Lamont Cobb

Lamont Cobb

I have a lot of questions about my new (to me) vintage bike. First, my story on how I got this (skip this and go to my next thread if you're not interested).

I got up early and didn't know what to do, so I went outside to jog. I was going by my neighbor's hog farm when I noticed his dumpster. I usually almost never look in dumpsters, but somehow I heard a voice commanding me to do so (strange, isn't it, how that works?). Sure enough, I peaked in and found this beauty there.

But I didn't figure it would be mine because I had no way of getting it home (being out jogging), plus I didn't want my neighbor to know that I was peering into his dumpster, or to see me taking it out of the dumpster.

Low and behold, I attended a grange event two days later and sure enough, my neighbor (his name is Frank) was there. We struck up a conversation and we got to talking about bikes. Frank mentioned that he just put an old bike in his dumpster. Long story short, one thing led to another, and before you know it, I was taking her home.

Lamont Cobb

So I have a number of questions, the answers to which will determine what I do with this bike.

First, it she valuable? Please be frank. I wasn't born yesterday and I know that every time somebody pulls a fiddle out of granny's attic, they want it to be an Antonio Stradivari, and 99/100 times, it ain't. Plus, she's not a Schwinn or a Raleigh, so how valuable could she be? But you never know, so that's why I'm asking.

Second, although she's small, do you think I could ride it if I install a longer seat tube? If not, that's okay, because Wifey can still ride it, and if Wifey doesn't want to ride it, kids can always ride it when they come to the house.

Third, and related to the previous question, what would be a good Brooks saddle model that would work for both me and Wifey (i.e., not too wide, but not too narrow).

Fourth, this bike says on the frame that it's for touring. That's okay, I don't have the legs of Lance and wasn't intending to race on it. But should I outfit the bike to be a touring bike? I was thinking that some Ortliebs would be a nice start.

Fifth, one of the pedals is stuck and I couldn't pry it loose even with WD40. So I'm thinking, should I ditch the crankset entirely and replace it with a triple?

Sixth, I'm thinking that she would be nice with disk breaks. Are there are disk break conversion kits available? I looked online and couldn't find any. BTW I'm handy with a welder.

Seventh, should I replace the parts with modern parts or should I try to keep it "vintage correct"?

Eighth, this is not really a question so much as a request. If anybody has seen a review of this bike in Bicycling magazine, could you kindly point out which issue that was?

Thank you all in advance for your kind help. I'm new at this and kind of direction-less. I'm looking forward to your recommendations to steer me in the proper directrion.

icemilkcoffee 

No, this bike is not worth anything. No, Bicycling never reviewed this bike (I can say this without checking). No, you should not try to convert this to disk brakes.

Unless you have a special fondness for this particular bike, your best course of action is to return this bike to the dumpster before they take the dumpster away.,

SoCaled 

I like to "save" bikes. If you want to keep/use this bike I would wipe it down/clean it up first. Then a bit of lube on cables/check for adjustment. Check brakes and pads. Then just Go ride it! Take a few rides to see how it feels, if you like it, then think about more upgrades (new cables, new brake pads, open up wheel bearings and bottom bracket and clean and add new grease.

I would not put much effort into this one though, as the used market is very soft and it is a buyers market. You can get all kinds of nice bikes for $50-$150 right now that would be nicer/better than this one.

I have 5-6 bikes in my garage similar to this, but slightly nicer, and the sit, because it would cost more to make them go than to get something nicer in the current market.

USAZorro

I'm coming at this from a slightly different perspective.

This isn't a great or valuable bike, but it's pretty well made and if you can get some use out of it, great. If you can get a bit of bike mechanic and general knowledge along the way, even better. I would also go with a minimalist approach. Cleaning it up, replacing cabling tires, tubes, chain and brake pads are all necessary tasks. Spraying some PB blaster to unstick the pedal should fix that. Changing to disc brakes is not only more trouble than it is worth, but it could also make the bike dangerous to ride as the fork was not designed to handle the forces and would just fail sooner or later.

The Parktool web site has a library of almost every imaginable how-to bike maintenance task on YouTube. The explanations and visuals are excellent. You're certain to find someone here who is more than willing to help, but our instructions aren't necessarily available upon demand, and on a good day may be 75% as accurate and easy to follow as the videos. You will almost certainly want to service (and replace if they require it) the bearings in the headset, bottom bracket and hubs. Remove and clean the crank, chainrings and derailleurs. Yes, you would need a few special tools for this, but if you think fixing up bicycles is something you'd like to do now and then, well worth the relatively modest investment (especially if you compare to the cost of paying the shop to do it - not that I'm trying to put shops out of business, but rather to put the expense into perspective). There are plenty of suitable saddles available that might be shareable. Note that I have attempted this with my wife, but her saddle preferences are different than mine. In any event, steer clear of overly "cushy" saddles and gel saddles or gel covers. They may feel nice for 5 minutes, but they conform to your body a bit too much and cut off circulation - which is a very miserable experience when you still have miles to go. Many places that sell bikes will carry Bontrager or Trek saddles that have firm foam padding. I'm not saying this because I'm recommending them, but if you see one, get a sense for how much "give" they have. Don't get a saddle that has more give than these do. If you really want a Brooks Saddle, I'd say to look at a B66 or B67. They both have some suspension and are designed for upright riding.

Be aware that if you intend to become a regular cyclist, it's almost certain that you'd want to eventually find something that better suits your size, needs and interests. If you can persevere to get it back on the road, you've done far more than most, but if you see what it will take to get it there and decide you'd rather not, nobody will hold it against you.

p.s. That's a cool story about acquiring the bike and you handled the situation very smoothly and tactfully.

mgopack42 

Lamont Cobb If you don't know already, the right side (drive side ) pedal is a reverse thread. it will loosen clockwise,

The Golden Boy 

As you were jogging by- was the dumpster on your right or onyerleft?

Manny66 

Like others here have already stated, its a dept store bike and not worth anything. If you want a very nice vintage bike , check the Classified Section of this Forum, a Member is/was Giving Away several bicycles that were very good quality in ready to ride condition. You might want to check those out as just paying for the Shipping fee alone is less than what you would spend on parts to get this bike in rideable condition.

SurferRosa

Good eye.

billytwosheds 

I'd like to know how the repairs on their lawn mower are going. Still in the shop?

USAZorro

It's a step above a department store bike. Truly not worth much or anything special, but it's reasonably well made. Good suggestion on the alternate source for a nicer bike. Worth it only if one fits though.

Robvolz 

Quote: “First, it she valuable? Please be frank”.

your neighbor???

Chuck M 

Frankly, you will have more money putting tires and tubes on it than what it is worth. While that has never stopped me on some of my bikes, this is not a bike that you would want to put a Brooks saddle on, disk brakes or a triple crankset.

But you got it for free and if you think your wife will ride it enough to make it worth spending time and money for tubes, tires, and cables, go for it.

The Golden Boy 

When you owe that much in gambling debts, you sometimes have to fake your own death.

AdventureManCO 

Please tell me you are in Colorado and then you can come over and have your pick of several Heck I'll build you one.

SurferRosa

I tell ya, I can't figure it out. At first, I thought it was a bot. But maybe it's a (comedic) bit. It's either a bot or a bit. What's up with the grieving "it's not my size" in 30+ sales forum posts? Asking about adding "disk breaks," modern parts and touring with ... this bike?? That he found in a hog farm dumpster while "jogging"? That he assures us isn't going to be raced? All the awful "wifey" comments. Eww. Aren't there better outlets for satire? This is satire, right?

Trakhak

The drive-side bottom bracket cup is reverse threaded. The non-drive-side pedal is the one that is reverse threaded.

dedhed

Shimano FFS.

​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/tandem-cy...freewheel.html

​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...l-systems.html

​​​​​​https://www.google.com/search?q=shim...&bih=612&dpr=1

AdventureManCO 

Hmm...ya, looking back at those posts, plenty of comments in Richard Sachs, Cinelli and other high end vintage bike threads, so OP should have a good handle on what's valuable and what's not. So...

John E

As a grocery store / errand runner for which you do not have to worry much about theft or security, why not?