out-of-true, which is no big deal. Truing is a bit of a patience-tester at first, but not bad for small jobs like this when you get the hang of it. I don't own a wheel stand, so I just did it on the bike, using the brakes as gauges.

V-Brake adjustment
A few turns of the set screws on either brake arm will center them, and a few turns of the barrel adjuster at the lever will get the gap where I like it.

General inspection and things that didn't need touching
  • No play in the bottom bracket
  • No play or weird feeling in the headset
  • Measure a length of chain to get an idea of wear: looks brand new
  • Visually inspect rings and cogs: a bit of damage here and there, no major wear. If chain doesn't skip, keep it for now.
  • Rear hub and freehub feel good.
  • Front hub turns a bit rough, maybe a project for later this summer.
  • Brake cables feel a bit rough too, especially the longer rear cable. Works ok still, would be worth changing out later.

Also added a rack for schlepping stuff, looking for fenders for rain, too. All in all an enjoyable afternoon job!




And that's my tiny appartment amateur bike shop setup!



GuitarStv

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #16 on: April 15, 2015, 08:57:28 AM »
I'd take the front hub apart and see why it feels rough.  That's only about a 20 - 30 minute job, and anything that makes you roll slower is annoying.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #17 on: April 17, 2015, 08:13:03 AM »
Yeah, will get around to that some day, it's really not that bad though.

I had some fun digging around in my parts bin yesterday! Some stuff I did:

Took the freehub off the wheel to add some oil in that small crack. Can feel it turning smoother after.


Then I but the rear hub back together with brand new ball bearings, cones and fresh grease. I was a bit confused with what the rear hub spacing was supposed to be, 130mm or 135mm, as I measure the dropouts to be 132.5. Turns out frames were made at that spacing to accomodate both! With my new axle kit, and reusing spacers from the old axle, I got the outer locknut distance at 131, which should work fine.


Finally, cleaned up a couple headset and drivetrain parts so they are ready to put back together.


Cassette looks rusty with the flash! Not too bad though, just a bit of surface rust.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #18 on: April 22, 2015, 05:23:49 PM »
I put the headset back together with fresh ball bearings and grease yesterday.  I hit a bit of a snag when trying to adjust it properly: when rotating, it seems loose in some places then tight in others.

Looking really closely, I could see that the top crown seemed to have come out of the headtube a bit and as a result was not parallel to the bottom race anymore. So, I rigged one of those DIY headset presses that google will supply you with (and around 7$ in hardware store parts) to press the thing back in. Feels good as new now!

For what it's worth, adjusting cup/cone bearings is probably the biggest patience tester after truing wheels :P



Next up I need to get around cleaning and putting back together the front hub, then try to get both wheels close to true.

Guardian

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #19 on: April 27, 2015, 10:09:23 PM »
I want more.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #20 on: May 01, 2015, 01:52:29 PM »
Coming along! The rear wheel was more damaged than I was hoping: the rim itself was pretty badly bent; I was hoping it was crooked only because some spokes had gone loose, but I wasn't so lucky. I still got it pretty ok I think, here's the the long story.

Sheldon Brown is where I started with truing wheels. The important ideas are:

1. Find the worst dimple. I don't have one of those fancy wheel stands, I just use the bike itself, and a pen and a rubber band as an indicator. Won't be building precision racing wheels, but works fine for mustachian purposes :P



2. Check the spoke tension on either side. If the spokes are looser on the same side as the dimple, then that dimple is due to a bent rim. If the spokes are looser on opposite side, then tighten them up and the dimple should go away.

3. If the rim is bent you have to use force to get it back in shape as closely as possible. I use this setup, made up of a 2x4 cut in halves. My girlfriend steps in the two wider supported points to hold the wheel in place, while I step and gradually put weight on the short unsupported section of rim to bend it back in place.



4. And then repeat until the wheel is to your liking! Then fine adjustment, once you get no high spots over 4-5 mm or so, is usually done with just spokes.

5. Once that's done, check the roundness, ie. the radial play. Adjust by spinning spokes.

6. And then check the dish, ie. the centering of the rim with respect to the outer hub locknuts. I use the kitchen table, 3 glasses, a cut-up piece of cardboard and a digital caliper. Google will supply you with plenty of other DIY dishing gauge designs.



I had to repeat that whole process 3 times to get the dish, trueness and roundness within about 1mm. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the rim bends entirely out, meaning the spoke tension is still somewhat uneven. The wheel might go back out of true quickly enough. I'll try riding it like this for now and see, later I might either unlace the rim to get more freedom in bending it back in shape, or check craigslist/kijiji, decent 26" wheels often pop up for 20$ or so.

Next up, the front wheel should be less of an ordeal, it doesn't seem to have any major bends.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2015, 06:49:03 AM by auxym »

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #21 on: May 05, 2015, 08:25:41 AM »
Front wheel was in surprisingly good shape! The hub rebuild with new cones and ball bearings went smoothly, I even got the adjustment down on my third try. Only a quick, minor truing job was needed after that.

In fact, the longest part I think was cleaning it, especially the rim braking surface. Scotch-brite pads and some simple green does a fine job I think, with some elbow-grease of course. For the bearing cups I just wipe up the old grease with paper towels and q-tips, with maybe a final clean with SG.

Next up, I think I'll put the bottom bracket back in.


auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #22 on: May 08, 2015, 03:27:24 PM »
Quick update: I got the bottom bracket, crankset, stem and bars back on.

However, I hit a bit of a snag: the rear derailer is in worst shape than I thought (surprise). So I'm left with a couple options:

1) Get a new rear derailer (30$ for an acera part), and either the hanger alignment done by a shop (20$? I'll have to make some calls) or get the park hanger alignment tool (90$).

2) Go single speed. I'm figuring roughly 50$ in parts (spacers, a cog, shorter chainring bolts). The city I currently live in is pretty flat, so that would work ok, and the horizontal dropouts are a plus.

I'll think about that over the weekend I guess.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #23 on: May 14, 2015, 06:44:47 AM »
Single speed it is! The horizontal dropouts were too good an occasion to pass up. For those not in the know, the dropouts are those slots in the frame that hold the rear wheel axle. Horizontal dropouts allow tensioning the chain without any device by simply moving the rear wheel. However, they are quite rare to find on mountain bikes, even very old ones, having been replaced by their vertical counterparts.

So, right I rigged the bike macgyver-SS style, and plan to use it like this for a test ride to the shop where I can pick up some parts for a better setup. Basically, I removed (well, didn't install) the derailleurs and shifters. I removed all chainrings upfront except the big one (48T) which I placed in the middle position on the cranks to get decent chainline on the 17T rear cog. I had to file 2 mm off the 5 female chainring bolts to do this.

I used a spare v-brake lever I had lying around for the front brake. I'll have to get another one at the shop for the rear. Also missing a seat post, so I'll stand up for the quick ride :P I'll pick up some spacers and a cog (running some quick gear calculations I'm thinking 19T) so I can do away with the cassette on the rear.



For those interested in single speed:

As always Sheldon is a good read
   
Build a "Single Speed" from the Reject Pile (or real cheap anyway)
, written by Keith Bontrager, founder of Trek
Plenty more links in this MTBR FAQ

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #24 on: May 15, 2015, 08:29:45 AM »
Test ride report!

  • First time I braked I noticed the headset was a bit loose, I could easily feel it rattling/clunking when applying front brakes. Quick fix.
  • Damn, gotta make that rear QR skewer tight. I think I lost my rear wheel three times on the way to the shop. Return trip was fine.
  • Shop didn't have much in stock, neither the SS spacer kit or the seatpost which turned out to be an odd size, 26.2. Ordered, should be in next week.
  • Front brake worked, but not great. Turns out, as I learned, that cantilever brakes are made to work with road-type brake levers, which have a leverage of 4, as opposed to MTB/V-brake levers which have a ratio of 3.5. When I bought the bike it came with V-Brake levers, which someone must have installed later as v-brakes came around 1996, and this bike is older than that. Thankfully, I have an old set of v-brakes and levers that I pulled from a mountain bike when I converted to it discs, so I'll be installing that. The old cantilevers were not great quality anyways, no adjustment screw for centering, though I did like the vintage look of them.
  • And lastly, I'm getting an odd metallic clunking sound from the rear wheel which I'm still trying to diagnose.

Appart from that, she's rolling! I rode a 10km return trip to the shop, standing all the way, good leg burner!

Not sure if I've mentioned bikeforums.net here yet, but the people over there (Mechanics, and Classic&Vintage subforums) are truly great and have turned out to be a lot of help for this project which is a bit more of a head-scratcher frankenbike than I originally thought! Good learning experience for sure.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2015, 08:33:01 AM by auxym »

Greystache

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #25 on: May 19, 2015, 07:23:21 PM »
I wish I would have found this a month ago.  I just finished a similar project. I bought a 30 year old Univega Alpina for $40.  It was in pretty good condition but all the rubber and most of the bearings needed to be replaced.  I am new to bike maintenance so I spent a lot of time looking up information on line and consulting with my more experienced neighbor.  It was a fun project but every time I touched the bike, I needed a new specialty tool.  It was worth it, I now have a good bike for riding around town and along the beach.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #26 on: May 20, 2015, 09:27:20 AM »
For what it's worth, Nashbar's Essential Tool Set is currently on sale for 40$. Looks very complete, as complete or more than my set and for much cheaper (lucky US dwellers ;)). Should cover 95% of any amateur mechanic's needs.

I have no affiliation to Nashbar by the way, I just think that kit is a great deal, though shipping and duties to canada doubles that.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #27 on: May 22, 2015, 11:23:53 AM »
Quick update! I took the rear hub apart to investigate the clanking noise, and found out I had bent my new axle. I think it was caused by me setting the chain tension too high. Lesson learned I guess, a new axle was 5$ at my friendly neighborhood bike shop.

Putting it all back together, I re-torqued the freehub body retaining screw as well as the cassette lockring. I think the noise was caused by either (or both) of these being insufficiently torqued, no more noise now!

Also got the v-brakes set up (with brand new pads), feels like they could stop an elephant. I got my seatpost and single-speed spacer kit from the shop, haven't installed the spacer kit yet, but I do have a saddle, which is a nice improvement. I gave the kijiji-bought Specialized saddle to my girlfriend in the end and used another one I had.




auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #28 on: June 03, 2015, 12:13:37 PM »
So I guess this is my final post! A bit of work since last post:
  • Changed the chainring to the middle 38T. It's not very fast, but makes hauling groceries up even a small incline much more fun
  • Set up the single speed spacer kit with a 16T cog. Works great, much better than the cassette since (with regards to chainline and the chain jumping cogs)
  • Installed the old rear rack that came with it, works fine for grocery hauling, though I'm considering a front basket some day (for beer hauling!). Also, I saw that orange bottle cage at my bike shop and couldn't resist :)
  • Just missing some fenders now. I gave the clip-on set that came with the bike to my girlfriend since her suss fork doesn't have eyelets.

I've ridden it about 100 km or so in the past week and it's a fun bike for sure, happy with the result, though I did probably go a bit over budget (and time) on it. I'm estimating around 150$ in it, which to me is worth it to make the old junker into a fun bike that I enjoy to run errands on!

I hope a few mustachians learned about bike maintenance though this :)




jda1984

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #29 on: June 09, 2015, 12:15:55 PM »
Nice writeup.  Thanks for sharing.  I learned a few things along the way.

TimmyTightWad

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #30 on: June 12, 2015, 06:59:45 AM »
Good write up, any recommendations for newbies learning how to do this?

I have a cannondale hooligan I was thinking about taking in for a tune up....maybe I can do the repairs myself.

auxym

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #31 on: June 15, 2015, 07:18:38 AM »
Good write up, any recommendations for newbies learning how to do this?

I have a cannondale hooligan I was thinking about taking in for a tune up....maybe I can do the repairs myself.

There's a lot of ressources around the internet. Park Tool's site and Sheldon Brown's site are probably the two biggest ones, but a google search of what you want to do ("adjust rear derailleur", "headset overhaul", etc) will turn up plenty of youtube videos and whatnot.

So, figure out specifically what you want to do (take it in small steps at first), look it up on the 'net, and dive in! It's how I learned at least. Do mind that with anything diy, you're always accepting a bit of risk -- on this bike I bent two brand new axles (5-10 $ a pop so not too bad) because I fudged my single speed setup at first.

If you're stuck as you go, bikeforums (C&V, mechanics) are usually helpful as are some subreddits (/r/bicycling, /r/bikewrench). Good luck!

realityinabox

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #32 on: June 16, 2015, 08:20:22 AM »
Good write up, any recommendations for newbies learning how to do this?

I have a cannondale hooligan I was thinking about taking in for a tune up....maybe I can do the repairs myself.

Check out if there is a bike co-op in your city.  There is a co-op workshop here in Grand Rapids, MI (www.thespokefolks.org) that lets you rent a stand and tools for $5, and the employees there are super helpful.  There might be something similar in your city.

Mr. LC

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #33 on: June 17, 2015, 04:50:59 PM »
What a great write-up. Thanks for sharing your bike restoration experiences. I look forward to reading more...

Guardian

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Re: Follow my 25$ CL bike resto project!
« Reply #34 on: July 02, 2015, 07:22:57 AM »
Great job on the bike - I am loving the final picture!

Inspiring read as well, reminding me I can learn more than just the basics I know concerning tuning/repairing my bicycles.

Keep it up! :)

 

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