I had one of these a few years ago. A dumpster dive that was in pretty much new condition. I used for a few years to tow my 6.5 foot bicycle trailer that I built to haul other bicycles in. Then I got a mini van so the trailer hasn't had any use. I gave the bike to a friend for a Habitat for Humanity family. The weirdness is I got another silver Roadmaster Mt Fury yesterday and it has the exact same model number R4416WMJT and date code FSD05JF on the bb sticker. The serial number is different by a bunch of numbers. Did the factory just pre-print a million stickers and use the same date code for months on end or did they edit and print every day. Meh.
This Roadmaster is a cheap China build. I used to think these were the worst bikes ever but after fixing bikes at the local coop for about 5 years now I've decided there is no worst bike ever. Just an endless list of contenders from all around the world. I also found that some Roadmasters aren't as bad as some as the others so I've concluded there is more than 1 factory spewing them out. Like most low end box mart bikes, this one has an over built frame. Heavy but durable. All the parts are just junk.
The rear derailleur tried to veer through the rear wheel. The front brake was missing. The front derailleur is missing. The left brake lever and left shift lever were gone too. Both hubs were worn out and rusted. Bent rear axle. Spokes rusted and nipples seized up. Both bearingless pedal bodies were worn out. I Fully dismantled it today. Ugh, a slimed thorn proof tube in 1 wheel. Pealed off the labels except for the head tube sticker. Ground off the cable stops. The top tube brake cable guides were just thin sheet metal spot welded on. Like 22 gauge tin. Ground off the rivets holding the small and large sprockets on and center punched those out to free up the middle sprocket. Touched up the frame paint since I have a quart of vintage silver aluminum that hasn't dried out. Painted the rims, stem, bars, remaining sprocket. The dew point hit 74 today so drying is going very slow. I have a coaster brake rear hub ready to go. The gearing will be 36x18. A bit low but okay for a teen. This is a rather short and small frame. I called a co-volunteer at the local coop who has been learning to re-cover seats. I have a suitable donor seat and a bit of silver metal flake naugahyde. He offered to do the work on the seat.
Here are a couple of before photos. I will post the finished build in a few weeks when I get it done. The bike will go to the local Toys for Tots annual give away this Christmas season.
This Roadmaster is a cheap China build. I used to think these were the worst bikes ever but after fixing bikes at the local coop for about 5 years now I've decided there is no worst bike ever. Just an endless list of contenders from all around the world. I also found that some Roadmasters aren't as bad as some as the others so I've concluded there is more than 1 factory spewing them out. Like most low end box mart bikes, this one has an over built frame. Heavy but durable. All the parts are just junk.
The rear derailleur tried to veer through the rear wheel. The front brake was missing. The front derailleur is missing. The left brake lever and left shift lever were gone too. Both hubs were worn out and rusted. Bent rear axle. Spokes rusted and nipples seized up. Both bearingless pedal bodies were worn out. I Fully dismantled it today. Ugh, a slimed thorn proof tube in 1 wheel. Pealed off the labels except for the head tube sticker. Ground off the cable stops. The top tube brake cable guides were just thin sheet metal spot welded on. Like 22 gauge tin. Ground off the rivets holding the small and large sprockets on and center punched those out to free up the middle sprocket. Touched up the frame paint since I have a quart of vintage silver aluminum that hasn't dried out. Painted the rims, stem, bars, remaining sprocket. The dew point hit 74 today so drying is going very slow. I have a coaster brake rear hub ready to go. The gearing will be 36x18. A bit low but okay for a teen. This is a rather short and small frame. I called a co-volunteer at the local coop who has been learning to re-cover seats. I have a suitable donor seat and a bit of silver metal flake naugahyde. He offered to do the work on the seat.
Here are a couple of before photos. I will post the finished build in a few weeks when I get it done. The bike will go to the local Toys for Tots annual give away this Christmas season.
