$10 bike

[kevm14]

A house that I pass on my at-home walks was selling two bikes. One was a Huffy dual suspension for $25 and one was an older Ross bike with no chain (and a more dilapidated appearance) for $10. The bike situation at home is that Ian is on the verge of outgrowing his bike (I actually had to buy a longer seat post and also extend the headset height), and Jamie's bike from childhood is also old and crappy. So I felt like I was in the market for a cheap bike. And he said the money goes to his church so call it a charity donation. For the record, my assessment is also that the older, rustier Ross was the better quality bike, regardless of the fancy appearance of the Huffy. That Huffy is a straight up Walmart made in China bike. The Ross said designed in USA, made in Taiwan. That's something.

Jamie checked it out later and she fit fine so I bought it. She indicated that she really wanted something because her bike sucks. Her bike does function but the shifting is not perfect and the brakes are pretty bad. It's a 10 speed which dates it. Probably early 90s?

To get it home I put one foot on a pedal and sort of scootered my way home.

The guy gave me what was supposed to be the old chain but I'm glad I didn't base anything off its length. The two pieces together measured 56" (or was it 54"). But then Jamie said....will the chain from my old bike fit? At first I said no way. 5 speed rear cassette and the new bike is an 18 speed with a 6 speed rear cassette. I did some research and it seemed at least POSSIBLE.

What I decided to do was buy a chain breaker tool since I don't actually have one (and my chain is probably quite stretched, too) and start there. I ordered this nice Park tool (at $42) rather than cheap out.
https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Chain- ... B07P4CCJYH

I also ordered a chain stretch checker (thinking about my bike) for $12
https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-CC-3-2 ... 3LHQ&psc=1

Long story short, I was able to press out a pin from Jamie's old bike chain right on the bike. The key is to leave the pin in the inner link so you don't have to start it. Leaving a little nub protruding also gives a chance to "click" the chain back together, aiding reassembly. Anyway, removal was cake. First chain I ever removed like that in my life, believe it or not.

I was going to remove the rear wheel from the new bike but it was not quick release so I thought it was smarter to just struggle with the chain while the bike sits in the driveway on the kick stand. Basically I had three questions at this point:
1) Since I pressed the pin toward the inside, I would have to use the treaded tool handle through the spokes. Was this even possible?
2) Was the chain the right length? Magically?
3) Was the chain the right width? Research shows that as cassette speeds go up, chains get narrower. The internet says they are generally backwards compatible (particularly up to 8 speeds) but not the other way. Going from 5 to 6 speed suggests that the chain COULD be too wide. And it's old so who knows.
4) Bonus item. Was it horribly stretched or otherwise damaged if everything else worked out?

After some struggling, I was able to press the pin back in and the chain was installed. The internet also told me how to check if a chain is the right length and it has to do with shifting to the extremes (big gears front and rear then small gears front and rear), and observe the derailleur behavior, also ensuring the chain never touches itself. Well amazingly, it seemed like it would work. I cleaned the chain, lubed it and got on the bike. It worked! Shifting was mostly fine with no adjustments (it might need some slight tweaking). Wow. I'll add some pics later.

What it needs now is a rear brake link cable because the Shimano one that's there sort of disintegrated and the rear brake doesn't work right. Found one on eBay for like $8 shipped. Hopefully it fits. I found that the B-type is for the rear and the A-type is for the front. We'll see.

Another item. The rear tire leaks pretty bad. Needs a new tube. That should be easy though I'll have to remove the wheel. I think that will do it....so I guess not $10 but the bonus is, Ian tried the bike and he likes it. He's a bit too small for it but he was able to ride considerably faster on the road and actually keep up with me, suggesting that the bigger bike is a lot more efficient than his bike. Hmmmm. Maybe this bike will be for Jamie but eventually Ian might take it over and Jamie can get something else.

[kevm14]

Installed new tube ($6). As far as I could tell the leak was actually on the valve stem from it rubbing on the rim, all crooked. Actually I noticed the front valve stem was also cocked in the rim so I deflated it, pulled one bead off, and readjusted the tube so the valve was centered. It holds air so hopefully that continues. If not, $6 to fix...

Also installed the new brake link wire and that fit perfectly. The rear brakes work again.

We went on a bike ride and I adjusted the rear derailleur to shift more consistently. I think the front one still needs some tweaks because the chain fell off once on the front while Ian was shifting into 3.

Oh, I also tightened the headset bearing to get rid of the play. Literally 10 seconds with an adjustable wrench. Overall I am happy with it. Maybe just needs the front derailleur tweaked and it should be pretty solid. As you can see, Ian likes riding it so maybe this is really just Ian's bike now....

[kevm14]

Jamie's old bike donated its rear shifter cable to this bike after the accident last year snapped it off at the shifter. It also donated the rear wheel. I had to swap the 6 speed cassette onto it and repack the axle bearings. The rim is wider so I also had to adjust the rear brake pads. I developed a technique for this which is to partially tighten the cable preload until the pads touch the rim. Then align/adjust the pads accordingly. When finished, back off the preload to the desired setting. This worked pretty well.

It is back in operation!