Buying a scrap bike - what to watch for?

ansbaradigeidfran
ansbaradigeidfran Posts: 526
edited November 2008 in Workshop
As I've mentioned in the Commuting/Workshop forum, I'm keeping an eye on my local dump, who put bikes to one side to sell to tempted grease monkeys. I plan to pick up a racer, strip it completely, perhaps paint it, then rebuild it over the winter. Past fix-ups have included a shopper for my other half at £10 (needed tyres and brake pads) and an MTB for my brother, also at £10 (plus new tyres, tubes and chain).

Bearing in mind that I'm limited to what people decide to throw away (and I think I can still fix up), what sort of things should I go after or avoid in a second-hand racer?

Comments

  • A frame with horizontal drop-outs could be converted to fixed/singlespeed by removing more than you put on.
    Anything with Reynolds tubes would be nice, Brooks saddles, (even if you don't like it you could fund the rebuild by selling it on ebay.)
    Personally speaking, old steel frames are often nice to ride but old gears and brakes are not so nice.
    BeestonCC Sportive
    Sunday 24th June 2012
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  • Actually, I'm after a geared racer: North Wales isn't flat enough for me to dare to go singlespeed. Thanks for the other pointers, and to everyone else in advance.
  • Frame, handlebar, stem, seatpost, that's what you have to look for, the groupset, well you'll have to put a new on and wheelwise, you're likely to need a new pair.
    But essentially you're looking for a frame of your size and in decent conditions
    left the forum March 2023
  • Good luck with the project. I've done a bit of fixing up in the past, although on old bikes negelected by family members and myself who then want to ride them again, ratther than from the tips, but If I were embarking on this then I'd be looking for the following, I think:

    Right size frame - no matter how nice if it doesn't fit it won't be nice to ride.

    Frame and fork material and condition - Reynolds and Columbus for steel would be the obvious names to look out for. Steel's resilience might make it especially attractive when you don't know the source and history of the frame. I don't expect that much Ti turns up at the tip!

    Wheels - again, well-known names would be a plus (Mavic rims and so on) and some guide to quality and thus rewards for money/time in dealing with wheels that are out of true, hubs that need stripping and bearings replacing and so on.

    Other components - I think I'd always replace tyres, chain, cables and brake blocks when I didn't know age, previous use and period of non-use. Otherwise then I'd hope for dual-pivot brakes (much more effective than older single pivot ones) and be willing to buy some new bits, although it is remarkable how long good componentry can last (my winter bike has gear mechs that are fifteen years old and they still work fine). Simple kit - down-tube gear levers, for example - tend to be more resilient than STI-style ones and are easier to fiddle with, too.

    Seized parts - you might be able to free seized bits with plenty of Plusgas and the like, but not being able to get the stem, seat post or bottom bracket out would be a real pain, especially as the bottom bracket is almost certainly going to need attention from this source.
  • How do bottom brackets work out? Are they genrally easy to replace? Or are sizes difficult. It would be nice to be able to just stick a new external BB on, but is it that easy?
  • providing you have the correct tools, it should be easy to replace.
    How do bottom brackets work out? Are they genrally easy to replace? Or are sizes difficult. It would be nice to be able to just stick a new external BB on, but is it that easy?
  • bice
    bice Posts: 772
    I have saved a steel Raleigh MTB from Wandsworth tip fro my daughter. Just needed tyres blowing up and a clean. It's such a heavy lump I wont even replace the chain, which is almost certainly corroded and loose.

    I also retrieved a nice woman's Raleigh 531 Reynolds from a skip and turned it into a flat bar town bike for a friend.

    I commute on a 531 reynolds Claud Butler woman's light tourer with Mixte frame, retrieved from office car park and given to me by security after being abandoned three years ago. I have put a flat bar on it, new chain, pedals and clips (not clipless), and it goes about as well as £400-500 light hybrid, in my view.

    The worst stuff from 1970s/80s are the brake levers - not the Weinemann brakes themselves. Once you put cables through proper MTB brake levers the Weinemanns work fine. There was something particular c**p about 1970s drop handle bar brakes. Also, the width of the drops is very narrow from that era, so much more difficult to ride than a modern road bike. Just as twitchy as hell, hence the need for flat bars with a wider grip.

    But I am delighted with the Claud Butler, and I leave it everywhere in London without fear of it being nicked. (While my Trek 1.7 I wont leave out on the street at all.)
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,073
    As I've mentioned in the Commuting/Workshop forum, I'm keeping an eye on my local dump, who put bikes to one side to sell to tempted grease monkeys. I plan to pick up a racer, strip it completely, perhaps paint it, then rebuild it over the winter. Past fix-ups have included a shopper for my other half at £10 (needed tyres and brake pads) and an MTB for my brother, also at £10 (plus new tyres, tubes and chain).

    Bearing in mind that I'm limited to what people decide to throw away (and I think I can still fix up), what sort of things should I go after or avoid in a second-hand racer?

    I'd say look out for any serious frame damage, heavy rust, cracks etc. but I guess you already know that :P

    My local dump seems to hide all the bikes, perhaps someone has already done a deal.

    PS. I did a week of SS riding in North Wales this year, from Felinheli along the A5 to Betws-y-coed, now that was hard work.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • itboffin wrote:
    My local dump seems to hide all the bikes, perhaps someone has already done a deal.
    That happens at my dump as well: a guy comes once a week and buys everything at flat rate, to sell to two lads who fix up what they can and sell on (don't know where, though). I'm visiting pretty much daily to get first picks. Just three MTBs, a questionable shopper (painted with emulsion!) and some kiddy bikes in the past few days.
    itboffin wrote:
    PS. I did a week of SS riding in North Wales this year, from Felinheli along the A5 to Betws-y-coed, now that was hard work.
    :shock: Hats off to you on that one. I find the climb from Bethesda up the Ogwen valley to be deceptively steep (though it looks flat), and that's in a car!
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,073
    itboffin wrote:
    My local dump seems to hide all the bikes, perhaps someone has already done a deal.
    That happens at my dump as well: a guy comes once a week and buys everything at flat rate, to sell to two lads who fix up what they can and sell on (don't know where, though). I'm visiting pretty much daily to get first picks. Just three MTBs, a questionable shopper (painted with emulsion!) and some kiddy bikes in the past few days.
    itboffin wrote:
    PS. I did a week of SS riding in North Wales this year, from Felinheli along the A5 to Betws-y-coed, now that was hard work.
    :shock: Hats off to you on that one. I find the climb from Bethesda up the Ogwen valley to be deceptively steep (though it looks flat), and that's in a car!

    The views make it all worth while and you can always stop for a rest / beer :wink:
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • How do bottom brackets work out? Are they genrally easy to replace? Or are sizes difficult. It would be nice to be able to just stick a new external BB on, but is it that easy?

    I built a fixed from a scrap bike earlier this year and I fitted a Hollowtech 2 B/B with no difficulty to a frame that must have been at least 30 years old. I believe the two standards are Italian and English and that virtually all the scrap bike you'll find (plus most new ones) will be English.

    To reply to the OP - watch out for the wheel sizes and the size of drop required on the brakes. Some old bike will have 27" wheels which are bigger than the current 700c standard and may also have centre-pull brakes with a long drop. This could make it difficult to replace tyres/wheels/brakes if needed. You can swap the 27" for 700c which makes tyres easier to come by, but then the brakes won't reach and you won;t be able to get modern brakes to reach either.
  • How do bottom brackets work out? Are they genrally easy to replace? Or are sizes difficult. It would be nice to be able to just stick a new external BB on, but is it that easy?


    It can be straightforward, but there are different size bottom bracket shells which means that you need to know which you have to buy the right sized replacement, whether that be new cups or (more likely) a new cartridge. You need some different tools for cartridge bottom brackets than you do for old-fashioned cup and ball ones, too, and getting the fixed cup out can be a real problem as it should have been fitted as tight as possible (I remember a friend showing me an old picture of the long spanner used to fit them by one racing team - with two of the team standing on it to really make sure that it didn't move!) Axle lengths also vary depending on make of bottom bracket and chainset, so if you are using the original salvaged chain set then you need to get the axle length right.

    So you do need to be careful with this to avoid buying the wrong replacement bits. If you have an old-fashioned cup and ball bottom bracket and you are lucky then all you will need to do is take as much apart as you can, clean it all thoroughly, probably replace the ball bearings (quarter inch was the standard size, I think), and re-assemble, greasing everything liberally as you go. You will have had to buy the tools to get the thing out in the first place, so you may as well use them to put it back together if it is serviceable.