Hi, I am not sure where to post this, im sorry if It shouldnt be here. I am severely depressed and desperate to get some.. freedom back.
I can remove this post if not allowed.
I used to ride, had a nice road bike I could use regularly, that a friends father always maintained for me. I never learned about any of it. I know there are tubes in the tires likely ruined. This is my bike that has been sitting in a partially exposed shed for five years.
It is a bit rusty, and looks in need of a lot of help. Im asking my huaband if we can repair it to working order for my gift on mothers day, but as I look at it more and more, I just see dollar signs going up and up.
But I know nothing.
do any of you folks out there, know if it might be difficult to restore? Ideas for resources? Im about to look up bike repair shops in my area, but Im afraid this repair might cost more than is reasonable as a mothers day thing.
I look at this and just, metaphor written all over it. This bike is to my life.
anyhow, would it be expenisive? is a bike tune up expensive? Im terrified for some reason. please help.
That's a sweet bike, I'd have a lot of fun getting it back in working order. Park Tool (bike tool manufacturer) have amazing video guides on how to do nearly every bicycle repair yourself.
What you should definitely do first is put in new tubes, for which you'll need nothing more than tyre levers (5-10 bucks online) and the tubes. You'll need to know your wheel's diameter and valve type (Presta or Schrader) before ordering them, but it's easy enough to do yourself.
How to change tubes and tyres
You're also gonna want to replace that rusty chain(20 bucks), for which you'll need a chain tool (10-50 bucks, avoid the super cheap ones because they'll just frustrate you and might damage the chain links) to shorten your new chain to the same number of links as your old one, some master links to make future chain removal easier, and master link pliers. When ordering the chain and master links make sure you get the correct ones corresponding to the number of gears on your rear cassette (if it has 10 gears the chain and master links will say "10 speed"). How to Size a Chain
Order a basic cheap bike cleaning set with some scrapers and brushes to clean the cassette and front chainring, some chain lube/oil to lubricate the chain, and you should be good.
The derailleur may also need to be set up again so it shifts properly, which can be a bit of a learning curve, but other than some hex wrenches and replacement shifter cables you shouldn't need any specialized tools for that. Rear Derailleur Adjustment
If you cannot get the derailleur set up/indexed correctly the little piece of metal it's attached to the frame with (the derailleur hanger) may be bent. In that case you can either replace it (10-30 bucks) or get a derailleur hanger alignment gauge (around 50-100 bucks for a good one) to bend it back into shape. Derailleur Hanger Alignment
This should get your bike running again for under 200 bucks. Maybe throw in some silicone oil to lubricate the front suspension.
Seth from the mountain bike centric YouTube channel Berm Peak also has a ton of pretty good and fun videos on doing your own repairs and general maintenance. Here's a great overview on getting your shifting diagnosed. https://youtu.be/UzXPK-Zednc
Aliexpress has lots of great deals on cycling products, but knowing which ones are decent and which ones to avoid can be a little overwhelming at first.
You might also want to get some wrenches and a cassette tool for your type of cassette, so you can remove that for better cleaning. Goes a lot easier removed from the bike. Get some general assembly grease (5-10 bucks) while you're at it, that never hurts.
Oh and if the brakes don't work well, replacing the brake pads should be around 10, but the ones on your bike might still be good. You should have some isopropyl alcohol on hand to clean your brake rotors from any oil or lubricants that may have contaminated them. Brakes are important.
A repair stand will be worth its weight in gold for all this, but you can get creative and find some other way to mount your bike for maintenance. I used to use a weightlifting barbell rack for the longest time until I got a decent stand for ~250.
If you have any more questions feel free to ask me, I'm also kind of a beginner but I never had to bring my bike to a shop and have done all my own repairs these past 6 years thanks to these two YouTube channels.
I give it about 90% chance that you could revive the existing chain by just rubbing some oil onto it and pedaling it a little bit. Maybe it won't be perfect, but it will be good enough. It will work. Then you save money on the new chain and tools.
Probably unnecessary again. Some regular household brushes should be able to handle this just fine, no need to spend extra money. Hit that shit with an old toothbrush if necessary. Probably not even super-necessary to clean it in the first place.
Very unlikely that the pads need to be replaced. They don't get worn out from sitting in storage.
Possibly the mechanism might have gotten sticky or jammed up -- in that case, pulling the old pads and putting them right back in should help. And, otherwise, just cleaning things and knocking things loose, oiling a little where necessary (don't get oil on the pads and rotors, though).
Yeah ... totally unnecessary for casual bike repairs. Just flip the bike upside down to work on it if necessary. A lot of these repairs can be done without even doing that.
Honestly, I've ridden bikes in way worse shape than this one looks to be in. Like, 10 years sitting outside kind of stuff.
If I were fixing this up, I'd pump up the tires, replace the tubes if they don't hold air, maybe put a bit of oil on the chain and gears ... and then just jump on and ride. I'm betting most of it will just already work.
I think this comes down to our ideas of what constitutes a working bike being different. I mean sure it would most likely move if you just reinflated the existing tubes and pedaled hard enough. It would likely make all sorts of grinding noises that you could choose to ignore, but all that rust would for sure wear out your front chainring and cassette fast, at which point the chain will begin to slip constantly. That's going to be a more elaborate and costly repair in a few months, with a bike that rides like shit until then.
And sure, you can skip the 10 dollar cleaning kit and try cleaning your drive train with a tooth brush and citric acid or what have you, but having a set of stiff long bristled brushes and plastic scrapers that fit between the individual cogs of the cassette just makes the whole process a whole lot easier. You're gonna want to keep on top of cleaning your drivetrain, so for most people who don't already own a large assortment of brushes they also don't mind getting dirty this is 10 bucks well spent.
oh my goodness thank you. I love all the links, wholy crap! Thank you!!
you def dont sound like a begininer aye, very resourceful!