Need some opinions and advice

abdulkader

Hello there fellow cyclists ❤

I am a 20 year old college student from syria (Yes the one with the war and stuff), I love cycling and I have been using a very old bike (the ones with top tube lever shifters from the 1980s) until recently when the frame broke and couldn't be fixed anymore, so I decided to save up for a new bike and after months of saving I got a 200$ bike which turned out to be a complete garbage and a scam, a month in I started breaking spokes regularly (3 in a span of 2 months) and on further inspection it seemed like the rear hub was wobbling back and forth causing fatigue.

I couldn't find a compatible replacement hub anywhere around here.. and now the bike is sitting there with broken spokes that I couldn't even find a replacement that had the correct length..

Recently the chain started skipping on the rear cassette causing issues when shifting on the 3rd cog

The cassette itself is a very old freewheel type (also from the 80s) which could only have a maximum of 7 speeds, and the only available cassettes for this system are 14-28

Being a college student I can't get a full time job and even if I did the average nonskilled salary over here is 70-80$ at best, and my single mom doesn't have much to spare.

I have been thinking about creating a www.gofundme.com fundraiser to collect some cash in order to change the wheelset and groupset, which as you know would cost at least 400-500$ for a new entry level set.

What do you think about this idea? Is it a good one? Would you consider donating if you had spare cash? Or is just a stupid pathetic way to beg for money?

Thanks for advice, in advance

pe1ter

what wheels were they and how many spokes do you have left

abdulkader

pe1ter wrote:

what wheels were they and how many spokes do you have left

They are chinese non-branded wheels, they originally had 24 spokes both front and back
The first spoke broke 1 month in, I asked all the stores in the area and none had compatible spokes, so one mechanic had the janky idea of bending the head of the spoke to shorten it, soon after the second spoke broke and they did the same janky solution, I couldn't find correct length spokes anywhere here 
Now the 3rd spoke is broken and it must be a defect, the front wheel is fine, and it doesn't have any hub issues, just the rear one with the wobbly hub is causing me issues

gethinceri

You'd be better off asking if anybody has a spare old wheel in their shed they'd be prepared to send to you.

abdulkader

Gethinceri wrote:

You'd be better off asking if anybody has a spare old wheel in their shed they'd be prepared to send to you.

I'll try doing that and if I can't find anything I'll consider the fundraiser

webboo

If I was going to give money to a cause/ charity it wouldn’t be for someone’s cycle repairs.

First.Aspect

Craigslist, etc are your best options. Or find a local bike co-op and seek help fixing/replacing.

For a bike with old 7 speed stuff, brand new at those prices is pointless.

abdulkader

Webboo wrote:

If I was going to give money to a cause/ charity it wouldn’t be for someone’s cycle repairs.

Thanks for the feedback

abdulkader

First Aspect wrote:

Craigslist, etc are your best options. Or find a local bike co-op and seek help fixing/replacing.

For a bike with old 7 speed stuff, brand new at those prices is pointless.

Local services are trash, I've looked around and nobody has replacement parts; not even the retard that I bought it from, I'm looking through ebay yet to find any deals under 150$ which is still too much, I'm looking for hubs maybe rebuilding the wheel might help

First.Aspect

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Craigslist, etc are your best options. Or find a local bike co-op and seek help fixing/replacing.

For a bike with old 7 speed stuff, brand new at those prices is pointless.

Local services are trash, I've looked around and nobody has replacement parts; not even the retard that I bought it from, I'm looking through ebay yet to find any deals under 150$ which is still too much, I'm looking for hubs maybe rebuilding the wheel might help

Where are you based? There must be a community bike maintenance place somewhere near you. I'm think the sort of fix it ypurself place with a bin of parts and tools.

abdulkader

First Aspect wrote:

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Craigslist, etc are your best options. Or find a local bike co-op and seek help fixing/replacing.

For a bike with old 7 speed stuff, brand new at those prices is pointless.

Local services are trash, I've looked around and nobody has replacement parts; not even the retard that I bought it from, I'm looking through ebay yet to find any deals under 150$ which is still too much, I'm looking for hubs maybe rebuilding the wheel might help

Where are you based? There must be a community bike maintenance place somewhere near you. I'm think the sort of fix it ypurself place with a bin of parts and tools.

I'm in damascus, syria
I think I'll probably get a hub and some spokes and rebuild the wheel that would be the cheapest option

First.Aspect

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Craigslist, etc are your best options. Or find a local bike co-op and seek help fixing/replacing.

For a bike with old 7 speed stuff, brand new at those prices is pointless.

Local services are trash, I've looked around and nobody has replacement parts; not even the retard that I bought it from, I'm looking through ebay yet to find any deals under 150$ which is still too much, I'm looking for hubs maybe rebuilding the wheel might help

Where are you based? There must be a community bike maintenance place somewhere near you. I'm think the sort of fix it ypurself place with a bin of parts and tools.

I'm in damascus, syria
I think I'll probably get a hub and some spokes and rebuild the wheel that would be the cheapest option

Ah. For some reason I thought you were in the US. Ignore me.

abdulkader

First Aspect wrote:

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Craigslist, etc are your best options. Or find a local bike co-op and seek help fixing/replacing.

For a bike with old 7 speed stuff, brand new at those prices is pointless.

Local services are trash, I've looked around and nobody has replacement parts; not even the retard that I bought it from, I'm looking through ebay yet to find any deals under 150$ which is still too much, I'm looking for hubs maybe rebuilding the wheel might help

Where are you based? There must be a community bike maintenance place somewhere near you. I'm think the sort of fix it ypurself place with a bin of parts and tools.

I'm in damascus, syria
I think I'll probably get a hub and some spokes and rebuild the wheel that would be the cheapest option

Ah. For some reason I thought you were in the US. Ignore me.

You've got to be a special kind of human fail to not be able to save up 300$ to fix your bike in any developed country
Third world problems

First.Aspect

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Abdulkader wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Craigslist, etc are your best options. Or find a local bike co-op and seek help fixing/replacing.

For a bike with old 7 speed stuff, brand new at those prices is pointless.

Local services are trash, I've looked around and nobody has replacement parts; not even the retard that I bought it from, I'm looking through ebay yet to find any deals under 150$ which is still too much, I'm looking for hubs maybe rebuilding the wheel might help

Where are you based? There must be a community bike maintenance place somewhere near you. I'm think the sort of fix it ypurself place with a bin of parts and tools.

I'm in damascus, syria
I think I'll probably get a hub and some spokes and rebuild the wheel that would be the cheapest option

Ah. For some reason I thought you were in the US. Ignore me.

You've got to be a special kind of human fail to not be able to save up 300$ to fix your bike in any developed country
Third world problems

You'd be surprised. But it is all relative and I am sure I literally don't appreciate just how much. I wish you well. Learning to re spoke a wheel is fun. Good luck.