cudak888 

Hello all,

As I see there are many new BikeForums.net members posting in this Valuations subforum, I'd like to ask the following simple question of them:

How did you find this forum, and what inspired you to do so?

I'd appriciate it if all the new members who post to this subforum be so kind and reply to this thread following their valuation inquiry.

-Kurt

panabruce

Hello to the forum,

After I found my Katakura I did web searches for the name and bikeforums.net showed up repeatedly. For example, in the last several weeks I've been reading a lot of posts in bikeforums.net about converting away from cottered cranks. I also used the mechanical forum to advice on tools and procedures, as it's been six or seven years since I worked on a bike and my memory is poor from what I used to know about bikes due to my Lupus --I keep having to remind myself of things. I've lived in Latin America since 2003 due to lower cost of living, and I'm just getting back into the bike world. I couldn't ride for many years due to a downturn in my Lupus, so my hobby ended just after building up a great bike in 2002 --learning to build wheels, etc. and purchasing a bunch of tools and several books.

In December we returned to the US so I could get better medical treatment, my wife could attend graduate school and my son could attend high school in USA. Due to cost of shipping, I left all my tools and most belongings in Latin America --so I'm restocking things here in the US on a very limited Social Security budget.

Part of the new treatment I was given when I got back here was intense exercise --a new idea for Lupus which used to promote moderate exercise. Within a month I began feeling much better and remembered my love for biking --I decided to get bikes for the entire family. I went to Craig's list and found four bikes for about 200 dollars. My son's was the most expensive at $175 for a '99 Gary Fisher Tassajara, and I spent about 25 dollars on three bikes (from a guy who was ordered to clear out junk in his yard in a town nearby): mine, my wife's Raleigh M40, and my daughter's department store bike. They all were in pretty bad condition and I pulled them all apart to grease all the bearings, got rid of a ton of rust, changed some shifter cables, got one new bottom bracket, one derailleur, one wheel, tires, and trued all the wheels. I loved truing the wheels. All the maintenance was a blast even though purchasing the tools (I went with Park because I love good tools) was kind-of painful. Now, I've gotten them all up and running very well, including my Katakura --and I'm going overboard with interest in my bike as I have little else to do.

The Katakura is a mystery to me, and I want to get it riding as good ad comfortably as possible, as it is my exercise bike, part-time transportation (as our family has a goal of using bikes as much as possible for town transportation) and my hobby. We can not afford to purchase much else in terms of upgrading bikes.

I want to know the value of the Katakura for three reasons, 1. I'm curious how well I've done on my find, 2. I want to know how much to invest in the bike for things like a crankset --for example, I'm having trouble with the hills of our home town, and 3. I'd like to keep renovating bikes, so, I'd like to know the value if I were ever to try to upgrade to a new project bike.

Anyway, in all I've been doing, I hit the internet to ask my questions, and bikeforums.net pops up in the searches with the answers. I like the feel of the community and hope I can find a way to keep working on bikes. We have a local non-profit bike recyclers (https://www.rebike.org/) that I think I'll start volunteering for. I'm sure that so long as my health allows, I'll be growing in my desire to be involved in working and commuting with bikes --our town is a perfect size for using bikes for commuting, so we're trying to do that. Our town has the most bike trails of any town in Minnesota, so we're blessed.

The other night I rode a 15 mile country trail loop in the dark and it was great because I could hear the bearings in the wheels better at night. So, I decided to purchase new and nice bearings from Harris for the hubs and bottom bracket --as I'd like to get the bike to be as quiet and resistance free as possible, just as a finicky goal. Also, I was feeling the resistance either of wind, or the wheels, so I'm excited to see if there is a change after I get the bearings installed. Now, they feel good when you spin them at home while working on them, and I have them adjusted well I think, but, on the ride I think I was feeling and hearing something that might indicate resistance.

Anyway, that's why I'm around and made my post.

Bruce
Mankato, MN

cudak888 

Thank you, that was very interesting.

Welcome!

-Kurt

panabruce

Thanks!

ftwelder

If you type any word then "vintage bicycle" into google the first several responses are BF.

king*stink

I've been a member of bike forum for a while now. I stumbled across it in 2007 when I was pretty heavy. I started in the clydes section. I was riding a giant ocr1 and a panasonic sport 500. I got hit by a car in summer of 2008. Broke my collar bone and totaled the ocr1. So I continued to ride the panasonic until I dropped 55lbs. Once I wasn't a Clyde any longer I decided my old panasonic carried my fat butt this far I'm going to stick with the vintage bikes. I dont like the look of newer frames. I have always dropped in to check out the c&v secton but just recently started posting in it. I picked up an Concorde (not concord and currently on loan to my brother), a 73 Raleigh super course, and a Miyata 1000. I have the bug and I'm hoping to scoop up that miyata pro that i inquired about tomorrow.