If you left your bike behind... I can ship it to you.

I started with this mess.  Well it is in better shape than most other classic bikes I saw coming into the bike shop I once work for.  Usually there is so much work to do on an old bike that the labor bill exceeds the cost of a new bike.  However, this bike is a special case….  I am not repairing a bike here...  I am restoring the outdoor spirit of a family member.  Its a higher cause.  The owner who left this bike, moved miles away, and didn't pack her most important exploration tool…  her bicycle.

My plan was to restore it back to usable shape and then ship it out to her.  As I wrote this blog...  UPS was moving the bike across the country.

I got the bike in the shop and made a list of repairs:

• Well the rear tire is flat.
• You can see the chain-ring guard is covered in surface rust.
• The bearings need to be cleaned, regressed and tightened.
• The front handle bars needed to be straightened and cleared of surface rust.
• The seat will be changed.
• And the whole thing will be shipped out to Arizona.

So I started by changing the tire.  A Sunlite tube with schrader valve, size 27 X 1-1/4

  

I use electrical tape or a "wheel band" to cover the spokes.  Then I fill just a little air into the tube.

  

Then I put the tube in the tire, and then line up the stem.  After that, I use my thumbs to fit the tire on the rim.

 

Next was the chain-ring guard.  Oooo.  That is a rusty thang.

I used a wire wheel and wire brush to take the surface rust off.  Then I re-pained it.

Next up, the bearings need to be cleaned, regressed and tightened.  I didn't have a cone wrench (thin) so I made one.

The front handlebars needed to be straightened and cleared of surface rust.

The seat got changed.  Look at that difference...  Right side is the old seat (ouch).

Next I used a Pedal wrench to remove the pedals...  Then I boxed up the bike to ship out.

Well that is it for now...  I will add a photo of her riding the bike when I get one.  Got any questions?  Email me at Ron.Grosinger@gmail.com