Context: I know absolutely nothing about the actual mechanics of bikes! I can ride them, that’s about it. I am a project person, I love figuring stuff out and challenging myself with new hard things.
Questions: Is this bike worth refurbishing? My goal would be to get it rideable, and to learn along the way. It does not need to be fancy when I’m done, it just needs to ride and be safe.
What I know about the bike: It’s a Schwinn Sprint frame, I believe from 1980 based on the serial number. I picked it up for free, and would be willing to put $150 into it plus sweat equity. I’m really not sure what it needs, I would be learning everything from scratch, but assuming it needed a lot, does this budget sound possible or am I crazy?
by DazzlingAd1924
5 Comments
Not worth it. You’re going to spend way more than $150 and still have a POS at the end of the project.
It’s a lower end Schwinn, but its still better then what you would buy at the store today for $150.
Your probably looking at some new tires/tubes and some handlebar tape, maybe a saddle if the gel in that one is dried out. (or is that just a saddle cover?) $75-100 off Amazon tops depending on the saddle? When I worked at a shop and those came in for a tune up we would usually lube the chain and make sure the derailleur trim screws were adjusted correctly, but there’s really not that much going on with that bike.
It’s good enough to ride around the block. down to the coffee shop, etc. when its fixed up. If you don’t go thru with this, donate it to your local bike coop, its worth saving from the garbage dump!
Did you clean it up? Because it looks in great shape for 44 years old. The tires match and don’t look like they’re crumbling. Other than a low (flat?) rear tire it looks ok, not even dusty or rusted anywhere. All this goes to say that it appears the bike was lightly used, and has been sitting around for a maybe half a year, not decades. The main expense might be to have to replace the geartrain if the bike was ridden a lot, but that doesn’t look likely.
From a distance it appears that all you may need to do is pump up or replace that rear inner tube, and possibly tighten up some cables. Maybe replace the brake pads, but probably not. Oil the chain. You don’t have to get anything fancy for that. A few drops of motor oil from a recent oil change would be fine. An inner tube is cheap, about $7. Getting a hand pump can get expensive if you splurge (Lezyne, $80) but you can spend much less. If you don’t want to pump by hand, [Harbor Freight](https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-100-psi-high-volume-air-inflator-63745.html) has a nice portable electric one for about $30 designed for cars, using the 12v plug.
If you’re looking for something that won’t require any work, at least for a while, flea markets sometimes have vendors who sell refurbished bikes for cheap. But the ability to fix up your bike is worthwhile endeavor.
Yes and no. Your budget should be 30 dollars and the bike should be free. Cheap cables and new cheap chain is all that’s worth it. Maybe take it apart, clean and add new grease and clean. Max max max budget should be 40 for the education. Final bike will likely sell for 100.
This bike has many more miles in it. I’d start with some air, check breaks and cables that will likely get it going. Might need to adjust cables. If needed you can go through it one bearing at a time (might need rebuild as grease dryes out over time).