bicycle problems

[chuck123wapati]

This week was free dump week so as i have tons of junk i spent many trips to the dumps this week. On one trip to the steel pile someone threw out about 6 perfectly good bikes. this old guy was the only one that wasn't ran over so i had to sneek it home lol. Everything in perfect shape except the tires and the wiring on the lights and of course the seat is missing. The pedals show no wear whatsoever. What really sucks is that i'll bet a well over a hundred good bikes  went to the dumps this week for no other reason except you can buy a new bike cheaper than the darn tires to replace the ones on your old bike. Really i went to walmart and a set of tires and tubes are only 9 dollars cheaper than a brand new Chinese junk pile. Truely what is wrong with the world when big business can set the price on the little things to repair good functioning products so high you cant help but buy a whole new product, thiers, and throw good stuff in the dumps. sorry for the rant i hate what our world has become in this respect. Got on ebay and the rack sells for about 45 bucks, the light set is an old Schwinn set again going for about 40 bucks. How cool is that internal 3 speed wheel.

[Frodo]

Go back to the dump and grab a seat off of another bike.

very cool find in that 3 speed

I love junk yards.  My play ground for parts. 

 

 

[chuck123wapati]

7 minutes ago, Frodo said:

Go back to the dump and grab a seat off of another bike.

very cool find in that 3 speed

I love junk yards.  My play ground for parts. 

 

 

I've been looking but they smash every thing asap there is a no scrounging rule here. I literally had to sneak this out in the back of my burb. Sucks because so much good stuff gets thrown away that could be used by less fortunate folks. The bikes are just a small example of needless waste in our country.

[fredk]

59 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

. . . The bikes are just a small example of needless waste in our country.

Not just in the US, here as well. As soon as anything goes past the fence at the dump no one is allowed to recover it for any purpose

Nice find on the bike,. Although I hate those hub gears.  Sturmy-Archer? On my bike it always went out of synch too quickly

[chuck123wapati]

1 hour ago, fredk said:

Not just in the US, here as well. As soon as anything goes past the fence at the dump no one is allowed to recover it for any purpose

Nice find on the bike,. Although I hate those hub gears.  Sturmy-Archer? On my bike it always went out of synch too quickly

Its my first look at those internal hub setups this one is a Shimanno and from what i read isn't as good as the sturmy but with the very slight pedal wear i think they are near new and I don't ride like i used to lol. For the few bucks in oil, grease and sweat i figure it is worth it.  AND since i wrote this along comes a facebook find in our upcycle page. A Wheeler 16 speed bike for free, i never heard of the company but it is Tiawan made and is an upscale road bike Shimanno sti 600 series derailuer and brake shift handles, european style wheels and tubes. weighs about a pound lol. It appears to be in good order also the tires are flat but i need to get the adapter for the valve stem and figure out the brake shift sytem

[Sheilajeanne]

I hear you, Chuck!

Locally, some of the people who work at the dump will occasionally rescue things that are too good to toss. I once complained about a perfectly good set of dishes that was tossed, when there was a local family that had just been burned out of their home and needed household items like that. The employee (a woman) immediately rescued them, and didn't mind when I took a small teapot from the set and a sterling silver teaspoon!

Still use the teapot now and then.

I have been know to shop at the 'curbside boutique'. My two best finds were a lawnmower that was missing its deck, and a dishwasher. The dishwasher had a hole rusted through a panel, but otherwise was in perfect working order. A local appliance shop fixed it for $85. As we were picking it up, the shop owner said, "You DO realize this is a real Cadillac of a machine?" Yup, I knew that because my parents had the EXACT same machine, and it ran for many years without needing any repairs.

We used it for many years until we moved to a house that had a built in machine.

The lawnmower was equiped with a new deck, and just kept going and going and going. Finally the carbeurator started to leak gas, and I gave it to a local guy who fixes small engines, and bought a mower he'd reconditioned.

When I next visited his shop, he'd fixed it up and had it for sale! The one thing I loved about that mower was it was SO easy to start! Even if it had been sitting all winter, all you had to do was prime it, and pull the cord 2 or 3 times, and away you'd go!

[Klara]

In France there's an organisation called Emmaüs (and smaller ones that operate aöong the same principles) where people can leave stuff that is still useable and the organisation fixes it up (or not, it varies) and sells it for little money. Amongst lots of other things (double-glazed window, furniture) I got a bike there (actually 2, but I haven't gotten around to fixing up the second) and can say that over here new tires and tubes cost less than a new cheapo bike. And the old ones run much better!

[chuck123wapati]

lol never bought a lawnmower in my life, there is always one to be given away if you can get it running, usually just a carburetor clean. i got an almost brand new one because the people thought the engine was seized, someone put to much oil in it and it got into the cylinder, i pulled the sparkplug out then pulled the rope and oil went ten feet, cleaned and installed the plug and she ran great for years. Another one of my favorite appliances, sunbeam mixers. About 15 years ago my wife needed a new mixer as the new ones only last a year or two, so i got on ebay and bought an old mixmaster model 10 put on a new cord , new grease new brushes painted it and its still going strong at about 80+years old, i also have bought many of the attachments and dont have 75 bucks into it. I guess i owe it to my folks living during the depression years and my dad a mechanic taught me from day one how to fix things he never put a wrench to any of my bikes or cars but sat patiently and instructed me on how to repair them at 14 i was working in his garage full time.

[chuck123wapati]

i picked this up yesterday afternoon on a curbside free pile before it went to the dumps. Literally 1 hour to pull the brake/shift levers off and clean them up aired up the tires and she is good to go. Another fine example of making things far to complicated those brake/shift  levers are far to complicated for the average folk to fix i guess that makes me the lucky one lol. I was worried then i realized all the online fix it info started with spray wd40 in it sometimes that works. Wd 40 is the worst crap in the world, so Brake cleaner and air it was then some pb blaster, more brake cleaner, air, pb about 6 times and they work perfectly. I did order some new tape so my new to me bike cost me $8.47. I'll finish the tune up later today i'm going ridin.

[Sheilajeanne]

LOL, good for you! One of my bikes is a nice CCM ten-speed that someone abandoned when I was working as a gardener for the City of Toronto. One day, some maintenance people came along with a pair of bolt cutters to cut it free from the fence it was chained to. The were going to put it in the dumpster.

I asked to take it home, and invested about $120 bucks in a new front wheel (someone ripped it off) and a new, more comfy seat, plus general lubrication, which it badly needed after being out in the open for so many months.

Newer CCM bikes are made overseas in China or Taiwan, and are pieces of crap compared to this one!

I have also just finished reconditioning a 50 year old Dual record turntable that I got at an estate sale. All it needed was some lubrication - everything is in good working order! 

Geez, how many things are still working after 50 years? 

No doubt, we've become a throw away society!  

  

Edited June 13, 2021 by Sheilajeanne

[Tugadude]

5 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

i picked this up yesterday afternoon on a curbside free pile before it went to the dumps. Literally 1 hour to pull the brake/shift levers off and clean them up aired up the tires and she is good to go. Another fine example of making things far to complicated those brake/shift  levers are far to complicated for the average folk to fix i guess that makes me the lucky one lol. I was worried then i realized all the online fix it info started with spray wd40 in it sometimes that works. Wd 40 is the worst crap in the world, so Brake cleaner and air it was then some pb blaster, more brake cleaner, air, pb about 6 times and they work perfectly. I did order some new tape so my new to me bike cost me $8.47. I'll finish the tune up later today i'm going ridin.

I had never heard of Wheeler but I looked them up and apparently they've been in business since 1972.  That bike is very nice.  The frame looks like it was made very well.  The Shimano 600 tri-color components are sought after by collectors looking to complete builds.  I have a complete set on a Waterford bicycle and it is very nice.  Good score!

[chuck123wapati]

11 hours ago, Tugadude said:

I had never heard of Wheeler but I looked them up and apparently they've been in business since 1972.  That bike is very nice.  The frame looks like it was made very well.  The Shimano 600 tri-color components are sought after by collectors looking to complete builds.  I have a complete set on a Waterford bicycle and it is very nice.  Good score!

Thanks yes it rides real nice, I'm going to finish tuning it up a bit and check the bearings and such. It appears Wheeler makes some high end stuff the road bikes are all carbon fiber now didn't look much farther small fortune to get one i'm sure. This thing shows my age for sure it has a kevlar seat why i have no idea i guess they wanted a guys ass to wear out first lol. 

[Squid61]

Brings back memories.  When I was about 10 and wanted a bike I was informed we couldn't afford one.  I went to the town dump and amassed enough parts to assemble a heavy 28" coaster brake beast, had to maneuver around rotting animal carcasses and smoldering heaps of garbage.  During the assembly process I got a sometimes painful and often frustrating introduction to mechanics.  The most humorous part of my "education" was learning that it's not wise to grease coaster brake shoes, that first ride was exciting when tried to brake!

[chuck123wapati]

On 7/7/2021 at 5:52 PM, Squid61 said:

Brings back memories.  When I was about 10 and wanted a bike I was informed we couldn't afford one.  I went to the town dump and amassed enough parts to assemble a heavy 28" coaster brake beast, had to maneuver around rotting animal carcasses and smoldering heaps of garbage.  During the assembly process I got a sometimes painful and often frustrating introduction to mechanics.  The most humorous part of my "education" was learning that it's not wise to grease coaster brake shoes, that first ride was exciting when tried to brake!

lol thats quite funny yea i would get a bike about every four or five years the mechanics was my problem my dad was a mechanic and would show me once but i could use his tools anytime. my first and last traditional coaster bike a huge Hiawatha with headlights, fenders and the works   ended up plain jane with sissy bar banana seat and ape hanger bars

[Mishal21]

On 6/12/2021 at 11:13 PM, chuck123wapati said:

This week was free dump week so as i have tons of junk i spent many trips to the dumps this week. On one trip to the steel pile someone threw out about 6 perfectly good bikes. this old guy was the only one that wasn't ran over so i had to sneek it home lol. Everything in perfect shape except the tires and the wiring on the lights and of course the seat is missing. The pedals show no wear whatsoever. What really sucks is that i'll bet a well over a hundred good bikes  went to the dumps this week for no other reason except you can buy a new bike cheaper than the darn tires to replace the ones on your old bike. Really i went to walmart and a set of tires and tubes are only 9 dollars cheaper than a brand new Chinese junk pile. Truely what is wrong with the world when big business can set the price on the little things to repair good functioning products so high you cant help but buy a whole new product, thiers, and throw good stuff in the dumps. sorry for the rant i hate what our world has become in this respect. Got on ebay and the rack sells for about 45 bucks, the bike chain lube and light set is an old Schwinn set again going for about 40 bucks. How cool is that internal 3 speed wheel.

 

When you're prepared to pay money on a bicycle, it's crucial to remember to recognize that it's a valuable beginning point or not. A lot of bikes are out there that don't really valuable the money that you want to spend on, and this is one of them.

Do not attempt to be meaningful, just try to save your frustration when you realize that your money still sucks. The bike was manufactured by a store: Sears. Nowadays, it's like going for a bike to Wal-Mart. It has a 1 part crank and steel steel wheels. It is lugged steel. This isn't good, man. This isn't good. I urge that you look for a better point of departure for a fixer-upper. I would be happy to help you find your craigslist. Until then, just bike around it and have a good time.

[chuck123wapati]

11 hours ago, Mishal21 said:

When you're prepared to pay money on a bicycle, it's crucial to remember to recognize that it's a valuable beginning point or not. A lot of bikes are out there that don't really valuable the money that you want to spend on, and this is one of them.

Do not attempt to be meaningful, just try to save your frustration when you realize that your money still sucks. The bike was manufactured by a store: Sears. Nowadays, it's like going for a bike to Wal-Mart. It has a 1 part crank and steel steel wheels. It is lugged steel. This isn't good, man. This isn't good. I urge that you look for a better point of departure for a fixer-upper. I would be happy to help you find your craigslist. Until then, just bike around it and have a good time.

Its a great bike friend no matter what you have read on the net. Made by Huffy for coast to coast,  BTW Sears didn't make bikes either they rebranded. ITs pretty much the Huffy Timberline bike. It didn't have a weeks worth of wear on the pedals, perfectly tuned. Out of pocket for tires tubes, a seat  about 65 bucks, the rack is worth that alone. As i said i got it out of the dump. I have been riding, fixing and restoring bikes for years. I could sell this cruiser in a college town easily or any three speed enthusiast https://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/ . But its mine i ride it daily along with my 77 azuki 10 speed. 

Have you ever ridden a vintage bike? Its not about what other folks have that matters in life its about the joy of riding. 

Believe me its much better than any modern Chinese built wally mart bike.

[rleather]

On 9/17/2021 at 11:14 AM, chuck123wapati said:

Its a great bike friend no matter what you have read on the net. Made by Huffy for coast to coast,  BTW Sears didn't make bikes either they rebranded. ITs pretty much the Huffy Timberline bike. It didn't have a weeks worth of wear on the pedals, perfectly tuned. Out of pocket for tires tubes, a seat  about 65 bucks, the rack is worth that alone. As i said i got it out of the dump. I have been riding, fixing and restoring bikes for years. I could sell this cruiser in a college town easily or any three speed enthusiast https://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/ . But its mine i ride it daily along with my 77 azuki 10 speed. 

Have you ever ridden a vintage bike? Its not about what other folks have that matters in life its about the joy of riding. 

Believe me its much better than any modern Chinese built wally mart bike.

Chuck, some people just don't get it and never will. Ride on brother.

[chuck123wapati]

10 hours ago, rleather said:

Chuck, some people just don't get it and never will. Ride on brother.

oh heck yea i put a few miles on it this summer , nothin like an early morning cruise on some classic iron. lol she's hanging in the garage now waiting on spring to come.

[fredk]

12 hours ago, rleather said:

Chuck, some people just don't get it and never will. Ride on brother.

   Bestest years I had was as a postie in UK. Only company to give you a bicycle as your 'company' vehicle. Clocked up thousands of miles delivering post / mail by bicycle.

[chuck123wapati]

6 hours ago, fredk said:

   Bestest years I had was as a postie in UK. Only company to give you a bicycle as your 'company' vehicle. Clocked up thousands of miles delivering post / mail by bicycle.

we have a guy here in town that delivered newspapers all his life and well up into his 60s on his bike. You could set your watch by him he just loved the job and to ride his bike. Our local paper has shut down so now he just rides to work.

[Handstitched]

@chuck123wapati I hear ya on the O/P  . My beef is with printer inks. Its cheaper to buy a whole new printer than it is to buy the inks. What is wrong with that picture?  I could go on another whinge, but you get the idea. 

Thats a good find too BTW, and the  mud guards are in near perfect condition too. Normally they're all bent and bingled     

It sucks about not being able to have a bit of a scrounge at tips ( you call em dumps) . I would have thought the operators would appreciate the recycling aspect  and be happy for you to ' do your bit for the planet' . But instead, they prefer to  have everything  smashed up and buried  . That ain't right .

I prefer to  re-use and recycle where ever I can . 

We have   ' kerbside collections' run by the local councils once or twice a tear. Locals can have a good 'ol scrounge with those. 

HS

[chuck123wapati]

51 minutes ago, Handstitched said:

@chuck123wapati I hear ya on the O/P  . My beef is with printer inks. Its cheaper to buy a whole new printer than it is to buy the inks. What is wrong with that picture?  I could go on another whinge, but you get the idea. 

Thats a good find too BTW, and the  mud guards are in near perfect condition too. Normally they're all bent and bingled     

It sucks about not being able to have a bit of a scrounge at tips ( you call em dumps) . I would have thought the operators would appreciate the recycling aspect  and be happy for you to ' do your bit for the planet' . But instead, they prefer to  have everything  smashed up and buried  . That ain't right .

I prefer to  re-use and recycle where ever I can . 

We have   ' kerbside collections' run by the local councils once or twice a tear. Locals can have a good 'ol scrounge with those. 

HS

heck no it aint right. Here it s gubment laws that make it impossible to scrounge. Our gubment is run by lobbyists that control our puppet politicians. Those lobbyists sell products so don't want anything really reused or should i say reused by the consumers. so they make  it illegal due to "health reasons". True recycling here in the US is a farce at best with as you know every person taught to discard the old and buy the new. People here have even lost the ability to fix anything they own or even take care of themselves in the most simple ways, cant sew, cant cook, but they can damn sure get an app that sells them clothes or tells them where a restaurant is. People here are getting around that to by curbside giveaways also, they set stuff out a couple days before hauling it to the dumps. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by chuck123wapati

[Handstitched]

I have an 'olde' Malvern Star' with a three speed.It has  ' racing' type handle bars' and the    gear changer is the hand grip. Its twists , like turning a screw driver. 

Theres 4 bikes here. I say that as I look down at my belly .....and after eating some brand name fried chicken at the weekend    I really should make an effort. 

In the east and  some here in the west, there are ' tip shops'  ( dump shops) . Selling all the  re-usable stuff that would normally get thrown out smashed up and buried in landfill . Quite often the money, and some of the goods go to charity .  Mother Nature can be unkind to so many , floods , fires, storms etc. this is where 'tips shops' can help, to help rebuild peoples lives and give them hope. 

 

Hope all goes well with your bike , it may even inspire me to get on mine   

HS

 

[chuck123wapati]

8 hours ago, Handstitched said:

I have an 'olde' Malvern Star' with a three speed.It has  ' racing' type handle bars' and the    gear changer is the hand grip. Its twists , like turning a screw driver. 

Theres 4 bikes here. I say that as I look down at my belly .....and after eating some brand name fried chicken at the weekend    I really should make an effort. 

In the east and  some here in the west, there are ' tip shops'  ( dump shops) . Selling all the  re-usable stuff that would normally get thrown out smashed up and buried in landfill . Quite often the money, and some of the goods go to charity .  Mother Nature can be unkind to so many , floods , fires, storms etc. this is where 'tips shops' can help, to help rebuild peoples lives and give them hope. 

 

Hope all goes well with your bike , it may even inspire me to get on mine   

HS

 

lol I'm so fat  i look like one of those circus bears riding my bike, the bib overalls don't help either.

Edited December 8, 2021 by chuck123wapati

[chuck123wapati]

Took the old three speed for a spin today and two years after rescuing it. beautiful day in town the lilacs are blooming as well as all the other apple trees and flowers. All you smell are the lilacs above everything else. Life is good today!!!