Worth making this rideable again?
Hello everyone!
As a kid I was a mountain biker, and my dad a roadie. This was in the late 90's early 00's. Now i'm 26, looking to commute to work, but don't particularly have the money to buy a new bike (and I want to make sure it's the right sort of bike for me before I spend a few grand on a nice one!).
Anyway, my dad stopped riding in 2001, and has had his bike in the shed since. Went aroud today and had a look, not in the greatest condition, but nothing seems too bad.
What I am wondering, is this bike worth doing up (i'm thinking the gearset, frame and forks are okay - will need new wheels and various other bits)? I can't find much information on it, as it is a Keith Lambert bike.
Here are some pictures, and i'll try to list what parts it has.
Parts:
Keith Lambert frame (all it says is Reynolds 531, BS 6102:1)
Shimano RX100 chainring & cranks
Exage 500EX rear mech and brakeset
As I say, it probably needs a fair bit of work, but i'd much rather spend a few hundred quid on this and make sure it's the right thing for me (and if not, can be a nice present for my dad!
Worth it?
As a kid I was a mountain biker, and my dad a roadie. This was in the late 90's early 00's. Now i'm 26, looking to commute to work, but don't particularly have the money to buy a new bike (and I want to make sure it's the right sort of bike for me before I spend a few grand on a nice one!).
Anyway, my dad stopped riding in 2001, and has had his bike in the shed since. Went aroud today and had a look, not in the greatest condition, but nothing seems too bad.
What I am wondering, is this bike worth doing up (i'm thinking the gearset, frame and forks are okay - will need new wheels and various other bits)? I can't find much information on it, as it is a Keith Lambert bike.
Here are some pictures, and i'll try to list what parts it has.
Parts:
Keith Lambert frame (all it says is Reynolds 531, BS 6102:1)
Shimano RX100 chainring & cranks
Exage 500EX rear mech and brakeset
As I say, it probably needs a fair bit of work, but i'd much rather spend a few hundred quid on this and make sure it's the right thing for me (and if not, can be a nice present for my dad!
Worth it?
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Comments
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I reckon that would look pretty smart done up. It's very satisfying rescuing an old bike.
I wouldn't spend too much on it though - Reynolds 531 and Shimano Exage are pretty basic stuff. Stick to second hand bits to keep the cost down.
What's wrong with the wheels?
Rob0 -
I don't know whether you can see from the photos, but the edges of the rims have a fair bit of scratching on them (due to me being an idiot as a child and riding them in the back yard with flat tyres. Perhaps this is an easy fix, but I figured it could cause problems with braking?
I might just get the chains and cabling sorted, and see what happens. Another thing, i'm not used to road bikes - is the way you change gears on this normal (have the shifters on the frame)?0 -
I'd try smoothing off any burrs on the rims with emery cloth first. Might be able to use them still.
Down tube shifters were standard on road bikes back in the 80s and featured on lower end bikes in the 90s but pretty much all road bikes now have the gear levers integrated into the brake levers. STI/Ergo units are so much more nice to use but even basic units are pricey.
Rob0 -
It may no longer represent the cutting edge of technology, but bikes made from Reynolds 531 have most likely won every major road race in the world at some point. It has never been "basic stuff".
There's nothing wrong with downtube levers either; they're most likely indexed, they're easy to use and work perfectly well.0 -
I'd invest in a saddle.
The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.0 -
Ordered myself a new saddle, chain, tyres & inner tubes. Hopefully with a bit of elbow grease I might get this up and running soon!0
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I've renovated a couple of bikes in that sort of condition. Very cheap and satisfying.
Worth regreasing the hubs and headset crown races and probably worth replacing the cables.Faster than a tent.......0
