Fixer-upper or a thrower-outer?

cyclecon

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and itching to get back out on my bike! There are a few obstacles however...
My bike is an older model Claud Butler Urban 200


I bought this bike because I am a larger build guy and didn't feel confident about buying an out and out road bike although 99% of my riding is on the road.
Up until now I have only ever had mountain bikes in various forms and was really impressed with the urban 200, it was a much better ride! Although the frame isn't exactly light-weight, the lack of heavy suspension sets and the narrow, road tyres with a smoother tread pattern meant i covered more ground with far less effort. I used it to commute, leisure cycling at the weekend and just about anything in between.
To cut a long story short, we moved and it became impractical to cycle to work, I started to get lazy and they bike stayed chained up and covered up more and more often.

Fast forward a few years and i've chucked on the pounds and the bike is in a very sorry state indeed! The frame and wheels are in pretty good shape still but some of the components are badly rusted I am out of work at the moment so funds are very limited and i'm not sure if i would be better off replacing the components or looking for another second hand bike. I know at this point that a good quality bike brand new with tags is out of my budget.

I know its hard to answer that without knowing what needs replacing so tomorrow I am going to strip it down and see exactly what is good and bad so i can get a better idea of what's what.

Thanks in advance,

Connor.

arran77

What sort of budget do you have available?

Maybe if parts just appear rusted all it needs is a good service and a clean?

cyclecon

hi arran77,

£100-150 is probably the range i'm looking at really and about £35 of that is going on tyres and tubes, some of the rust will be surface stuff i can clean off but parts like the handlebars have rusted through the paint and will probably be easier to replace.

Colinthecop

I've you're happy with your ability, I'd go for the fixer-up option.

I've got an old hardtail MTB, has to be 20 years old, I just can't throw out. It's an old friend. So yeah, if you can breath life into your old bike, that has to be the best option.

desweller

Servicing is usually cheaper than replacement, unless it's really terribly wrecked. Surface rust is not anything to worry about; a bit of elbow grease with a wire brush and some spray paint will sort that out. Drive trains on older bikes (8-speed and less) are usually much more durable than the current 10/11 speed stuff anyway.

Mad_Malx

Check wheel and headset bearings and regrease, same with cables and brake shoes (replace rather than grease latter, obv), change chain and cassette if needed, look at narrower (1.5") slick tyres. It should be ok or even very good for £80. Gear shifters do pack up eventually, 'bay usually has reasonable replacements. I have done two full laden 300mile cycle camping tours on a similar rigid mtb out of a skip without problem, and it is my preferred towpath commuter.

cyclecon

the chain and gear sets actually seem ok, I was pretty good at cleaning and greasing them, looking at it most of the rust is around cosmetic components like the covers to the gear/brake levers, and handlebars. I'll find out tomorrow how the nuts and bolts have fared when i strip it. The way it's been left the very least its going to need is a decent service i guess! (ill have a look around for a guide to servicing lol) I have had a couple of mountain bikes with suspension in the past (admittedly not very good ones) and i actually prefer a ridged frame now, there's less to go wrong and also much less weight if i could buy a top end bike i might change my mind but the bikes i have experienced suspension reduced the performance overall at least for road use, I can see the obvious benefit for off road cycling.

cyclecon

Mad_Malx wrote:

Check wheel and headset bearings and regrease, same with cables and brake shoes (replace rather than grease latter, obv), change chain and cassette if needed, look at narrower (1.5") slick tyres. It should be ok or even very good for £80. Gear shifters do pack up eventually, 'bay usually has reasonable replacements. I have done two full laden 300mile cycle camping tours on a similar rigid mtb out of a skip without problem, and it is my preferred towpath commuter.

The tyres on there are 700 x 35c the rims have a plastic insert around the inner rim that might make them appear larger it was the wheels and the saddle that attracted me to the bike in the first place lol.

cyclecon

Grrrr we went for a walk to St. Martha's hill today and just as i was ready to start stripping the bike down, a friend dropped by and then my sister decided to visit and thus I have done nothing with the bike! Better luck tomorrow...

cyclecon

Got out early this morning to give the bike a scrub before the strip down, the bits that need to go are as follows, tyres and tubes, all cables and cable outers, and the handlebar. all the rest looks like it could be ok, i did do a far few miles on it before i began to neglect it so i might need to replace the bearings as well but that might be a job for the LBS im not sure... as for the drive chain the rear cassette looks like it has plenty of life left in it but the front looks a little more worn but still probably has plenty of life in it.