I'd been trawling ebay for a cheap commuter for a while, and by cheap I mean almost free since I've got no cash so I was having no luck. Then I saw an offer on Feecycle of a "Dawes bike with drop handlebars" and that was all. I asked for it and got it. I wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be a Dawes Sterling in pretty good nick. The only immediately apparent problem was the guards were trashed, but I've had a set in the garage for years.
Having got it home and given it a proper look over I noticed the following. The tyres are, as always, cracked. The brake blocks need renewing. The rear wheel is a solid axled replacement with a wide rim, the usual cheap "hybrid" job.
Other than that I can't complain about a free bike built from a reasonable tubeset (Reynolds 500) a workmanlike group (Altus - it's no Dura Ace but it's ideal for commuting) and complete with rack, panniers and lock.
So I need a pair of tyres and a set of brake blocks and at some point in the future a new back wheel. I'd probably ending up having to do at least as much on something I got cheap from ebay so I'm a happy bunny.
Anybody got a half decent 700c rear wheel going spare?
Having got it home and given it a proper look over I noticed the following. The tyres are, as always, cracked. The brake blocks need renewing. The rear wheel is a solid axled replacement with a wide rim, the usual cheap "hybrid" job.
Other than that I can't complain about a free bike built from a reasonable tubeset (Reynolds 500) a workmanlike group (Altus - it's no Dura Ace but it's ideal for commuting) and complete with rack, panniers and lock.
So I need a pair of tyres and a set of brake blocks and at some point in the future a new back wheel. I'd probably ending up having to do at least as much on something I got cheap from ebay so I'm a happy bunny.
Anybody got a half decent 700c rear wheel going spare?
