treadtread

One of my neighbors just gave us an old Savoy Infinite - which is a kid's bike, circa 2015? Not sure - I couldn't find much about this online. I want to fix this up as a project with my son, who is 10 years old - he is quite excited about fixing it and using it. From what I saw:
1. The rims have rust on them - I hope I can clean that up. Any suggestions? Getting a new wheel set isn't something I want to do.
2. The wheels - especially the rear one - needs truing. I am not good at this - if I get the rust off, I will have to take it to a bike shop to get the wheels trued.
3. All the cables (gear and brake) and brake pads need changing.
4. The tires look okay, but definitely needs new tubes - that should be easy.
5. Needs a new seat.

Surprisingly, the shifters and the derailleurs look okay - maybe because they are heavy?
I do routine maintenance on all our family bikes, but I haven't taken on a project of this sort yet. Any comments/suggestions would be very welcome. I live in the East Bay near San Francisco - all the bike co-ops I know about are far away - San Francisco and Palo Alto. I will search for ones in my area, but with Covid-19 I don't know how many will be open any way (in case I need to get old-new parts for the bike).

Also - any estimates on how much it would take to get this bike light trails worthy, and safe? I need to factor in the cost of getting the wheels trued as well.

hokiefyd 

Hi; that bike is probably a mid-90s model. The steel rims are of highest concern to me, only because there appears to be rust-through in the sidewall in some of your very detailed photos. That should be your first order of business (in my humble opinion). I'd take the wheels off and give them a good sanding...or...you may find what you need to know by taking the tires and tubes out and finding them significantly rusted on the inside. That's not uncommon and, if that's what you find, then I would not ride those wheels.

The frame looks good from a safety standpoint (check it closely for rust you can't see at a glance or cracks, etc.). And it's appealing from a cosmetic standpoint (the red splatter paint). This can be a fun project with your son, but I'm nearly certain that you'll want to replace the wheels with ones with aluminum rims. You should be able to find used wheels at a low price. The tires look good to swap to replacement wheels. You'll want to buy a rear wheel with a freewheel hub if you want to swap the current freewheel over to it. Watch the rear hub spacing -- I don't know what that bike would be. Maybe 126mm or 130mm?

As you are probably aware, the market value for this bike is very low. Any work done at a bike shop will quickly exceed the value of the bike, but could be worth it depending on what needs to happen to it to make it fun for you and your son to ride together. If the wheel rust is only cosmetic, and the interior of the rims look good, it's possible you can sand down the rim sidewalls and make it work as is for a while.

treadtread

The rims are my greatest concern too, I will know more tomorrow when we take the tires and tubes out. I have been looking on ebay and craigslist for a used 24 inch wheelset, but I haven't had any luck so far. I found one possibility on ebay, but shipping makes it expensive. I'm planning to email the bike coops in the SF Bay Area - maybe I'll get lucky. My son and I already love cycling together - fixing up a bike together would add to that. But yes - I am aware that the market value of this bike is low - I would likely pass it on when my son outgrows it, if we manage to fix it up. If not, I'll keep looking for a used Trek or Specialized or similar.

Edited to add: I found these on amazon - front and rear. So if those fit, I am looking at $80 for wheels ..

treadtread

The wheels, as can be seen, are not quick release. I got the front off, but I’m struggling with the rear. The nut on the side of the derailleur- last photo above- is not loosening. I’m fact, it is rounding off. I think I need a flat wrench to go between the frame and the axle and turn that, holding the outside steady. Does that sound correct? Can’t be just the outside nut, lefty loosy. If I need the flat wrench, what size would I need?

The front wheel has rust under the rim strip. The rust on the outer rim is responding to treatment, so I hope the inside rust does too. The wheel set I linked above seems attractive, but I want to get the rear off before I do any ordering.

hokiefyd 

I'm not clear -- are you having trouble removing the drive side axle nut or the small bolt that holds the derailleur claw to the frame? If you can get the axle nut off, that should be all you need to remove the wheel. That small derailleur claw bolt very likely has a 9mm head -- use a pair of vice grips if you need to. The "nut" on the inside of that bolt should have two flats on it that slide into the dropout (which keeps the nut from turning).

treadtread

I’m having trouble with the drive side axle nut.

C9H13N 

Have you soaked the axle nut with something like PB blaster or even wd-40?

Are there flats for a cone wrench on the axle spacers inside the dropout? Maybe 15 mm? If the axle nut and axle are spinning together this would help.

I love this project. My first real bike as a child was a neon orange 24” wheel mountain bike not much different than yours.

Pompiere

A trick I have used is to put the other axle nut back on and tighten it down against the frame. That will put some more friction on the axle to stop it from turning. Once the drive-side nut comes loose, you can take the other nut off. After you've got the wheel off, check the bearing adjustment, since all the twisting of the axle may have caused the cones to move.

cudak888 

I'd be concerned about those rims. Even if they weren't rusty, they won't give your son good stopping power, especially in the rain.

You might be able to dig up another 24" bike with aluminum rims as a donor, but you might find that the donor will already have a square taper crank and potentially better bits. Either way, chances are the hubs won't be that great - I've had the bearing raceways in these stamped-steel hubs deform before - and even crack.

It might still make for a nice father-son project, even if only to fix up as part of going through the motions. The bike is in nice shape, but you should be able to find something that's a better starting point for your son to ride regularly. Even if it's from Craigslist or OfferUp, 24" bikes don't usually bring much at all, so you can probably pick something up cheap.

-Kurt

treadtread

This worked! The rear wheel is off now.

I looked quite a bit on nextdoor and craigslist. Ordinarily, what you are saying is probably true - but because of the Covid-19 shelter in place, cycling families have increased a lot in our neighborhood. I've been beaten to a sale multiple times so far Most resale bikes, even the 24 inch ones, are priced around 200 to 250 in this area - even at a bike co-op.

Besides, apart from the weekend rides and hikes, this is the first thing that my son has been keen on - all other entertainment is in the house, on the computer and reading books. I want to encourage working with his hands. Based on your comments and others in this thread, I am thinking of buying some aluminium wheels. Per my knowledge, these should work: front and rear. How do I confirm that these will work? I want to transfer the rear cassette from the old wheel to the new one. What measurements should I take in the photos below to confirm if those wheels will work?




Apart from the wheels, everything else looks good. I have v-brakes, brake levers, seat in my parts bin I can use, instead of the cantilever brakes that are currently on the bike. The only things I expect to buy are: tubes, brake and shifter cables and the tool to remove the cassette from the old wheel.

cudak888 

In that case, refurb away.

These wheels on eBay - if you can get them for the lowest bid price (you will), will cost you about the same as those two others. Maybe less, given that it's Arizona-to-California. You're getting better-quality aluminum hubs in the deal:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/24-Wheel-Set-Front-Back-STA-TRU/174418207240?hash=item289c22a208:gq0AAOSw~OxfGJWn

That bike will have a freewheel. No cassette. It'll work with these, provided the new wheel axle width is spaced for the existing freewheel. Chances are both are spaced to 126mm.

-Kurt

velomateo

Like was mentioned earlier, those steel rims don’t stop well. Maybe with the V-brakes they will be better, but I would still have concerns about putting my kid on those. I say this because I already made this mistake, and the vision of my then young son flying down a steep hill, while the brakes offered no relief, is still very clear in my memory.
Try to find a wheel set with a machined sidewall.

treadtread

I saw those Sta-Tru ones on walmart.com as well:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sta-Tru-R...ilver/51774245
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sta-Tru-F...lver/145720913
Those are the same, right? I will save time and the cost works out the same. Shipping from AZ to CA still shows as $50 on ebay, though I will message the seller to confirm.
Edited to add: probably not. The description for the rear wheel mentions a cassette, not a freewheel.

Whoa. I don't want that. Now that I think of it - when I was young, my bike had steel rims. I remember this - when I was younger, there was a road that went down the hill, and merged onto a main road. I cycled on this every day - and in the rainy season (and it rains a lot in India!), I would start braking very early to make sure I slow down as I merge on to the main road. I never correlated this to steel rims, and my bike as an adult, after a long period in between, has aluminum rims. I'll get aluminum wheels for this project.

cudak888 

Same wheels. Go for the Wal-Mart ones you linked above if they'll be better suited, costwise.

As for the compatibility - the description is misleading. Note "Cassette Body Type: Threaded." Means exactly what it suggests - you're getting a freewheel-thread hub. That's the type of description one has to filter through in a world that currently considers cassettes a given - and freewheels an oddity.

Note the front is nutted, not Q/R. Both hubs can always be converted later, if you wish.

-Kurt

treadtread

I made a rookie error - the wheels I need are 26 in, not 24. No idea why I fixated on 24 before. Luckily, I figured this out when ordering, and am now waiting for the same Sta Tru wheels in 26 to show up. Will update this thread when I get them - looks like a couple of weeks at least.