Worth repairing?

[straas]

I bought my wife a 2nd hand bike years ago, it's been in the shed for most of those years.

She's recently expressed an interest in using it again so I thought I'd have a look at it.

It has friction grip shifters, neither work properly.
The bottom bracket seems knackered.
The tyres need replacing.

It wasn't an expensive bike when brand new, do you think it's worth doing the maintenance on or would a new (2nd hand) bike be more realistic?

She's unlikely to use the bike much or for long based on past experience, but that could be because this one isn't great to ride?

 

[DCLane]

Being honest, no, it's not worth repairing. They were cheap and heavy when new. You're probably looking at £80-100 for the repair parts / cables / etc. if you do it yourself.

You would be better spending the money on something better, which would be lighter and more reliable.

 

[ColinJ]

I would give it to your local bike recycling charity (if they wanted it ) and shop around for a replacement!

 

[Big John]

I respect DCLane's comments but that's the sort of bike I work on at the local bike charity where I'm a volunteer. Agreed, it's never going to be worth much even when fixed up but assuming the chain and block are ok you'd need 4x cables, possibly a bottom bracket, some generic brake blocks and two tyres. If we're not talking top of the range parts then you might be looking at the following :

4 X galvanised cables from Wilko's for approx £8
1 x sealed bottom bracket approx £12 as per our selling price at work
2 x new tyres at approx £24 based on our selling price at work
4 X brake blocks approx £6

That's very roughly £50 if you do the jobs yourself. You may want other bits and pieces such as GT85, cable end caps, bits of outer cable maybe and some grease. Shop around as needed but shouldn't be more than another £10. Assuming you haven't got to buy any tools and you have the time to do the work then £60 and you have a usable bike.

I did one up very similar for my daughter. Glad I didn't fork out on stainless steel cables or other decent quality parts as she used it only a couple of times. However, at our charity we sell refurbished bikes and £60 would get you a decent, working bike with a warranty to boot so maybe a second hand one would save you a bit of work and the trouble of sourcing the parts. What would I do? I'd fix it up simply because I enjoy fixing bikes and it saves throwing a bike away 👍

 

[All uphill]

Along with many people here I often cycle 30+miles for pleasure.

I fixed one of these bikes for a neighbour and, on my test ride, made 1 mile before giving up. It was so heavy, uncomfortable and rough it would put anyone off cycling.

I'd look for a 1990s Raleigh or similar.

 

[Punkawallah]

Or, take it into your local bike charity, and buy a reconditioned one?

 

[Arrowfoot]

Agree with @DCLane. The problem with heavy bikes with poor parts is that the ride is not enjoyable and the intended rider just gives up. Don't waste your money and time on it. Get a second hand bike.

 

[derrick]

I bought my wife a 2nd hand bike years ago, it's been in the shed for most of those years.

She's recently expressed an interest in using it again so I thought I'd have a look at it.

It has friction grip shifters, neither work properly.
The bottom bracket seems knackered.
The tyres need replacing.

It wasn't an expensive bike when brand new, do you think it's worth doing the maintenance on or would a new (2nd hand) bike be more realistic?

She's unlikely to use the bike much or for long based on past experience, but that could be because this one isn't great to ride? View attachment 615845

View attachment 615846

View attachment 615847

View attachment 615848

Just out of interest what do you ride?

 

[DCLane]

@Big John - I'll happily donate a bike like this to a bike recycling charity, or get it working and move it on myself.

But there are better ways of enthusing a spouse to ride. The 1990's Raleigh mentioned upthread would ride better and have better components, probably for the same outlay. Mine was just £20 and hardly used, a ladies' one would be slightly cheaper.

 

[Reynard]

+1 for a mid to late 90s Raleigh - something like a Pioneer or the slightly later Max would do quite nicely. And then put some slick commuter tyres on it.

Just watch out, because the lower spec Raleighs of that era can have components made of cheese. The twist shifters are particularly nasty, as are the plastic brake levers. I replaced those on mine with combo brake & trigger shifter pods.

 

[davidphilips]

Chances are if you do fix it up you will still end up taking it into your local bike charity as it will never be great, perhaps best just to give it in as it is?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I tend to look on bikes like this as a "fix it up without spending any real money on it" challenge. It's typical of the low end market, but one step up from a true BSO. On the plus side, it's a rigid frame so will be a bit lighter and less hard work to pedal than some suspension monstrosity.
Sticky brake and gear change cables and wobbly maladjusted BB's are par for the course on these sort of shed finds. Generally the cables can be freed off with some spray lube and worked repeatedly to get them moving smoothly, and most wobbly or dry and stiff BB's are saveable if you have some ball bearings and a pot of grease to hand.

 

[Brooks]

I'm a firm believer in fixing it up and seeing how that works out. I used to volunteer at a bike charity and they would often give a generous allowance of a donor bike for a fixed up bike. It's worth a look in my book.

 

[Chris S]

Or, take it into your local bike charity, and buy a reconditioned one?

Or take it to your local bike charity and then buy it back when they've sorted it out

 

[bonzobanana]

Needs work for sure but apart from bottom bracket bolts there is nothing missing. The chain might need replacing if cleaning it with petrol and then leaving it in engine oil doesn't sort it. It's probably a simple cup and cone type bottom bracket needing fresh grease and adjustment.

I used to commute on a male equivalent of this bike with a flat top tube but much of the componentry was similar quality.

I don't get why bikes are automatically terrible if they have a few kgs extra compared to another model. Some of us are 10s of kilos extra compared to other people.

I would slowly work through the bike a bit at a time getting each part back into a working state. You can get bike toolkits on ebay and other sites for about £25 that would be the largest expense if you haven't got those tools already.