(05-01-2025, 07:57 PM)Flowrider Wrote: (04-30-2025, 08:31 AM)Painkiller Wrote: (04-29-2025, 10:09 PM)Flowrider Wrote: @meamoantonio No I don't always but I will now. Thanks for the heads up.
@ReapThaWhirlwind . Thanks for that. It's what I will do now. Pretty sure the salt in the air from living close to the coast has an effect as well
Thanks @Painkiller with 2516 posts!!🫨 Great effort. You must be a BIKERIDE legend! 
Well I do not know about all that but thank you, It all started with bicycle Tutor before the change over. I have my own niche in bicycles but cannot offer much help with a lot of newer stuff like e-bikes, 10+rear speeds etc. One thing I know for sure is how to make the old like new again and make people fall back in love with their bike again.
Would it be a good idea to start a post encouraging riders who need to know how to make their old bike look like new again, and help people fall back in love with their bike?
I am not really sure if it would work, I am all about trying to show people how to work on them but doesn't always translate well. The average person is told to believe that the bicycle they own doesn't have much value, don't put money into it and buy a new bike instead. They are misled by sites such as BicycleBlueBook.com. , Local bike shops etc..I always hear people say they want to learn how to do it so they do not have to take it to a bike and want to save money. That is their mindset, but yet to be able to pull that off one truly needs to "BE" in some fashion like a bike shop and that being said one has to tool up, have supplies, know how to actually do the work correctly and so on. It quickly becomes substandard at best for the average bike owner to be his or her own wrench. You have to go all in as they say and most just will not or cannot do that. I know my lane and I stay in my lane. Mostly because of my age and have no desire to work at a local bike shop to further my education and experience working on the latest and greatest technology.
Here is an example that most people would never do just because of the way it seems to be the best choice in the end, for some maybe. but for some not really. I have a customer and has been for 30yrs. his wifes bicycle a 2019 Specialized Crossroads Sport, approx. $600 to replace. while on vacation it flopped off the hitch mount bike stand and was dragged down the interstate at 80 mph for sometime before realizing what happened. He brings it to me to look it over. I told him to get the wallet out but before anything I need to inspect the integrity of the frame and check it for squareness and go from there. It hung on by the rear wheel which got bent, took out the bars, shifters, grips. Before the bike mishap it was ready for a checkup and tuneup anyway that would have included cable/housing, brake pads, wheel truing, lube, the normal stuff.
Fast forward the bill will be in the $400 range for a new wheelset, shifter/brake combo, grips, Handlebar, brake pads, spoke protector, rim strips etc.
The bike is now stripped to the bare frame and cleaned and polished, had to be to check for hairline cracks and tell tale signs of cracks like in the paint. I had just finished a refurb on a similar bicycle he could of been riding that day for $275 with trade in on the wrecked bike that i would not have repaired just parted out for what I could. His wife liked her Blue bike more that my silver one i offered up. So the question is Was it worth it?
Yes is the answer. She needs a bike, she likes her wrecked bike with a beautiful frame and fork, fixing it will save her over 30% from a new bike. She now has a better quality wheelset than the new bike. She now has better quality Lock-on grips, and cartridge brake pads than the new bike, she now has better quality cable/housing/endcaps and better fit than a new bike, She also was able to use this opportunity to get more rise in the handle to suit her better than the new bike she would have had to buy and modify, right along with new shifter/brake combo levers.
So the final result, she pretty much has a new bike, the bike she already owned, loved, and even better suited for her than when she bought it new.
This could not be done by most bike shops as they would have persuaded towards a new bike because they have a room full of them that need to move. where am I going with this? simply put it can only be done by someone like myself that understands high level standards in bicycle refurbishing. The rules are simple but not easily followed, as a matter of fact you have to make the rules for yourself like I did. This is where the disconnect comes in to play.
Excluding the paint but awesome if it complies, every nut and bolt, components etc. must be rated @ 95%+ perfect when finished or it gets replaced,
When replacing parts they must be equal to or better than and of Era is also a plus when it comes to vintage bicycles. No exceptions!
In the end we all have to start somewhere, direction via the internet can be confusing at best, it can be as bad as it can be good. I never had that route in my day. but know this, only you can decide what your standards will be, and how all in you are willing to go.
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