Major refurbishment. Is it worth it?

[betty swollocks]

Friend's Mixte framed-bike. Not ridden since the early 1990's. She wants to ride it again and wants to know whether it can be rescued. Well, it can, but is it worth it? I think not. The frame is not 531 and it has no sentimental value. Scrap heap?
Look at those plastic brackets for those ghastly Wonderlights: remember them?

 

[Kies]

Give it away to a free cycle place so people can work on and restore ,but not worth it to your friend. Time for a new bike

 

[Cycleops]

It can of course be rescued but your friend will have to deceide if it is worth spending the money on a full restore. You could probably get it into ridable condition for a little money plus a lot of work, but it might not look too pretty. You will have to figure out which way to go, or not bother at all. It's not a quality bike so a your decision will be driven by your heart rather than your head.

 

[compo]

Having just completed a restoration on a bike only slightly better than your one I will say no, it isn't worth it. Just spend half hour on Ebay and price up the parts you will need, compared to getting a reasonable second hand bike. As someone said to me on another thread, although the restoration is not cost effective it depends if you treat it as a hobby which I supect wouldn't be the case with this job.

 

[biggs682]

a quick wipe down and polish will sort frame out , strip clean re grease headset & bottom bracket . wheels look like they might clean up so all in all well worth rescue

 

[smokeysmoo]

Look at those plastic brackets for those ghastly Wonderlights: remember them?

Yup, I had those on my 10 speed Sun racer when I was doing my morning paper round in the early 80's, and looking back now I can see how they got their name, they really do make me wonder

I seem to recall them coming out as an updated version of the old Ever Ready brick lights.

 

[betty swollocks]

Thanks for the input folks.
I think it's simply not worth the time and effort.

 

[biggs682]

Thanks for the input folks.
I think it's simply not worth the time and effort.

shame that betty as it would do somebody a good turn

 

[betty swollocks]

shame that betty as it would do somebody a good turn

I am riven with guilt, but too many other projects.
Still, it's been languishing in her garden shed for twenty odd years, another few months won't hurt........

 

[gbb]

It could amost certainly be turned into a very useable bike, those old Raleighs last forever, but not worth spending too much on as stated earlier.
Its the kind of bike I like to play with, a good clean, lube and adjust, I suspect there are many miles left in it...it will never look pretty though.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Of course it isn't worth it, but that isn't the point, if done correctly, with replacement components, a nice repaint, a lovely Brooks saddle, etc, I don't see why it wouldn't look nice. Keep it for now I say!

 

[tyred]

I would definitely give it a go. You will almost certainly find that all major components will function perfectly well with a good clean and re-lube (unless they have covered inter-galactic mileage). You're probably just looking at tyres, tubes, brake blocks and cables to make a rideable bike with character.

If you want to upgrade, that is a different matter but a budget set of alloy wheels won't break the bank but the one big change I'd always make on a bike like that is to lower the gearing.

 

[asterix]

Just wash it and give it a bit of oil.

 

[gilespargiter]

Of course it is worth getting going, in fact it probably does go! It won't look pretty but look at those rear sprockets - it has hardly turned a wheel from new. Just needs wiping with an oily rag, tyres and cables. It will do hundreds of miles.

 

[gilespargiter]

That's right, yer grumpy old git man after me own heart. None of this b****y "retro" nonsense - it's the genu-ine article. Don't make em like that anymore. Bet their won't be many of these new fangled breakfast cereal bikes that get to be that old.....