I’ve been biking for most of the summer for the first time in years. (Check me out with my bike in my last post.) I got a couple old bikes last year when my Mom was moving. One was a big Mens Huffy Super Star 10 Speed Road Bike, the other a Rose Gold (Pink) Womens Raleigh 10 Speed Road Bike. The Huffy was way too big for me so I went for the Raleigh. It still had a really nice paint job and just needed a few repairs. The tires definitely needed replaced and the chain kept slipping off and getting jammed. On top of that, the brakes made an awful noise and barely stopped and it weighed like a million pounds. Ok…maybe closer to 28 pounds.
The project begins. Old 10 speed to single speed budget conversion. I didn’t want to sink a bunch of cash into an old pink road bike. So, started with the basics. New tires and tubes and adjusted the brakes a little. The wheels were really rusty so I had to clean them up with some soda and aluminum foil. The back tire was wobbling so bad it was rubbing the frame so I got me a spoke tool and straightened that out a bit.
Now it was time to fix this gear situation. I’m not riding long distance or hills so I decided to make it a simple single speed. I just took off the detailers and shifters and removed the smaller front chainring. Then I had to cut the change down, reconnect it and tighten it up. This worked much better. No slipping and nice and quiet.
I did splurge and get a new set of pedals, some new brake pads and a new brake lever and cable for front brake. The final touch was to turn the handlebars upside down for a much more comfortable and fun ride.
I ended up taking off around 4 pounds off the bike.
It feels sooooo much better. Thanks to Montgomery Cyclery in Loveland, OH for having the parts I needed and a great selection.
It has been a fun ride for the summer. I’m starting to go farther and want to start challenging myself to a few hills. The weather is changing so I will have to start bundling to keep warm till next summer. It was definitely a good experience and I learned a lot about bicycle repair.
Mark Bray
Cosmic Archeologist