Bike rebuild .... help please!

drobeu0

Hi,

i recently bought my wife a second hand Kona Fire Mountain off ebay it has arrived and is shocking condition! However i will be positive and look at this as an opportunity to develop my maintenance skills, which are very low as I am new to this game.

My plan is to take the bike to pieces, bag up all the parts so nothing gets lost, clean up, fix and replace what i can and replace that which i can't. The bike id for my wife and so only needs to ride along canal paths and around reservoirs etc.

My question really is where do i start, what order should i look to fix and rebuild in?

thanks, any advice would be great Duncan :?

Shaun20

You do not really mention any specific detail of the main problems so makes it a little difficult. Assuming frame and forks are in good condition, I would start by checking if the components, ie chain, chainrings, drivetrain, wheels are worn or just poorly setup. If they are worn this could prove costly, but if not give it a good clean (get some good degreaser). Then service wheelhub bearings, bottom bracket etc, and replace brake pads, and cables. Then see how you get on.

If the drivetrain is shot you could always run singlespeed.

jpstar

Start bearings (i.e. Headset, BB, Hubs etc) then look at the chain, cassette, mech (jockey wheels, spring tension broken parts etc?). If it in a "shocking condition" I would almost certainly replace the cassette and chain anyway.
Tyres, are the threads worn badly? Are the fibres showing? If so, replace them if possible. While on wheels, give them a true up or alternatively and possibly safer alternative is the lbs as truing them first time round can leave them a bit egg shaped.
Check for seized pedals, if they are seized grab a long pole and stick a spanner in there and turn (make sure its the right way ) Leverage is everything
Then move onto cables, is the mech doesnt work, pull the cables out and give them a greasing or replace them and the outers as a unit. Adjust the mech screws so shifting is crisp.
Then brakes. Assuming they are cable, adjust cable tension and new brake pads (if your on a budget, bit of sandpaper assuming they aren't too worn down). If they're hydros, look at the pads and then if they're still not doing it, clean the rotors with some Isopropyl Alcohol. Still not working... get the lbs to bleed them, shouldn't cost too much.

Sorry about the essay, hope it helps.
Joe
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drobeu0

thanks for the help, got myself a copy of the Zinn book and will start to crack on with the bearings this week, thanks again

The Rookie

My commuter I built up from a literaly bare frame and now the kraken frame is sprayed a fetching metallic purple I'll be doing the same.
Roughly agree with jpstar..
BB and cranks
Headset and forks/stem, then wheels (with or without tyres for now)
Cockpit (bars and shifters/levers etc)
drive (gears and mechs plus chain)
Brakes

Sounds censored but I weighed EVERYTHING (every seperate part - thanks to the wife and her digital kitchen scales!) as I built it so that should I ever want to upgrade I know how much the current part weighs!

Simon