Beyond Mechanical Limits

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They brought me a bike that the nephew's family uses to go to the market and back. They live way out in the province. I was asked to tune it up. What showed up was way past roadworthy, yet they were still riding it.
basket case 27 Jun 22.jpg

The front hub was broken, allowing the wheel to flop back and forth.
beyond limits 28 Jun 22.jpg



A nub was all that was left of one pedal. Gears were frozen in one gear, no surprise there. No brakes at all. Hasn't had them for years. Broken seat to boot. Rusty spokes but the tires held air.
nub 28 Jun.jpg


I remember wearing out bikes as a kid and having just a spindle for a pedal. It hurt when your foot slipped off and it dug into your leg, but you kept riding anyway.

My plans are to make a tough reliable bike that will get ridden many miles with no maintenance. I have a 26 x 2.125 wheelset I haven't had a bike for, it's a cheap Chinese coaster brake single speed hub. But should last a long time since I greased it and adjusted the cones. That takes care of the brake problem too. Both rims are alloy, cheap but won't rust along with stainless spokes laced 3 cross. The front has a rear hub and may need to have that changed out for a front hub. New cheap knobbies I've had for a year or so will last awhile.
wheelset 28 Jun 22.jpg

So far I haven't bought anything for it. I'll have good reason to replenish my parts afterward. Only with good parts if I can get them.
I plan to give it a quick paint job, white with red splashes so it goes along with the colors it is now.
 
That’s in pretty awful condition there. I can’t imagine how anybody rode with that broken hub.

I picked up a bike the other day that wasn’t complete, but it had a crank.

The bottom bearings were so loose that the sprocket had worn halfway through rubbing on the cup. How could one keep riding on that?

The first mechanical thing my dad ever taught me was rebuilding a bicycle, when I was only about seven years old.

Anyhow, I knew what to do, so I never had bicycles that were falling apart under my feet as I rode them.

I was the kid that had tools, and the other kids came to me when their wheels were falling off.
 
The handlebar stem is frozen, but the bearings are good, so it will stay. Nothing else seemed to fit properly, the coaster hub was way too narrow.
I'm going to use the wheels, gears, and all off Second Helping and make it a one speed BMX later.

raf1.jpg

It's ready for a cheap paint job.
July 2 22 frame.jpg
 
That’s in pretty awful condition there. I can’t imagine how anybody rode with that broken hub.

I picked up a bike the other day that wasn’t complete, but it had a crank.

The bottom bearings were so loose that the sprocket had worn halfway through rubbing on the cup. How could one keep riding on that?

The first mechanical thing my dad ever taught me was rebuilding a bicycle, when I was only about seven years old.

Anyhow, I knew what to do, so I never had bicycles that were falling apart under my feet as I rode them.

I was the kid that had tools, and the other kids came to me when their wheels were falling off.
Homeless people in my area ride the bikes until all brake systems and gear change systems are disabled and partly taken apart. Then a tire goes bad and they ride the aluminum rim bare on the street. The bikes are in terrible condition. I learned bicycle repair in my grade school years. Figured out how to change out rims in 5th grade. Doesn't mean the wheel was centered or true since I wasn't trained by anyone but over time I figured out that too. I'm 69 yrs old and I'm in the middle of changing out two 700C rims. Very relaxing to respoke and true wheels. Its good that you are fixing bikes back to good running condition. Good luck with your repairs and rebuilding.
 
Can you stick a rod up the bottom of those forks and knock the stem out?
That fork doesn't have an opening at the bottom. I already painted the whole thing, handlebars, stem, headset. :21: It will probably get kept outdoors so it'll keep some rust off.

I helped out a pastor back in Jacksonville when he had a plan to get some transportation for the homeless and those who worked but needed a bike. He asked for all old bikes to be dropped off at his house and he would fix them and get them to the needy. That was posted on the local TV news! His wife wasn't ready for an entire backyard filled with junk bikes. She wanted it to be over. So I helped him out. We separated the good bikes, some were high dollar road bikes, from the Walmart junk. I would take home 3 or 4 of those junkers every other week and get them roadworthy but not valuable enough to be worth anything (pawn shop). I got them to pedal in at least one gear and have brakes, that was it. That was a job in itself. I did that for about 35 bikes and called it quits.
This bike is like one of them, but this one will last a few years out in the boonies. I'm using the wheels with new ss spokes and sealed bearings. The cranks are pretty good quality also, and two brakes should hold up for awhile, but they don't mind riding with no brakes.
 
I've thought for some time that there should be repair/rebuilding stations for bicycles instead of landfilling them. The money angle would have to be figured out. The bicycles would then be made available to the public for a small cost or even no cost. The Netherlands has a huge problem with abandoned bicycles. I'll have to look to see if they are doing anything about all those abandoned bicycles. Maybe they can be put into cargo containers and shipped to countries that have low wages and need bicycles. I've seen pictures of bicycle repair stations in 3rd world countries and they can fix anything very quickly and cheaply. The United Nations agreed that the world bicycle would have a one piece crank but no sure of tire size. A lot of 3rd world countries use some form of a one speed bicycle. Good for you Wildcat for doing your best to keep bikes on the road. I rebuilt 5 bikes for others this past year and that is pretty typical for me. Either repairing/adjusting or rebuilding.
 
I've thought for some time that there should be repair/rebuilding stations for bicycles instead of landfilling them. The money angle would have to be figured out. The bicycles would then be made available to the public for a small cost or even no cost. The Netherlands has a huge problem with abandoned bicycles. I'll have to look to see if they are doing anything about all those abandoned bicycles. Maybe they can be put into cargo containers and shipped to countries that have low wages and need bicycles. I've seen pictures of bicycle repair stations in 3rd world countries and they can fix anything very quickly and cheaply. The United Nations agreed that the world bicycle would have a one piece crank but no sure of tire size. A lot of 3rd world countries use some form of a one speed bicycle. Good for you Wildcat for doing your best to keep bikes on the road. I rebuilt 5 bikes for others this past year and that is pretty typical for me. Either repairing/adjusting or rebuilding.
There's a group in Alberta that imports them to Canada to provide transportation for low income families to work.
Unfortunately we're starting to have similar problems with disposable bikes. Most bikes in North America are unrepairable or just not worth the effort. Ive being trying to open a bike co op in our area. It's much needed the industrial area is five to 10 km from town many people are unable to take these jobs because of lack of transportation.
 
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I remember the junk bikes I fixed up. Some would be broken again during a test ride! Like in the Breaking Away movie, where they said the 70's Roadmaster bikes "Wouldn't stay fixed".

I finished it up and it's ready to deliver. I didn't add a shift cable so it is in one gear only. That should alleviate some problems as will having two brakes. It will be down to one brake in a few months then none in a few years, so they'll have plenty of time to learn how to ride without brakes. The seat is all the way down because kids will be riding this bike, probably a whole village taking turns until it beaks down. "Who's next?"
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July 4 22 fin2.jpg
 
Bravo!
Love that paint job!
 

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