Kabuki12

Yup!! Old tires can be deadly. I suffered a blow out on the rear tire on a Stella that was given to me. I was hauling **s downhill and BANG! I was fine but it scared me and it took a while for me to calm down.

smd4

You're the one who said he wanted his shoulders to be farther over the bars. Just trying to help.

beng1

Okay, I put some new 1 1/8" tires on front and back. Wheel bearings felt really good on this bike, but I will still tear them down for a CLA at some point in the future and that will finish the bike. It is very rideable as it is, I will just do some more adjusting on the seat, moving it forward and down a bit and it will be perfect.

beng1

Lucky it was a rear tire, with a front tire blowout at high speed there is much less hope of staying up on the wheels.

Road Fan

Plus, no matter how clean your BB is (!), it’s never wrong to overhaul your BB and wheel bearings! Should think about doing the headset sometime, as well. Lower headset bearing races take a beating.

Does the bike track straight or pull to one side or other?

beng1

Me? The Fuji tracks like a locomotive. I twirled the wheel bearings with my fingers while putting the new tires on and they felt lubed and smooth and adjusted. I will certainly do the wheel bearings and the headset someday when I get the time, but right now it is the beginning of one of our very short summers and I am not interested in doing anything with bicycles besides riding that I absolutely do not have to. Thanks for the input.............

repechage

Locomotives have flanged wheels and rails to keep them on track.

Road Fan

I’m not trying to insult you or your bicycle or to misdirect your time but to share my experience. Grease in bearings can become rodent-infested, and it can also just plain become dry. If it is dry it no longer lubticating, and the bearing, in which some parts might not be replaceable, is wearing as you ride. If the surfaces are smooth the bearing will feel smooth, and if they are worn and pitted or teh dried grease has made little hardened mountains, it will feel rough. This is just the reality of ball bearings

Any case, smooth bearings can be in need of new grease, and might not be protected against wear. It’s bad news if you open your hubs and find out your races are not replaceable (disposable consumer products), and you have to find hubs or hub shells which are not worn. That can also ruin your summer.

That is why I walked down that path. If you do the overhauls, you’ve lost a day. If you don’t and your wheels get rough or can’t be adjusted for play, you’ve lost the time it takes to replace the hubs or the wheels. It’s not my choice. Many will tell you to just finish the overhaul, but it’s not up to us.

Glad it glides in a straight line - at least you probably don’t have frame alignment issues.