restore or scavenge...?

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 20:28:22 -0400, "C.J.Patten"
wrote:

I'm wondering, if you had a scrap-heap of bikes to pick through, what parts
would you pull out?

I salvaged a Kalloy stem from a 12-speed. The freewheel is only a 6 speed -
Shimano SIS downtube shifters - so I figured I'd hold out for a 7.

Would *you* keep a 6?

Yes, provided it's in good shape.

I found a folding bike in rough shape; nothing bent or missing but
everything rusty. Here are some pics of it and of the local bike guy's
operation:

http://ca.geocities.com/af895/bikes/

The folder was "made in Poland" for Canadian Tire - our equivalent of
Pro-Hardware or ACE if that helps. Also: it has a 3-speed, Shimano
internally geared hub.

Is it worth keeping the hub or is it junk?

If I had any use for a folding bike, and if it wasn't incredibly
heavy, I'd clean it up and keep the whole bike. I personally prefer
the Sturmey-Archer 3-speed gearhubs (now SRAM), but the Shimano hubs
haven't given me any problems. In this case, though, I don't think
I'd part out the bike just to have a spare 3-speed hub unless the
bike's frame was structurally unsound.

Same question for the bike - worth fixing or should I just donate it and
hope Mr.Fixit can give it to someone?

Your call; how useful is the bike likely to be for you, do you have
space for it, and do you have the spare time needed to work on it?
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Gotcha. Nice bike in any case.

Funny thing is: they both seem to be based on the same frame (the pink
folding pedal-only bike and the motorized "Aquilotto")... take a look:

http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/144/2588/
http://www.yellowjersey.org/aq.html

Thanks for the link.
Chris



"A Muzi" wrote in message
...
C.J.Patten wrote:
-snip-
I found a folding bike in rough shape; nothing bent or missing but
everything rusty. Here are some pics of it and of the local bike guy's
operation:
http://ca.geocities.com/af895/bikes/
The folder was "made in Poland" for Canadian Tire - our equivalent of
Pro-Hardware or ACE if that helps. Also: it has a 3-speed, Shimano
internally geared hub.
Is it worth keeping the hub or is it junk?
Same question for the bike - worth fixing or should I just donate it and
hope Mr.Fixit can give it to someone?

"A Muzi" wrote in message
...
Made by Tyler.
Not bad and you might like riding it. Very similar to my own Bianchi
Aquiletta.

C.J.Patten wrote:
Googled that one...
http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/144/2588/
Damn.
That's a NICE bike!

Not quite.
Aquilett_a_ is a folding _bicycle_:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/aq.html

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Peter Cole writes:

I find old bikes just not that great. I've had a couple of OK-quality
bikes from the 80's, including a 12-speed Fuji Supreme. The wheels
aren't good enough on a lot of these old bikes for serious mileage. I
prefer index shifting, sealed bottom brackets and better brakes
(especially than the single side pulls). The only thing I kept from the
Fuji (now a fixed gear) was the frame, front derailer and crank (moved
to another beater).

Fuji Supreme isn't really that great a bike. In its day it was a
mid-level bike, which means today it would be considered almost
department store quality. Fuji bikes are very heavy and the frames
just aren't any fun to ride. Fuji's attitude back then was to be the
"Schwinn" of japan which means sacrifice ride quality for durability.

It takes careful selection to get a good 1970's or 1980's bike that is
enjoyable to ride today. Most important consideration is weight : if
you have $200 - $400 to spend, don't bother with a bike weighing more
than 24 lbs. That means a 531 or columbus SL/SLX throughout or almost
throughout frameset.

You need to add modern brake pads and tires. After doing that, your
bike will be indistinguishable from a modern bike (until you shift the
gears, that is.)

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

Donald Gillies wrote:


Fuji Supreme isn't really that great a bike. In its day it was a
mid-level bike, which means today it would be considered almost
department store quality. Fuji bikes are very heavy and the frames
just aren't any fun to ride. Fuji's attitude back then was to be the
"Schwinn" of japan which means sacrifice ride quality for durability.

It takes careful selection to get a good 1970's or 1980's bike that is
enjoyable to ride today. Most important consideration is weight : if
you have $200 - $400 to spend, don't bother with a bike weighing more
than 24 lbs. That means a 531 or columbus SL/SLX throughout or almost
throughout frameset.

You need to add modern brake pads and tires. After doing that, your
bike will be indistinguishable from a modern bike (until you shift the
gears, that is.)

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA


It's all relative. Mine was pretty decent considering what I paid for
it ($100 including new tires and brake pads). The best thing about it
is that it allowed me to own a road bike and learn that I liked them
better than the mushy feeling mountain bike I had at the time. I'll
probably keep it as a beater until I upgrade and make my newer bike the
beater.

Donald Gillies wrote:

It takes careful selection to get a good 1970's or 1980's bike that is
enjoyable to ride today. Most important consideration is weight : if
you have $200 - $400 to spend, don't bother with a bike weighing more
than 24 lbs. That means a 531 or columbus SL/SLX throughout or almost
throughout frameset.


Maybe I am just lucky, or my scale is off. I rebuilt a mid 80's Fuji
Sagres for my wife, and it ended up weighing right at 24 pounds without
any attention to weight on my part. The frame itself seems to be some
sort of butted chrome-moly or equivalent thereof. The upgrades I did
were to change the gearing, refurbish the braking, add indexing, and
put on new tires. Nothing that would shave any appreciable weight.

If the bike was a bit larger, I don't think I would have let my wife
have it - I would have kept it for myself and put on some wider
handlebars.

Later,
Mark Muller

As to the weight issue, the old bike held up as I managed to lose 25-30
pounds. As others have said, often the easiest way to reduce weight is
to lower the weight of the rider. =]