I recently bought a junk bike. I want to slowly fix it up myself for two reasons: 1. To have a nicer bike. 2. To learn about bike maintenance. I’d like to improve it slowly (weeks or months) while keeping it functional. What order should I consider improvements?
I’ll elaborate. When I first bought the bike, I tuned the brakes (linear pull). I struggled. I realized brake tuning was difficult because my wheel wasn’t aligned. In retrospect, I should have straightened/replaced the wheel before tuning the brakes. I’m wondering if there are any insights you could provide about the order I should tackle this project (e.g., wheel alightment before brakes).
The wheels wobbled a few millimeters. This caused the brake pads to touch at various points while the wheel rotated (with the brakes disengaged). I believe the spokes just needed a little adjustments to straighten out the wheel alignment. After briefly adjusting the spokes, the brake now function (albeit poorly) without touching the wheel unnecessarily.
From here, I think I’ll spend some more time finetuning the spokes to make sure the wheel is as straight as possible before further tuning or replacing the brakes.
I am just taking it on short and slow rides around my neighborhood right now. I’m not too worried about safety. I’m not fixing it up as an investment. I mostly a fun project to learn more about bikes.
right on! just be careful you don’t tighten the spokes so much that they poke through the rim tape. I made that mistake and punctured waaay to many tubes. Now I just let my LBS true them. I’m terrible at it and they’ll do it for 10 bucks a wheel.
If you’re content with the wheels I would maybe look at replacing the brake pads next once you can verify that they function well with the trued wheels.
After that, I’d look at the drive train and see what can be done about the indexing on the front and rear derailleurs, limit screws, ect and maybe take the rear hub apart and make sure that is all in proper working order [prongs engage, disengage correctly], give the cassette a good look over for wear [shark fins] and check the chain for stretching [chain tool].
How much rust is on the chain and gears?
After that, maybe look at the bottom bracket and seeing what can be replaced/upgraded to make sure there’s no clicking, rubbing, and making sure you have a solid chain line to the cassette.
I appreciate your insight.
There is minimal rust on the chain and gears. There is quite a bit if discoloration on the gears, but its not rust and doesn’t seem to be a structural concern. The drivetrain definitely needs some work, but it’s functional enough that I’ll probably work on brakes first because they are simpler.
Sounds like I need to get these wheels straightened out first, then I’ll probably fix up the brakes, then the drivetrain.
If there’s some discoloration on the gears, it’s probably worth cleaning that up. Whenever I clean my chain and rear cassette, the bike feels so much nicer to ride.
My LBS has a kit for $40 that has everything you need, but if you decide to go the Simple Green route (it’s what I use now that the LBS stuff is used up), dilute 50/50 with water. If you’re careful to not get the degreaser in the rear hub or derailleur, you can use the degreaser and a brush to clean the rear cassette (or remove it if you’re worried). Then thoroughly rinse everything with clean water, dry it, and then apply the chain lube. If there was a lot of build-up, this can result in a much nicer ride feel.
Also, get a chain stretch tester, or ask your LBS to check it for you. Riding on a stretched chain sucks and can accelerate wear on your drivetrain. Replacing it is pretty cheap (like $20) and most shops don’t charge much for that service since it only takes a couple minutes.
But it’s far more important to make sure it’s safe, so getting the wheel trued and brakes tuned are the top priority. If you have a friend that likes cycling, you can probably ask to borrow that stuff.
Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I get to this stuff in the next couple weeks after the wheels and brakes.