Newbie looking for help

[fourtwizzy]

Well to begin I found this Columbia Roadster in the woods today and I think it would be really awesome bike to recondition. Based off what I can find on google this probably a 1970 bike (If anyone can confirm or deny that would be much appreciated!) Here are some photos of what I'm dealing with. I'd like to recondition the bike as opposed to doing a full restore and paint it. Can anyone give me advise or point me in the right direction as to where to begin. The front tire also seems to be bent slightly which you can tell when the bike is flipped upside down and the wheel is spun. Is this something I should spend money on if I can get a local bike repair shop to do this or should I just invest my money in a new wheel? Thank you very much for your time and expertise in advance

Jesse

Photos:
http://imgur.com/a/3fnmE#0

What I think is the serial number:
http://imgur.com/a/TAkt5

[nfmisso]

Regarding truing the wheels - remove the wheels from the bike, remove the tires and tubes - they are trash anyway. Remove and discard the rim strip (between the tube and the rim), apply some Liquid Wrench or similar penetrant to the spoke nipples on both the spoke side and rim side - let it sit over night. Get a spoke wrench that fits properly (tightly) and loosen each spoke ¼ turn. IF you can do this, the wheel can just be trued. If you can't - more expensive options.

In San Jose; LBSs charge $25- to $30- to true one wheel.

New front wheel: http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-Front-Bicycle-Silver/dp/B000AP0AI2/
which will need it's bearings regreased (used boat trailer wheel bearing grease) and adjusted; and will need to be tensioned, stress relieved and trued.

And the back wheel: http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-Bicycle-Coaster-Silver/dp/B000AO5FB0/ which will need it's bearings regreased (used boat trailer wheel bearing grease) and adjusted; and will need to be tensioned, stress relieved and trued.

Tensioning, stress relieving and truing will eliminate the spoke breakage problem one of the commenters made. Increasing the tension on spokes reduces the probability of broken spokes.

A good chain: http://www.amazon.com/Snaplock-Bicycle-Chain-Single-Speed-Black/dp/B0013FBE8I/

looks like you need a little L bracket and screws to hold up the rear fender.

Jesse; if you can do all the work yourself, you are still looking at around $100- to make the bike ride able: tires, tubes, chain, spoke wrench, cone wrenches, grease.

Salvaging bikes is a black hole hobby - the only ones that come out even are the people that sell us the parts - and many of those do it at a loss too.

[Joe_W]

Well, if it wasn't a time (and money) sink it wasn't a hobby... but: yeah, keep that in mind. Assess the damage, set a budget and don't go over it... or maybe do, it's a hobby, after all

Restoring the bike will take a lot of time and effort. You need to take everything apart, remove the rust, polish, grease. It is satisfying when you're done, but the process can be tedious.
On the wheels: I would in general like sticking to the look, but the rims of that period are... not good, neither robust nor do they offer reasonable brake performance. So it's a trade-off.

Spoke wrench: I like the Spokey-like ones (there's similar ones out there that are less expensive than the DT brand ones). They grab the nipple on all four sides. If you plan to true (and maybe later build) your own wheels get one of those.
http://www.dtswiss.com/Products/Proline/Spokey.aspx

[GeorgeET]

Yep 10-4 to all the above and include servicing bottom bracket and head bearing. If cones are usable put in new bearings and as Nigel said use marine waterproof grease.
Seat looks beat too.
Proper parts(cones) are very hard to find for wheel repair. We have seen lots of people here put $100 in repair parts on a rusty bike you can buy for $75 brand new . :-))

As the philosophers say its the journey not the destination. Good way to learn so you can then restore a top line bike.

Imo , for now service all bearings, clean, get tires and true the wheels.

Just bought a clean Colombia bike for my wife at Salvation Army for $35. I went through it (greased bearings) and now its set.

For myself I found a very nice 1985 Fuji with excellent frame and equipment, servicing
(myself) and out fitting cost 3X what I paid for the bike, but the bike was a good quality made in Japan when things were good there. New one like that would cost double or more than what I got in it.

[Bill]

Out of curiosity does it look like this one.....
http://forums.bikeride.com/thread-1425.html

[Ajwangerin]

(07-19-2012, 02:06 PM)GeorgeET Wrote:  Yep 10-4 to all the above and include servicing bottom bracket and head bearing. If cones are usable put in new bearings and as Nigel said use marine waterproof grease.
Seat looks beat too.
Proper parts(cones) are very hard to find for wheel repair. We have seen lots of people here put $100 in repair parts on a rusty bike you can buy for $75 brand new . :-))

As the philosophers say its the journey not the destination. Good way to learn so you can then restore a top line bike.

Imo , for now service all bearings, clean, get tires and true the wheels.

Just bought a clean Colombia bike for my wife at Salvation Army for $35. I went through it (greased bearings) and now its set.

For myself I found a very nice 1985 Fuji with excellent frame and equipment, servicing
(myself) and out fitting cost 3X what I paid for the bike, but the bike was a good quality made in Japan when things were good there. New one like that would cost double or more than what I got in it.

What are your thoughts about taking our old 1970 bikes to shops such as Performance Bicycle or Jax bikes for tune- ups? I ask that because I am not a do-it-myself er and don' know any local (Orange County, Ca)
shop that specializes in the old treasures.

[GeorgeET]

(08-28-2012, 01:15 PM)Ajwangerin Wrote:  

(07-19-2012, 02:06 PM)GeorgeET Wrote:  Yep 10-4 to all the above and include servicing bottom bracket and head bearing. If cones are usable put in new bearings and as Nigel said use marine waterproof grease.
Seat looks beat too.
Proper parts(cones) are very hard to find for wheel repair. We have seen lots of people here put $100 in repair parts on a rusty bike you can buy for $75 brand new . :-))

As the philosophers say its the journey not the destination. Good way to learn so you can then restore a top line bike.

Imo , for now service all bearings, clean, get tires and true the wheels.

Just bought a clean Colombia bike for my wife at Salvation Army for $35. I went through it (greased bearings) and now its set.

For myself I found a very nice 1985 Fuji with excellent frame and equipment, servicing
(myself) and out fitting cost 3X what I paid for the bike, but the bike was a good quality made in Japan when things were good there. New one like that would cost double or more than what I got in it.

What are your thoughts about taking our old 1970 bikes to shops such as Performance Bicycle or Jax bikes for tune- ups? I ask that because I am not a do-it-myself er and don' know any local (Orange County, Ca)
shop that specializes in the old treasures.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Do not know about bike shops in your area I doubt Performance bicycle is for you, but you can always ask.
There is a place in Venice (of course) on 1613 Lincoln blvd Manny Lowrider Bikes that works on old bikes , but a bit of a drive for you.
There is also Biker Wave for DIY they have help , tools and old parts, on 12255 Venice blvd. May be one closer to you.

[Ajwangerin]

(08-28-2012, 02:46 PM)GeorgeET Wrote:  

(08-28-2012, 01:15 PM)Ajwangerin Wrote:  

(07-19-2012, 02:06 PM)GeorgeET Wrote:  Yep 10-4 to all the above and include servicing bottom bracket and head bearing. If cones are usable put in new bearings and as Nigel said use marine waterproof grease.
Seat looks beat too.
Proper parts(cones) are very hard to find for wheel repair. We have seen lots of people here put $100 in repair parts on a rusty bike you can buy for $75 brand new . :-))

As the philosophers say its the journey not the destination. Good way to learn so you can then restore a top line bike.

Imo , for now service all bearings, clean, get tires and true the wheels.

Just bought a clean Colombia bike for my wife at Salvation Army for $35. I went through it (greased bearings) and now its set.

For myself I found a very nice 1985 Fuji with excellent frame and equipment, servicing
(myself) and out fitting cost 3X what I paid for the bike, but the bike was a good quality made in Japan when things were good there. New one like that would cost double or more than what I got in it.

What are your thoughts about taking our old 1970 bikes to shops such as Performance Bicycle or Jax bikes for tune- ups? I ask that because I am not a do-it-myself er and don' know any local (Orange County, Ca)
shop that specializes in the old treasures.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Do not know about bike shops in your area I doubt Performance bicycle is for you, but you can always ask.
There is a place in Venice (of course) on 1613 Lincoln blvd Manny Lowrider Bikes that works on old bikes , but a bit of a drive for you.
There is also Biker Wave for DIY they have help , tools and old parts, on 12255 Venice blvd. May be one closer to you.

Thanks you very much. I don't want to mess up a good old Peugot out of ignorance.

[Joe_W]

What needs to be tuned up? Lots of stuff can be done by yourself (ok, if time permits...). As you have a non-indexed shifter (I guess) at least this is no big deal. Adjusting bearings is mostly a matter of patience, as is wheel building and trueing (though this is probably the most challenging task for most). We'd be happy to point you in the direction of how to and what to avoid... but this was not your question, I guess.

On bike shops: My (limited to Germany) general (ok, it's not general if it's limited...) observation is that there's shops that will cater to the need of every customer, no matter what kind of bike. Then, there's some that will be more than happy if you bring in something really classic, mostly older shops with owners that raced when they were younger etc. and those are usually full of good, solid advice (my LBS even lends me some of his tools...). And then there's shops that only accept the latest and greatest. You'll find out soon enough which type the shop is. The only way is actually going there and talking to them. Forum advice is a good hint but there's always the personal influence. Maybe others would call somebody arrogant, but actually he's quite nice when you approach him in the correct way. Maybe some people like a shop that can cater to their high end, racing, team issue material, but that wouldn't touch an internally geared hub.

I'd try the DIY "shop"... but I do most of my bike related stuff myself, so there's some bias.

[Ajwangerin]

(08-29-2012, 03:42 AM)Joe_W Wrote:  What needs to be tuned up? Lots of stuff can be done by yourself (ok, if time permits...). As you have a non-indexed shifter (I guess) at least this is no big deal. Adjusting bearings is mostly a matter of patience, as is wheel building and trueing (though this is probably the most challenging task for most). We'd be happy to point you in the direction of how to and what to avoid... but this was not your question, I guess.

On bike shops: My (limited to Germany) general (ok, it's not general if it's limited...) observation is that there's shops that will cater to the need of every customer, no matter what kind of bike. Then, there's some that will be more than happy if you bring in something really classic, mostly older shops with owners that raced when they were younger etc. and those are usually full of good, solid advice (my LBS even lends me some of his tools...). And then there's shops that only accept the latest and greatest. You'll find out soon enough which type the shop is. The only way is actually going there and talking to them. Forum advice is a good hint but there's always the personal influence. Maybe others would call somebody arrogant, but actually he's quite nice when you approach him in the correct way. Maybe some people like a shop that can cater to their high end, racing, team issue material, but that wouldn't touch an internally geared hub.

I'd try the DIY "shop"... but I do most of my bike related stuff myself, so there's some bias.

Thanks for that common sense reply about asking and talking to the different shop guys.
I don't know that anything NEEDS tuning. I just suspect it does because I have had this bike for a couple of years and haven't had it out and about for over a year. I did keep air in the tires, they look fine; and I have sprayed Tri-Flow on the gears, just 'cause I thought it was a good idea and couldn't hurt. So in my spin around the block a couple of times it rode pretty nice, but a bit "sluggish" I guess is the best way to describe it.
I'll take your advice and go talk to a couple of shops, and then go by the DIY shop and look, listen and learn.

[Joe_W]

"sluggish" in the sense of not cornering as fast as a modern road bike? True that... but I like the ride of mine. It is much more relaxed than my modern bike and quite comfy, even off-road (with cyclocross tyres).

Things that need to be done (well... probably):
- brake pads (very likely!)
- tyres (well... probably)
- cables / housing (maybe... especially look at the brake cables, safety first!)
- the bearings should be overhauled, new pack of grease (and I like replacing the bearing balls because I don't like cleaning them...) not difficult (except when trying to remove the freewheel), but needs some time to get the hang of it.

you could check for chain wear, but along with that comes a lot of things... maybe true the wheels (check for spoke damage at the rear wheel, drive side first, there's the dreaded chain drop).

Good luck!