I'm hoping I've found a home, most bike forums seem to have a snobbery towards the old road bikes. I rode a lot as a teen and in my 20's, the fanciest bike I had was an Austrian Steyr 10 speed. A few months ago I find a 1982 Sears Free Spirit (Murray most likely) at a thrift place cheap, everything seemed to work and it was my size so I put some tires on it. Soon I had to replace the derailleur levers and cables as they were plastic and the front one snapped off. I still can't get the front derailleur dialed in to where it'll shift smoothly from high to low, but I'm riding quite a bit, recently snagged a really nice free Burley trailer for my 3 year daughter, just wanting to get into better shape and get back into it.
Recently I drove past another thrift place and whipped around when I saw a 10 speed outside. By then I've done my homework, so I see a lugged frame, Suntour derailleurs, Dia-Compe brake levers with center-pull brakes, overall a much better bike than the Free Spirit and quite a bit lighter. It'll need new tires, they're 700 by 320 and so far seem pretty pricy online, but for $10 and being my size I wasn't going to leave it. One pedal crank was loose on the spindle, turned out to be a worn out cotter pin so I'll need to get those. One thing I didn't recognize was the name, Kenko, made in Japan, but I'd read that Japan was making some really decent bikes to compete with the European ones. Not much info online about Kenko, and it doesn't have a model name, but what little I've found they made a respectable entry level and above road bike, so I'd like to make it a project, get it back on the road.
I've never really worked on bikes but I am mechanically inclined, so I'll appreciate all the input I can get. For starters the tires, do they have to also be 700 by 320 or are there other sizes that will also work? I'll want to put something good on without going too deep in the wallet, but not the cheapest tires they make, I'm ready to make the leap from pedaling about town to touring. I'd think I should replace all the cables, they're rusty in places and pretty slack so why not. Shouldn't I also pull out the spindle/bottom bracket, I'd bet the grease in there looks like black paste. Basically a good complete tune-up and overhaul, keep it as original as I can which everything seems to work so can't see it needing any upgrades (All I've gotten from other forums and the LBS is that it's cheap and not worth messing with, when I see a fine quality old road bike, I hope you folks will too). Also if anyone knows anything about the name, I'd sure like to know more about what I have.
Recently I drove past another thrift place and whipped around when I saw a 10 speed outside. By then I've done my homework, so I see a lugged frame, Suntour derailleurs, Dia-Compe brake levers with center-pull brakes, overall a much better bike than the Free Spirit and quite a bit lighter. It'll need new tires, they're 700 by 320 and so far seem pretty pricy online, but for $10 and being my size I wasn't going to leave it. One pedal crank was loose on the spindle, turned out to be a worn out cotter pin so I'll need to get those. One thing I didn't recognize was the name, Kenko, made in Japan, but I'd read that Japan was making some really decent bikes to compete with the European ones. Not much info online about Kenko, and it doesn't have a model name, but what little I've found they made a respectable entry level and above road bike, so I'd like to make it a project, get it back on the road.
I've never really worked on bikes but I am mechanically inclined, so I'll appreciate all the input I can get. For starters the tires, do they have to also be 700 by 320 or are there other sizes that will also work? I'll want to put something good on without going too deep in the wallet, but not the cheapest tires they make, I'm ready to make the leap from pedaling about town to touring. I'd think I should replace all the cables, they're rusty in places and pretty slack so why not. Shouldn't I also pull out the spindle/bottom bracket, I'd bet the grease in there looks like black paste. Basically a good complete tune-up and overhaul, keep it as original as I can which everything seems to work so can't see it needing any upgrades (All I've gotten from other forums and the LBS is that it's cheap and not worth messing with, when I see a fine quality old road bike, I hope you folks will too). Also if anyone knows anything about the name, I'd sure like to know more about what I have.
