Finally managed to find my Nephew a suitable bicycle he can afford ! took three years and here it is! Picked it up for $130 all I have to do is clean and tune.
The only mark on it is the grunge spot on the end of the grip! Good score!
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
(04-19-2015, 03:52 PM)painkiller Wrote: Finally managed to find my Nephew a suitable bicycle he can afford ! took three years and here it is! Picked it up for $130 all I have to do is clean and tune.
The only mark on it is the grunge spot on the end of the grip! Good score!
Nice for the price! Hope he enjoys it. Sure is a good score.
Nobody ever said "I wish I would have gotten less of a bike!"
Here it is 2024 and back in the stand is my nephew's 2010 Specialized hardrock, It has served him well. He has taken decent care of it over the years, at least in the fact that it has never been left out to rot outside and so spent most of its life on casual rides and time in the garage since 2015. was not a bad buy at $130 back then. So how has it faired overall you might ask? Well first off i was never impressed with the Sram X-4 shifter pods and rear derailleur but thats what is was. The V-brakes were of lower end quality too. Now the v-brakes just have that dead feeling. Overall paint condition faired really well, nothing a good cleaning and polishing will not bring her back to her glory days.
After a complete inspection I have decided to revamp the bike from its Sram past to a future Of Shimano key components to surely make this bicycle exceed in performance evn more so than when it was new and will easily get another 10 or more yrs of service for this owner.
She will be getting new shifter pods, chain, rear cassette, v-brakes/pads, tubes, rear derailleur and maybe a couple extra's. The shock still functions as intended so that is a plus. The wheelset hanging in there too, big plus. All said and done, from purchase to the total cost of ownership throughout its time in my nephews hands, broken down by months will have only been roughly $3 a month. A great deal in my book I would say. So much better to refurbish and freshen a bike he likes that to buy a new one. On another note, I could easily no nothing to this bike and get his original $130 back if he so chose to do that. Thats like a free quality bike for 9yrs if you think about it that way.
So here we go on to the build, toss in the stand and take it down like a clown. Parts are ordered so the frame will need to be ready to assemble while waitng for some of the new parts to come in
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
Looking forward to this renovation story, Painkiller..:-)
While I am traveling here in India, I saw that the family I am staying with had left a bike left out to the environs. Later on I learned that it was a foldable bike that my host had used to ride across parts of Japan. Sadly, now it's neglected. Then I brought it out of the dump hoping to salvage it. It's a Caribou Foldable Bicycle that probably was made in Japan. Sadly, I am here only for a few more days so all I can do is give it a clean "shower". My host said that he plans to bring it to a bike shop and get it revamped. Sadly, I am here only for a few more days so all I can do is give it a clean "shower" and hope that it sees better days..
But, thank you for doing the right thing and giving these bikes a second/third life..
(03-18-2024, 07:02 PM)Painkiller Wrote: Here it is 2024 and back in the stand is my nephew's 2010 Specialized hardrock, It has served him well. He has taken decent care of it over the years, at least in the fact that it has never been left out to rot outside and so spent most of its life on casual rides and time in the garage since 2015. was not a bad buy at $130 back then. So how has it faired overall you might ask? Well first off i was never impressed with the Sram X-4 shifter pods and rear derailleur but thats what is was. The V-brakes were of lower end quality too. Now the v-brakes just have that dead feeling. Overall paint condition faired really well, nothing a good cleaning and polishing will not bring her back to her glory days.
After a complete inspection I have decided to revamp the bike from its Sram past to a future Of Shimano key components to surely make this bicycle exceed in performance evn more so than when it was new and will easily get another 10 or more yrs of service for this owner.
She will be getting new shifter pods, chain, rear cassette, v-brakes/pads, tubes, rear derailleur and maybe a couple extra's. The shock still functions as intended so that is a plus. The wheelset hanging in there too, big plus. All said and done, from purchase to the total cost of ownership throughout its time in my nephews hands, broken down by months will have only been roughly $3 a month. A great deal in my book I would say. So much better to refurbish and freshen a bike he likes that to buy a new one. On another note, I could easily no nothing to this bike and get his original $130 back if he so chose to do that. Thats like a free quality bike for 9yrs if you think about it that way.
So here we go on to the build, toss in the stand and take it down like a clown. Parts are ordered so the frame will need to be ready to assemble while waitng for some of the new parts to come in
Thanks again GirishH, yea that folder has been neglected for sure, nothing some mega Tlc cannot fix hopefully. I am pondering doing another thread on this bike. originally started when Photobucket was a free open source photo storage site. then they decided to watermark and hold hostage everybody's photos and wanting outrageous prices to use their site. So of course I said keep em. Not getting a penny from me. It could not have been handle any more dirty than the way they went about it. That is why the watermarked photos are on this site.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
jc hardrock build sheet
Chain KMC Z8.1......................................................................................................$15**
Sram PG-730 7spd Cassette.................................................................................$20*
Shimano Acera RD-3020 SGS rear derailleur.....................................................$22**
Shimano 3x7 Altus SL-m315 Shifters...................................................................$30**
Shimano BR-T4000 V-brakes.................................................................................$30**
cables/housing........................................................................................................$15*
Sram Contour Foam Lock-on grips......................................................................$24**
Tires Kenda K841C 26x1.95 x2..............................................................................$40*
Contitubes x2..........................................................................................................$16**
Profile Barends.......................................................................................................$16**
Platform Pedals......................................................................................................$26**
Total .............................................................................................................$254
Total used parts sold...................................................................................-$20
Grand total.................................................................................................. $234
Total cost of ownership to date.................................................................$364
* New Part
** upgraded new part
This is where I am at on this Refurb. 11 new parts of which 8 of them are an upgrade from original. An important part of one of my standards,
"equal to or better than original" makes a very nice refurb. Still waiting on some parts then start slinging cables, The intent on this build was to make it a well
rounded Shimano platform vs the original Sram/Shimano mix. Pretty good deal for about 10yrs later to have only $364 including the initial cost of $130 of the bike.
Being able to start the next 10yrs out with a new and upgraded version makes it even nicer. Anyone can do it too if only they take care of and maintain correctly.
Another reason to become your own wrench, Learning to do it correctly can be a challenge for many people though it seems.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
Enkei, sadly I never picked up that "good" habit of cleaning/lubing my bike. And, sadly I would ride my bike in Boston's rains and winters where more salt was used than anywhere I know..:-( Now, I feel for my bike. I wish I had known better..
(03-24-2024, 04:55 PM)enkei Wrote: Bike looks great!
Depressingly, while reading your post, I suddenly realised that I forgot to clean and lube my chain after getting caught in heavy rain yesterday.
yeah I feel for you there. My main users are just that, normal dirt here and there, I just give them a sponge bath once in awhile and a fresh lube. Move and reset my seatpost so in never gets seized, take an oil soaked q-tip and rub on any rust prone bits. I use chains with quik links for easier cleaning. Thats about it.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
(03-24-2024, 09:52 AM)Painkiller Wrote: Thanks again GirishH, yea that folder has been neglected for sure, nothing some mega Tlc cannot fix hopefully. I am pondering doing another thread on this bike. originally started when Photobucket was a free open source photo storage site. then they decided to watermark and hold hostage everybody's photos and wanting outrageous prices to use their site. So of course I said keep em. Not getting a penny from me. It could not have been handle any more dirty than the way they went about it. That is why the watermarked photos are on this site.
That folder (just seeing the one photo) might not be serviceable at a reasonable cost; hope it can be rejuvenated for further use.
Not meaning to digress, but are you saying that Photo*ucket is taking ownership of other's material just because it was stored on their site? I thought the whole point was to be able to protect your images, not "give " them away to the host site. I am planning on only taking photos with a real digital camera here shortly since I want to be able to mark my work, as well as get better results and not have to digitally edit/clean-up the horrible phone camera photos I have been taking. I was a pro photographer back in the days of film, now it it rather expensive to get film processed.
I am ReapThaWimpWind and I view the world from a plexiglass window in my lower abdomen because my head is a sigmoidoscope always shoved up my....
(03-24-2024, 09:52 AM)Painkiller Wrote: Thanks again GirishH, yea that folder has been neglected for sure, nothing some mega Tlc cannot fix hopefully. I am pondering doing another thread on this bike. originally started when Photobucket was a free open source photo storage site. then they decided to watermark and hold hostage everybody's photos and wanting outrageous prices to use their site. So of course I said keep em. Not getting a penny from me. It could not have been handle any more dirty than the way they went about it. That is why the watermarked photos are on this site.
That folder (just seeing the one photo) might not be serviceable at a reasonable cost; hope it can be rejuvenated for further use.
Not meaning to digress, but are you saying that Photo*ucket is taking ownership of other's material just because it was stored on their site? I thought the whole point was to be able to protect your images, not "give " them away to the host site. I am planning on only taking photos with a real digital camera here shortly since I want to be able to mark my work, as well as get better results and not have to digitally edit/clean-up the horrible phone camera photos I have been taking. I was a pro photographer back in the days of film, now it it rather expensive to get film processed.
yes, They held everybody's photo's on the once free version, the only choice you had was to pay the very high fee or just for get about them altogether, most of mine i had on backup hardrives here and there. The only reason i used it was for site's that required an url to be able to post. they basically claimed the rights to your photos. Last time i looked i t at least $500 a year
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
Finished up and ready to deliver. Runs out much better with the Shimano mountain mix swap from the Sram x3/4 it had stock. Upgraded the pedals, grips, Some new tubes/tire/cables/housing. and upgraded to Shimano Alivio v-brakes. Its like a new bike again. He will be quite happy with it no doubt. Looks cool but the radial laced spoke pattern doe not really belong on a MTB in my opinion. But the wheelset is holding on so far for not being on top of the heap as they say.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"
It give me so much joy to see a V-Brake mountain bike for some reason, the Shimano BR-4000 Calipers should be able to let you use it on some trails with reliable stopping power!
(04-01-2024, 05:20 AM)meamoantonio Wrote: It give me so much joy to see a V-Brake mountain bike for some reason, the Shimano BR-4000 Calipers should be able to let you use it on some trails with reliable stopping power!
Always my go to replacement brake if looking for black or silver. great brakes for the price.
There are two kinds of people in the world, "Those who help themselves to people, and those who help people!"