nerd855

Yeah the road people scared me off. =(

I am not sure about a tune up since the brakes are fine and the only major things I need are a new chain and figure out where the seat/handle bars need to be and I think I can handle the tape on my own. The cheapest one I could find was $45.

muccapazza

They (safety tabs) were a cheap way to prevent ythe front wheel from falling out in the event some litigious ****** couldn't figure out how to secure the quick release mecahanism and how that might cause the front wheel to fall off and cause an ouwie (sp). My 91 or 89 (i can never remember if the first number or last determines the year) mSchwinn probe has them and also a wanring sticker saying "WARNING: Wet Rims Require Increased Stopping Distances! You Imbecile! " Okay I added some exclamation points.

Mountain bikers are familiar with these in a different form as wide flange thingies that require you to unscrew your quick release a bit to get the wheel out. Also modern carbon road forks too?

jtgotsjets

Yeah, the dropouts on my bike flare slightly so you have to unscrew the quick release. Seems to defeat the purpose of "quick release," although I guess it eliminates the need for tools.

How bizarre.

Wanderer

Hey Nerd, where are you located? Maybe someone close could give you a hand... You anywhere near Chicago?

55/Rad

Being able to put your feet on the ground while seated is not ideal as it generally indicates that your seat is too low. This is a road bike thing. So, you're probably wondering how you stop without tipping over? Well, when you approach a stop, get off the saddle to put a foot down. This is the position for all starts and stops. Practice it...it won't take long to get used to.

Marrock

Don't worry about the roadies, they're, most, but not all, way too uptight.

It's hard to take someone seriously when they dress like a rejected '70s Marvel superhero anyway.

Wanderer

Andddddd, it's a jim dandy bike for school. Almost tooooo nice.

Get a good lock, or someone will steal it....

LesterOfPuppets

When your seat is the proper height, you should only be able to touch ground on your tippy toes while seated. A good approximation of proper height can be made by placing your right heel on the pedal and making it so that your leg is fully extended with the pedal at about 5 o'clock.

Seat posts come in a wide array of diameters. You won't have to worry about seatpost diameter while replacing the seat, however.

Marrock

What I usually do is take my inseam measurement (from crotch to floor) and multiply that by 103%, then take that total and set the saddle to it, from the pedal at it's lowest position to the top center of the saddle, and use that as a starting point, then just tweak it from there.

mickey85

MAYBE. None of my bikes will allow me to put more than one toe on the ground - not both.

LesterOfPuppets

Are they road bikes? Must have some high bottom brackets. Or small feet, perhaps. Or inflexible ankles????

Codys311

EASILY the funniest thing I've heard all day.

As far as the fit of the bike goes, Nerd, you don't necessarily need to touch the ground when seated on the bike. In fact, you really shouldn't be able to. When seated on the bike with one foot resting comfortably on a pedal at the bottom-most point of your stroke so that the crank is vertical, your knee should be nearly (but not completely) extended (as in your leg should be almost straight).

You also asked about seat posts, I believe? They are NOT all the same size. However, you shouldn't need to mess with that. You can replace the seat without replacing the post.

Replace the chain, retape the bars, replace brake and shifter cable/housing. Your LBS can do this for you if you're wary of doing it yourself.

jtgotsjets

^or he's got short legs...

or /you've/ got long legs!

Paniolo

I've never tried to touch a foot, or a toe to the ground while I'm on the saddle ... why would I? You stand up when coming to a stop and as you come to a stop step off the pedal straddling the top tube just in front of the saddle. For most efficient pedaling You want you leg just shy of being locked straight when seated and the pedal straight down at the 6:00 position. The nose of my saddle hits me pretty much square in the butt when I am standing flat footed over the top tube.

The chain looks too long to me ... the jockey wheels of the rd look to be right up in the gears when in the small front/ small rear combination. That could be the clicking you hear. Personally I would shorten the brake cable housing and route in front of the bars. I would also rotate the bars up just a little ... but that is personal pref.

For bar tape I would try and get most of it off, but some minor reminents is no biggie. Leave the brake levers on to wrap it, just go around the bar. It's not hard to avoid it, if you get it wrong just peel it up and do it again. Its not so sticky like regular tape that pulling it back up is an issue.

mickey85

Peugeot U0-8 and Raleigh Professional - on the Pug, I can touch one toe and (irregardless of "junk") am about 1" too short on the other side. The Raleigh I can barely touch with both toes, but it's a bit short for my comfort (stuck seat post). My commuter, a Univega hybrid with North Roads bars is the same as the Pug.

The Uni is 22.5", Pug is 62 cm and Raleigh is 58 cm. I'm 5'11" with a 32" inseam.

garage sale GT

Those clips hanging down from the front axle need to be rotated up and hooked onto those two little screws on the insides of the fork legs. They keep the wheel from falling off if you don't put it on correctly.

The chain may simply not be designed to go on the smallest front and the smallest rear sprocket. You could probabaly find a similar ratio by using the inner front chainring with the inner rear sprockets.

However, the chain may tension itself if you clean the derailleur a bit, specifically the part where it pivots. Or, it may be too long.

You may find you prefer the tops of the bars to be level because it makes it more comfortable to ride with your hands on them and the brake hoods.

If you clean the bike, don't spray it off with a hose or you may force water where it doesn't belong.

LesterOfPuppets

Gotcha, dem pugs got nearly horizontal chainstays, so pretty high BB.

Roll-Monroe-Co

Yeah, I was like, who are these people posting in a C&V thread who've never seen non-aero brake levers. I mean, even people who only own fancy new bikes actually see the thousands of seventies bikes around town, right? I mean it's not like their narrow view of what constitutes a real road bike actually limits what they are able to perceive?

Right?

cycleheimer

Stick the things on the front axle back on their respective posts on the forks (keeps your wheel from coming off). The spring action on the deraileur seems off...try lubing it, as well as the cables inside the cable housings. Worse comes to worse, try to pick up a used Shimano SIS rear deraileur for a couple of bucks. Check out bicycletutor.com for repair info:

https://bicycletutor.com/

You got a good deal for $27, as long as you can fix anything that needs fixing. Was definitely worth it, especially given the market for used bikes. Wheels seen to be alloy, which is good. Check for up and down hops, and left to right alignment.

Check out Niagara and/or Nashbar for good deals on bicycle parts and accessories.

Don't get stuck with a big repair bill from an LBS. If it should for any reason be problematic for you, just sell it for what you paid to somebody who knows how to fix them. It's a nice deal at $27.

Roll-Monroe-Co

Possibly bent fork is possibly bent.

kenkayak

Thats a fine looking old hardtail/ I agree on a trip to the shop with stuff your unfamiliar with but get a price.let the shop do pedals [ya dont want any crossthreading ] of new pedal's In Maine with our steep mole hills you would want to practise pedaling standing up to give you more gear range./Kenneth

cybertect

Too true.

Looks like a perfectly serviceable machine.

Give a good clean. Lube the chain. If it were mine, I'd probably replace it.

For the sake of creature comfort, you might want to think about getting some hoods for the brake levers.

The suggestion to let your local bike shop give it a service isn't a bad one.

Roll-Monroe-Co

Like this: https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/...893e77a347.jpg

Associated with lower-end bikes, including our beloved mass-production Schwinns.

Useful if your rear derailleur is maladjusted and the chain accidentally shifts inboard of the largest cog, after which the force of pedalling will wedge the chain down between the freewheel and the spokes, possibly causing damage to the spokes/hub as well as you to crash.

Not required if your derailleur is appropriately adjusted. Ridiculed by by roadies and people who like higher end vintage bikes. Others of us like them large and gleaming with chrome: https://oldtenspeedgallery.com/blog/w...ontinental.jpg

Eric

HSean

It's a nice bicycle. I'll never understand what happened to all these companys. the rear shifter looks like one from a 100$ walmart bike. unless the old owner put that on. then again I had a bike kinda like this one and it had one of those on it. all in all i'd ride that! lol

JJPistols

what part of Austin are you in? yellow bike guys can help you get that thing set up, or you could pay Clown Dog or the Peddler a few bucks and be rollin' pretty