Cant decide if its worth the hassle

cyberknight

I have been trying to do up an old reynolds tubing team bannana race bike and i am not sure if its worth it .

I spent most of this afternoon trying to get the cranks off so i could grease the bearing to discover that one side was rusted on solid.Then had no end of trouble getting the rear mech workable.

The wheels are so past it i don`t think any amount of truing will make them straight , brakes are shot , tyres , inner tubes , shifters and brake levers are all past it

All this on short time so i cant afford to buy the parts even if i wanted too

GGGGRRRRRRRRRR !!!

maybe just bung it on ebay or just scrap it??

STEFANOS4784

Bung it on ebay......

Smokin Joe

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Bung it on ebay......

And say it would make an ideal fixed project. Plenty of fashion nutters out there with money to burn.

cyberknight

Thanks for the replys it pretty much sums up how i feel

I had been looking on ebay at a second hand one but common sense ie the wife saying food is more important :shock: reined me in before i did something daft

Stick with the subway on slicks for commuting for now

Infamous

pm bhima, he'll buy it off you.

whyamihere

cyberknight wrote:

I had been looking on ebay at a second hand one but common sense ie the wife saying food is more important

Typical non cyclist...

STEFANOS4784

Ah, you didn't mention you didn't already have a road bike.
Perservere, the blood sweat and tears will be worth it in the end

cyberknight

well its a mtb with city jets on

using it as a commuter

cyberknight

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270411795653&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

STEFANOS4784

Hmmm, selective description, nice 8)
Someones guna get ripped right off from what you've said
Team banana's seem to fetch a fair price on t' bay..................

daviesee

All depends,

If it is like mine was (why, oh why did I replace it with a hybrid? ) and full 531c frame and 105 groupset then I would restore it.
If is the cheapy version as that ebay sale then I would say ditch it one way or the other.

STEFANOS4784

Looks quite tidy from the piccie though, you sure it aint worth sticking with? How much did you pay for it?

Surely that is his one :?

cyberknight

it was free and we are £400 a month short atm

STEFANOS4784

Ouch! Is that the one in question in the link then?

cyberknight

in the early 90s i did have a dynatech titanium frame sold it when i started workign perma rotating shifts wish i hadnt

STEFANOS4784

Triathlon man then eh?

cyberknight

Well that was for a laugh i had 4 months to learn to swim the distance before that it was 1 length of the pool at a time :shock:

swimming aside i did myself justice

At the time i was a p/t gym instructor into martiall arts , cycling , running etc etc

Now im into trying to keep in shape and be the best father i can a shoulder injury 3 years ago put paid to any serious shennanagins i went back to kung fu as a tester recently and my shoulder hurt for a week so that was a no no

STEFANOS4784

If both the bikes were functioning (i realise the subway already is) Which do you think you'd prefer to have as your only bike? I ask because you could flog the Subway and use some of the proceeds to try and get the Raleigh going again. I think you'd get more for the subway than the knackered Raleigh :?:

cyberknight

trouble is i cant afford petrol atm so with no bike i would be stuck as theres no public transport to where i work

rolf_f

I've seen a fair few Team Bananas on ebay lately (have been looking for an old 531 frame bike to commute on) - they aren't usually 531s so your bike might be worth a bit in working order (check this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... tohosting- I think it is a debadged Falcon Banana which is a pretty poor bike really but still made £165 despite no Reynolds at all! Still, that seems particularly mad........).

So, you say that the brakes, shifters and levers are shot - really there isn't much to any of this kit aside from pivots and springs. If nothings physically broken, the problem is likely to be seizing; lots of penetrating oil plus working the joints back and forth, dismantling components etc - should help a lot.

As for the wheels - no shortage of 700c pairs for about £30 a pair on ebay, tyres £16 a pair plus a fiver for the tubes. Total = 50 quid or so. If the bike is decent paint wise, that isn't a bad deal. Or take the wheels to a shop and get their opinion on it - if they can be trued, it should cost a lot less tha 30 quid.

Or sell the bike to me for £20 and I'll have a go!

cyberknight

LBS said around £70-100 for parts not a lot normally but over last 6 months lost over £2500 in wages

bigjim

LBS is probably quoting for new parts. E-bay is awash with decent s/hand parts for old bikes like this. Even the local tip or car boot will turn up stuff to re-equip the bike for pennies. I got a complete bike broken down ito bits for £5 off e-bay including 531 frame. Put some wanted adds on the sites.

cyberknight

how much do you think its worth?

got some one asking for a buy it now price and tbh i havent a clue

are we talking £30 , £60 or more?