kengrubb

Neighbor was clearing out the garage. Had a 24" BBS MTB. 15 speed and dark pink. It's still too big for my daughter, but next year might be just about right.

She's comfortably riding her big brother's black 20" Redline Raid single speed. It's got hand and coaster brakes, and she's starting to be able to use the hand brakes effectively.

The 24" MTB was $30 and it's in pretty good shape. There was a screw missing for the left hand brake lever. Replaced that reattaching the lever, and I managed to get the cable connected. Centerpull cantilever brakes were a bit perplexing to me whereas V-brakes seem very intuitive, but I got them to make contact at least. Have to do more reading on SheldonBrown.com about centerpull cantilevers. Tires are good, but they are serious offroad tires that make it tough to pedal. Will probably replace those with road tires. Wheels need truing.

I raised the seat up as high as possible, and I took it for a spin around the neighborhood. Checked out the shifting and gearing. Not bad, but also needs some adjusting.

Cosmetically, it's in great shape. Mechanically, it's in good shape, albeit in need of some service. Local Intercity Transit sponsors a Build-A-Bike program called Bike PARTners. Going to see about bringing in the bike and daughter to get it in proper working order for next year. Also give her some girl empowerment time, although she's already pretty assertive.

As I was riding the MTB around the neighborhood, daughter went in and told on me. "Mom, Dad's embarrassing me by riding my bike around."

Is it weird that I enjoyed riding that little 24" MTB around?