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Restored me yet another vintage Specialized mtb

Started by maximusotter, May 22, 2006, 06:58:49 AM

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maximusotter

My neighbor needed a hood bike and didnt want to lock his dale by the pubs so picked up a 15 y/o Hardrock for $75. It was basement fresh and the drivetrain looked like this:



He took it to the bike shop to get tuned and they quoted him $120, which he thought was outrageous--which its not to bring such a beast back from the dead, but still a lot to throw at an older bike. He asked me very very nicely if I could give him a better quote. For close friends, work is free, but for neighbors, I charge "beer money" to keep it all honest. I figured $40 was fair.

Theyd wanted to mount a new chain and cassette due to the rust as well, so it would have probably reached $200. That would have brought total cost to the price of a cheap new Marin city bike. Silly really.

I used my magic elixer of 1:1 gear oil/thinner and brought both the chain and cogs back from the dead. No chain stretch, both look new save some corrosion on the cogs thats fairly invisible. Took all of ten minutes. Silly bike shop people. Surprisingly, if you look at the rings, youll see this bike probably has under 1K on it. The rims were within 0.5mm of true, the tires still had those mold pips, and the rims had zero pad wear.

Repacked hubs and headset, resurfaced brake pads with sander (bike shop wanted $30 for new), adjusted brakes, replaced sh*t steel post with a aluminum one from my bin, crap saddle with a spare leather on nylon version, lubed, then waxed up the frame. All of three spare hours over the weekend, which dont count when youre having a beer. Dang if it doesnt look like a brand new bike and ride like one. Shifts perfectly, brakes like a champ, and the finish has not a single paint chip.

Shell be a fine city bike, not the fanciest components, but stealth enough to not get stolen.

I do love the zen of bicycle maintenance sometimes. :lol:


Badabing


soopahfly

For the love of all things holy and asthetic!!  Rotate that seat QR so its uniform with the rest of the bike!  and point the lever down.  Less snaggage :D

maximusotter

Quote from: soopahflyFor the love of all things holy and asthetic!!  Rotate that seat QR so its uniform with the rest of the bike!  and point the lever down.  Less snaggage :D

Ive never pointed a lever differently, then again, I dont have a half meter of  either ballsack or baggy britches to snag on stuff either. :lol: