Oh to the joy of buying a Bike.....

[tango_kid]

Well i finaly got hold of the seller of the bike at the sho he works at, i bought a £5 lock and got an apointment to see him later on in the day- Fantastic.

So i got to his house, and knocked on the door, no answer. So i rang him, and after a 10 minute wait he came on his ped with his friend and opened up the garage. The bike is there, he lets me sit on it. As i hold the handles i get the distinct lack of stability, as it turns out the stem/headset was not connected properly as the threads were worn . Well he thought i was picking the bike up by car and so had a replacment headset at his work which i could ick up the next day. But i was going to ride it home so he enlarged the hole and put in a bigger screw.

Ok, so i give the bike a once over and i find that it is a little short, of a back break. Well he couldn't find one but he said that he could get one and i could pick it up from himat work tomorrow if i could manage to ride home using only the front brake, ok i said that's fine.

I then took it out on a test run and thought it was ok, the gears sounded a little unhealthly but i thought it would settle out and be fine, when i got back the seller took the money (i knocked him down to £70 not £80) and then promptly left of his ped.

As i cycled off down the road i changed the gears and had a little fiddle with the computer (i have no idea how to work it at all!!) when the pedals seemed to stop, i rewound the pedals and took them forward again at which time the pedals span round wildly. I broke and pulled up at the side of the road at which point i realized the chain had snapped and i had no ride home

Well, now i have a bike in the garage which i can't use and a wallet which is considerably less well-off. I'm not a hapy bunny.

Cheers for reading,

Mike

 

[OLDSHUNTER]

book's

ask libary for hayne's bike book 4th edition plenty of advice in that for you .good luck

 

[OLDSHUNTER]

you know when you've been tango'd

 

[tango_kid]

I have it but the computer is realy complicated and it came with no manual or anything and so i am really up the junction as it controls the gears and everything. Btw the odometer is over 1400miles so it has had its fair running around.

 

[stoofer]

I'm confused. The computer controls the gears...? 1400 miles isn't that much really though is it? That's about 2-3 months cycling for some...

 

[Garz]

What make/model or any information does the computer say (any stickers)?

Unlucky on the chain, however better you sort the drivetrain system out now than it happens in the middle of a 50 mile ride..

 

[MarkF]

Sorry to here that Tango.

To make you feel better my lad brought home a Mongoose Expert Pro () last week that a "friend" had sold him for £80. It had:-

Hand painted cream frame.
Hand painted blue forks.
Hand painted green bars.
No front brake.
Rear brake with worn pads.
Shot bearings front and rear.
Bald tyres with holes near rims.
Hand painted black wheels, shot.

He'd saved up his paper round money for it

 

[tango_kid]

Shimano flight deck, which i am currently programming. Now alot more happy tho i am confused as to whether my bike has a standard rear derailler or a Rapid rise rear derailler. Does anybody know??

 

[addictfreak]

What make/model of bike is it?

 

[stroanite]

So not to control the gears, but to let you know which you're in - don't actually need it working (unlike the chain).

If there's no tension in the rear derailleur cable does the mechanism sit at the largest cog? if it does it's Raapid Rise, o/w it's normal. This link has more:
http://www.nsmb.com/gear/shimanocamp_11_04.php

 

[Auntie Helen]

I have it but the computer is realy complicated and it came with no manual or anything and so i am really up the junction as it controls the gears and everything. Btw the odometer is over 1400miles so it has had its fair running around.

1400 miles isn't far, I do that in six weeks or less.

Am surprised by the gears not changing without the computer though. Sounds like an example of something being engineered away from sense!

 

[Globalti]

The gears aren't controlled by the computer, they just don't work!

The seller sounds like a complete muppet though, luckily you only paid him £70 for it. Back to what I wrote earlier - he's a typical mobile phone user; incapable of keeping an appointment. Now you've got the job of rebuilding it into a good bike, which will teach you a lot. There's plenty of free advice available on here.

What make is the frame? Are there any tubing brand stickers on the seat tube like Reynolds 531 or similar?

 

[fossyant]

All sounds very fishy - hope you get the parts from the seller.

 

[tango_kid]

Right, well i got the chain and the headset. I fitted the chain and it works....on one gear every time i try to change gear it fails front and back.
I am completely confused. I don't know what i'm doing but i realy want the bike up, fixed and going so i can train for a triathalon in september. I already have a haynes manual which i cant presently find but it doesn't seem to help. I'm thinking of just taking it into a bike shop and seeing how much it would cost.

 

[Globalti]

It will definitely need new gear cables. Fit these then start fiddling with the derailleurs.