Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Vintage Bicycle Restoration! 

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What fun! Really enjoyable hearing about your history with bicycle maintenance. If you ever feel like tackling those bearings and need some tips, give us a shout!

8:31: "Why is there a whole bunch of rubber wrapped around this part?" 28:48: See Adam use electrical tape to replace the rubber that was wrapped around the front axel used to protect the inner tube... 15 years from now: "Why is there a whole bunch electrical tape wrapped around this part?"

I worked as a bicycle mechanic for about a decade-and-a-half, it was fun to watch Adam figuring it out. My favorite totally random bit of bicycle trivia: the left (ie non-drive side) pedal is reverse threaded, which helps keep it from unscrewing itself. That particular innovation was introduced by the Wright Brothers, who went on to some other transportation-related accomplishments.

36:44 we always used hairspray to put the grips on. Slippery when wet and sticky once dried! This was taking me back to all the bikes I'd dig out of the trash and rebuild as a kid.

Kari and Scottie's ironic encouragement of Tory, saying he could "totally clear the jump", is amongst my fondest "goof memories" of Mythbusters. Tory showing off, the ladies creating chaos ...the rest is history!

“Bicycle repairman for the apocalypse” is the newest tested shirt I need. Just saying. I’d wear the shirt outta that.

The best thing about Adam Savage is that his story could have started with “I had this beautiful French racing bike that I used to race around New York….” But he didn’t, he started with such an unnecessary detail and I am here for that. Love it

I would gladly pay for literally just a weekly story time with Adam. The way he uses his words to tell a story is amazing

Adam has always been a huge inspiration for me, not only by getting me excited about making and learning, but also about just being the best version of myself I can be. His genuine kindness and pure excitement combined with how incredibly motivating and appreciative he is about the things other people have made and want to show him. I hope he knows just how much of an amazing force of good he is to those that are afraid of making mistakes, or are nervous about trying new things. Stay awesome Adam, you make the world so much more exciting by simply being in it!

I think one of the best things I've gained from watching and listening to Adam is permission to say "Good enough" I've internalized Adam's voice saying "is it prefect? no, but it doesn't need to be."

as someone who does this for a living, it's really cool to see Adam take a stab at wrenching on a bike. it's a clean piece as well!

I am totally not a maker in this sense. However, I can’t get enough of Adam’s one day builds. His enthusiasm with everything he does is so infectious. Like a little kid on Christmas morning! The length is also wonderful for playing in the background whilst I work or write! Keep on keeping on, Adam!

i can't believe i watched 40 minutes of adam savage fix a bike up... i wish it was a few hours. i love watching these.

Bike repair is a great skill to learn. It's been 30 since I bought a "new" bike. My current gravel bike and my kids mountain and road bikes where all built from what we can find on Craigslist and at the local bike co-op. Stripping frames and repainting them and finding and upgrading parts were great projects to do with the kids. They appreciate the bike more when they know they had a hand in building it.

When you talk about building/fixing your own bicycle and the satisfaction I understand perfectly. It's how I felt the first time I made my own electric guitar cable. Since then I built and wired well over a hundred guitars. Right now my main electric guitar was made with Warmoth body and neck, DiMarzio pickups, the best potentiometers and jacks I can find. If I had to pay someone else to custom build this guitar for me I'd expect to pay well over $2000.00. As it is I spent less than a third and I have a complete custom guitar. I just had to do the work myself.

As a child of the 70s and 80s, I think most of our first mechanical knowledge came from tinkering with our bikes.

32:40 Out of Round Its the Tire that's not seated evenly onto the Rim not the Rim itself being out of round. possible tire casing damage, note the change in width (side to side) as well.

This takes me back! My first job was as a mechanic in a bike shop, after school and on Saturday (basically everyone on my fathers side of the family is or has been a member of a race cycling-club in Amsterdam going back to the 1930s, we all fixed our own bikes).

Few of my favorite things, bicycles and Adam Savage. What a treat.

As an avid vintage bike restorer/collector, If I could have a piece of Mythbuster's history, this bike would be one of them.

I just finished a let's say light restoration of my grandmothers 1981 Schwinn World Tourist. Repacked all the bearings. New tubes, tires, chain, brakes and shifter cable. Cleaned up the chrome where I could. And by far the best thing about it is the 1980s Cleveland bicycle license plate on the chain guard.

My first bike was also a Motobecane. We lived just outside Lyon France in 1975 and I was 5 years old. Most of the bikes in the shop were all very utilitarian, and we left with a bike that included a rear cargo rack with a functional little tool kit hanging off the back. This was a bike meant for pedaling to school or to the store, and the sturdy steel frame survived all my abuse, and the gorilla-like movers who packed all our stuff to be shipped back to the states. Unfortunately, it did not survive being backed over by my mom's Chevy Malibu station wagon in 1979. These days, my garage is filled with bikes for me and my family, and there's always one in the repair stand. Adam, I hope you get a chance to take a look at some of the modern bike tech out there. Hydraulic disc brakes are becoming pretty standard. Electronic servo-actuated shifting, and some really efficient and effective suspension systems are pretty amazing. Then, there's the eBikes, though I'm personally not ready to cross the human-powered line | partially human-powered line. You should visit a bike shop and ask to test ride their most expensive model. Oh, and ALWAYS with the helmet!

Great video. As a former professional bicycle mechanic at a busy urban bike shop, It brought back a lot of memories. A few things... 1. Yes, people frequently use electrical tape as a DIY rim strip. It protects the tube but the downside is the sticky, gooey black residue it leaves behind when left on for a long time. (of which I'm sure you're familiar) 2. The hop in the wheel could be caused by the tire not being seated evenly on the rim. It's a common issue with the big baloony type tires. If not fully seated, the tire can pop off and blow unexpectedly. A sound every full time bike mechanic is intimately familiar with. However, judging by the loose and bent spokes, your instinct is probably correct. It's probably the wheel. 3. The play in the chainring is most likely caused by a loose retaining ring/ bearing race on the drive side of the one-piece crank. You have to remove the entire crank and tighten it down with a spanner. 4. The side to side play in the wheel can most likely be fixed by proberly adjusting the hub. Thanks for the ride down Remember Street.

I found myself nodding along when you said "Truing is a dark art..." So very true! It's great to see you wrenching on an old bike.

Nice to see a bicycle restoration. I remember that episode!

Many years ago, after much thinking and evaluating and vacillating, I bought a Park portable Bike Work Stand. Holy moly!! it made it so incredibly easy to work on my and other folks bikes.A fairly expensive tool that has served me well for a couple of decades now. I'm super glad I sprung for it.

I love hearing your history with bicycle mechanics! I started as a kid following along in my brothers' footsteps. They were making BMX bikes out of whatever they could find around. Then the older of the two started building 10 speeds. I asked my Dad for a 10 speed for Christmas and he said no. I solicited the help of another older brother who helped me to build my own out of parts in the garage. That was the beginning of my bike tinkering...which I still do until this day! I have a 1975 Schwinn 3 speed and a mountain bike I found on a garbage pile that I've restored. My next project is my Mom's 1968 Western Flyer...a labor of love, as my mom passed in 2016 and my sister who it originally belonged to passed at the beginning of this year. Cancer sucks, FYI.

Being Dutch I think an orange bike is one the most beautifull things in the world. I had one when I delivered mail. It also had orange saddle bags for the mail. I like all your videos Adam! You are a TV legend and I learn a lot from you. Mostly about being a nice person, because I do not build myself. I admire your skills and love your character. Love from Holland.

Bicycle repair is a gateway to a wonderful world of making 👍

Breaking Away - one of my favourite films!

I lived in Indianapolis from my early teen years until i was 32 and used a bicycle as my only means of transportation. I always feel like I'm too comfortable and isolated from the road in cars and have always loved cycling. There is something kind of magical slowing down and really absorbing the scenery around you. All that being said I have put more miles on a bicycle in a year than a lot of people do in a lifetime and I have absolutely used electrical tape as a rim liner when I didn't have anything else on hand. Lasted multiple tube changes and works just as well as a the liner you buy in the store in my opinion. Even with the relatively quick clean you did here that bike is a beauty. I've always had a soft spot for old steel and chromoly frames Cheers!

I'm not the bicycle mechanic you want for the race I'm the bicycle mechanic you want for the apocalypse - Adam Savage

Adam, you would be my first pick for just about any team in the apocalypse.

Having a bicycle as a kid who was very eager to learn was a bad thing but also a good thing, the day I got my hands on my new bike it was in pieces and I was obsessed w/ trying to figure out how everything worked, I also did that w/ my VCR and my game consoles and my mom couldn't believe I disassembled and reassembled them w/o instructions.... So basically getting a bike and constantly doing repairs or mods gave me an insight into the way things worked and that followed me through life, even as an adult today I can take something I've never touched before and completely tear it apart and put it back together. I'd advise people to get into doing the same thing because it gives you a good understanding of how things work and if you have an eidetic memory it's a good exercise for picturing how things come apart and go back together... I remember seeing other people's bikes and I was able to diagnose a problem w/o touching it because of my memory, having a bike can teach you a lot once you understand how they work. Edit: 17:15 - Wow, look at how high those spoke nipples are on that rim... I'm guessing it's a single wall rim because they're not made like that anymore. LoL

0h the memories you brought back! In 1970, I bought my Schwinn 10 speed with my earnings from my 90 cents an hour job at Dairy Queen. I spent many hours with my bike upside down on our porch cleaning and polishing it. It was that beautiful 1970's orange. Great memories! Thanks for this video, Adam.

I refreshed a used bike for a friend a couple of years ago and it was rewarding, and brought back childhood memories as well. I would've repacked the bearings here like I did on that bike; i think it's far easier than truing a wheel.

It always amazes me how many times it looks like Adam is mad at the piece he is working on. This bike project is a classic example of this. I think it's really just the speed at which he works, but there are times when it just cracks me up.

A fabulous illustration of, "We don't make how to do it videos. It's more like what happened videos." Leaving in the replacement of the rim liner, going from the inner tube to electrical tape. Excellent content!

Adam I love bike rebuilds this warms my heart in back in 1996-97 I was driving truck in LA Ca. I would regularly collect cans from the roll-off in the drop lots one day found a full bag of cans, an electric cooler, and trek mountain bike without Handel bars. So I pulled it all out and loaded it in to my tractor. Fixed up the bike and still have the cooler ran and I used it for work, the cans were recycled I was clearing an extra $50 a week in can money.

Adam Savage working on vintage bicycles? Dreams really CAN come true!

I laughed very hard when you realized that electrical tape works just fine as the rim strip instead of all the hard work to cut that tube. I’ve done that same thing long ago. 😅

Really loved hearing the origin story of this iconic bicycle! I agree when you make repairs to your car & then drive it, that feeling is SOOOOOOOOO SATISFYING!!!

Bikes were my springboard into dismantling and reassembling anything. I do own at least 4 repair kits and it started me getting into repairing my own vehicle. Every component you look at can be isolated and without too much effort you can see how adjusting one screw or spoke affects the wheel alignment, or the gear shifter. You can do it relatively cheap and once you have done it you can feel the difference it makes when riding and get a real sense of achievement. As a result my garage as a kid was full of salvaged bike parts that me and my brothers picked up or bought with pocket money and first job wages. Fixing a flat is one of the first things I taught my kids when the learned to ride and I am sure its what they would do when they have kids learning to ride as well.

Adam you are the GOAT. That crust on the chrome is extremely easy to remove with Coke and aluminum foil. I was cleaning my vintage 85 huffy sigma when I tried it. It’s like witchcraft 😂

Taping the inside of the rim is totally normal, Adam. They make "Rim Tape" but Gorilla Duct Tape is the often chosen tape for rims. It's mandatory for tubeless tires. I heard you say "I'm not the bicycle mechanic you want for the race; I'm the bicycle mechanic you want for the apocalypse." The fact you're calling the tire, inner tube and wheel all "tire" individually while displaying advanced skills like spoke tensioning is hilarious evidence to this. Still, you'll majorly upgrade your knowledge with a collab with @Park Tool.

Well done on the quick refurb,Adam. And like you, I've been tinkering and riding bikes since I was a kid. Now at 58 still doing the same. Have amassed a collection of 80's and 90's mountain bikes and road bikes. I do all the maintenance and rebuilds myself. Still riding a lot here in the Bay Area. Trueing is my biggest weakness. No patience. lol

Balled-up aluminium foil quickly removes rust from chrome, and sort of polishes it as well. Thanks for the post Adam and Tested team!

I spent my entire childhood on a bike, and distinctly remember my first attempt at tightening the spokes...those rims had more wobbles than a drunk on a boat! I also remember Tori going A over T in that episode, still funny lol

Adam, doing apocalypse repairs if something I'd happily watch. Where we give him basic old devices/machines etc and he repairs them.

Feel like I've commented in the past that I would love to watch Adam do a bike build/restoration. I've waited forever for this!

That was so much fun to watch! When I was younger I was an avid bicyclist if not a good one, and I enjoyed doing my own basic repair maintenance. I was never handy or mechanically gifted but fixing bikes I could do and it was very gratifying. Also, I have always been a very cautious and timid fellow and going like the proverbial bat out of Hell on my bike is amongst my precious few memories of once having been young and foolish. It’s amazing I never killed myself!😁

Adam: "We're just 'less-dirtying' this" Me: "Perfect way to describe what I do to my house every week"

When i replaced the innertube on my bike a few months ago i took the old one and replaced the rubber strip covering the spoke ends. I forget what i used to keep the ends of the new strip together but its proven solid so far. I love working on bicycles it's so relaxing.

21:52 You really creeped me out going into full Bob Ross Mode."Alright" You inspire me to go get after things and relax me at the same time, thats a rare gift.

My dad worked in a bike shop as a kid and also owned his own bike shop in the mid-90's. His garage was filled with equipment (including a truing stand) and parts when I was growing up. He repaired and maintained the bikes for all my friends in the neighborhood and has a penny farthing in the basement from when someone brought it for repair and then never came back to get it. Thanks for the amazing walk down memory lane!

I've been using insulation tape to cover spoke ends for years, never had a single problem.

This definitely made me feel like I could competently handle small bike repair. Once I figure out my knee maladies, the bike in my livingroom's getting a full overhaul!

Love the stories of your childhood and how bikes were your entry to mechanics.

Hey Adam, Marshall here Bicycle mechanic here been working on bikes since 2017. I’m a huge fan, I loved MythBusters! but that rubber that you just took off, that’s called a rim strip that helps protect the spokes from protruding into the tire tube or into the tire itself. Just thought you should know that. If you have questions, just let me know I’ll be happy to answer them.

When I was a kid I would get a lot of punctures in my bike tires. After I ran out of the patch rubber I started using a hot glue gun. I would try to force some of the hot glue through the puncture to seal the tire. It worked really well.

For me it was the movie "Premium Rush". As mediocre as it was it got me interested in fixies so I got myself an 80's road bike, stripped it down to bare metal and started working. That bike was stolen a few years ago but I'm not that sad because I put really bad cheap parts on it. I have a couple of bike builds that I'm still dreaming of.

I was 15 in 1981 and my Dad bought the neighbors 1973 white Motobecane and it inspired me to race bicycles in College and introduced me to being my own bicycle mechanic. Your story was amazingly similar.

I JUST restored an old 60's era 3-speed Sears bike a few weeks ago I got off Craigslist for $30. It's Austrian made, made entirely out of steel, and has a coaster brake with internal gear system. It was just a fun distraction to keep me from going crazy while waiting for the weather to warm up, but I learned so much. Coaster brakes are brilliant little mechanisms - they've been around for over a hundred years and never really changed much. Oh and btw, the electrical tape to replace the rubber rim strips... I did the exact same thing lol

I know Adam recommended a good dedicated tire changing tool, but honest to god Ive yet to find a tool that works better than the handles on a good couple of spoons... I dont have easily changed tires either, they have additional rubber protection to stop small punctures (because I ride everywhere and any puncture is a huge pain.) Really noticeably increases the amount of force you need. Spoons still win out. Something about the flat end that tapers down lets me get them in and then whip them to the side more easily to release the tire. (and some of the better tools Ive seen appear to largely just be imitations of spoon handles anyway.)

Now I have a sudden urge to go repair something...

Really miss working on bikes. It's been over 32 years since I was able to ride (left knee got injured, won't bend enough anymore). I used to tighten my caliper brakes so I had good stopping without a lot of slop (yay vise-grips!). To this day, just the aroma of a bike shop brings a flood of memories. Thanks for a great video Adam.

This man is a national treasure. Keep him safe at all costs and I'd definitely want him around me if there was ever an apocalypse. He talks to himself like Tom Hanks talks to Wilson lol.

the out of round you see on the front is in the tire

The out of round part is just the tire seated wrong. When adam spins the wheel at 33:32, you can clearly see the rim doesn't go up and down but the tire does.

Fantastic stories, back in the 60's my brother and I had multiple bikes but only about two worked all the time, we made all sorts. love it, thanks for the great video.

I had a bike very much like that in the early 60's that I used to deliver newspapers in the San Jose area. I was forever working on it because, delivering newspapers is hard on bikes, especially Sunday mornings when the newspaper is more than 150 pages plus a lot of advertising pages stuffed in the middle. it was my first exposure to all things mechanical. I still have several bikes and I still do all of my own servicing. thanks in part to Park tools. funny story, i was having trouble with the coaster brake on my bike and needed some parts I went to a nearby flee market and there was a guy there who had the parts but would not sell them to me because it was almost closing time. I convinced him that I could do it before He closed up , so in less than 15 minutes and I took the rear hub apart, replaced the broken parts and put the rear wheel back on the bike and rode the bike home. I think he ended up giving me the pars because he was so impressed. apparently those kind of skills are not very common, especially these days.

Adjustable wrenches? My mom would look at me with disappointment when I used them or vise-grip pliers. Rightly so because they can round the nuts or bolts. If you have the tools use a socket or box end wrench. On this project it's not a big deal as you may never do this again.

Ok, now turn it into an E-bike. That open center of the frame just screams for a battery. And i can just imagine the cool battery box Adam could come up with.

Adam, last spring I paid a bike shop to restore the first bike I ever purchased on my own (with my paper-route money) in 1986. Riding that bike through my neighborhood as a 50 year old man.....was an absolute thrill. It took me right back to 1986!

Man, I used to do this for dumpster bikes. I'd find them discarded around the place, fix them up and donate them back in to the community. I'd love to do it again. There's something endearing about old, discarded bikes, that something forgotten and thrown away still has life and can bring joy to someone for many years still so long as it was given a little time to be reborn. Especially the cheaper bikes because they were never intended to last forever. The parts on cheap bikes age well for some reason.

“The burgeoning X-Men power within Adam flowed!” 😂 How we all should hype ourselves up!

28:45 This is 100% something people do. Love to see people encouraging people to learn how to take care of their bikes. You don't need specialized tools for the basics and even some parts, like rim tape, can be improvised without any real drawback. For everything else, there is your local bike shop.

I started working at a nonprofit bike repair shop about a year and a half ago, and most of the bikes that come through are from this era. It’s so cool to see Adam basically doing my job of fixing up old and busted bikes, back to a working state.

I started as a car mechanic before I tackled bikes, so it came easy to me, but I am disappointed he didn't do any of the bearings. I just finished cleaning up an old SR Alpine Sport from the 80s for a neighbor and I redid almost every bearing in it because it sat for 20 years, the only ones I didn't do were the ones in the jockey wheels of the rear derailleur. I even took the original pedals apart and repacked the bearing in those. I would say it only has a handful of miles on it since everything was in great shape, but the grease itself has hardened up into clumps. I got my dad's old 59' (according to his notes) Huffy cruiser bike road worthy again and the first thing I did was the bearings in the wheels and the coaster brake, and tires of course.

This brings back so many memories. My friends and myself working on our bikes when we were kids.

My first bike beyond the 20" was a Motebecane Astre 10-speed. Although mechanically minded, I really learned to work on it by cleaning it - taking it apart to get everything clean and trying to get it all back together (tip - never disassemble a freewheel to clean it). For my first career I worked in a bike shop, later as manager, and have been hobby repairing ever since. I still have a bike repair shop in my back yard. Some notes: (My opinions of course) * The rubber around the front axel is the rim strip between the tube and rim, which broke and came out when the tire went dead flat. 19:34 shows the rear strip. Electrical tape is much better than your cut up tube (too thick) * Your chain has a master link, which makes it easy to pop off and set aside or soak in lightweight machine oil. * The crank sprocket is rotation locked by the pin on the crank arm, but it's loose because the "fixed" bearing cone is loose. Take off the left pedal (left hand thread) take off the lock nut and cone on the left side, snake the crank arm out and put the right cone in a vise and turn the crank to tighten. * Clamp the brake arm strap loosely before centering the wheel and tightening the axel nuts to keep the arm from rotating. That arm is connected to the left side bearing cone. * Wheel truing is an art. It is about balancing the force of all spokes and if you tighten one place you loosen the opposite. For your cruiser just get them all the same tension and aim for rough side-to-side or roundness (you won't notice) * Nope, there should be no "tolerance" in the rear axel (or any bearing). With the wheel off jam the break arm jam nut down, then on the sprocket side you need a thin cone wrench to adjust the cone while tightening the outer jam nut. No axel rattle, no binding.

That is a relic I did not expect to still exist. Also, love that the basket has a clear dent in it.

brilliant video . it takes me back to when i was a kid and working on my bike , thanks Adam good video .

I was screaming to the tv "you can use alectrical tape instead of the old tube " and then *whoosh Adam figured out!! It's the guerrilla way. Love this chapter. Adam stories and bikes. Win win!!

I built the wheel with electrical tape inside because it felt natural for me during the process. It worked great, I didnt have issues. But watching you trying to make the protection with inner tube made me completly change my mind, felt stupid i thought "omg his so right, im gonna learn so much! Because after some years you for sure gonna be turning the nipples to true the wheel, and covering the nipples with glued tape will make it harder to turn the nipples, also the tape will start to bend and tear making all sorts of problems and a mess. Soft rubber with talc powder on the other heand will be so perfect because it will make no friction for the nipples. How will You make the punch hole for the valve though to make it strong enogh..." And than You just taped it like me 😂 Weirdly satisfying

My two favorite things, bikes and Adam Savage!

I love your description of racing bike rides it's perfect

Taping rims is absolutely something we do. In mountain biking we run what we call tubless. We use rim specific tape, although gorilla tape is used frim time to time, and the rim is installed and sealant is added into the tire.

Recently spent a decade as a commuter bike mechanic. Fellow maker, nerd, etc... Glad to see you work on a bike. Truing, start wth round then dial in true. The play you were experiencing in the chainring is likely because the fixing nut on the backside has come loose. Repack the bearing. :)

You nailed the Bike Shop Dude trope for sure. One thing (at least in my experience) is how friendly and welcome they often are to anyone, advanced or not. When I got back into biking around 10 years ago, they were the most helpful people one could hope for, especially since the landscape of bicycles had changed so much.

Breaking away had a huge impact on me as a kid. Repairing bikes is made beautiful and so satisfying in that movie. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Adam.

Hell yeah two of my favourite things in one video Adam savage & Bike building!

I have an Old Schwinn Fairlady my grandmother use to Own when she was alive. One of these days I will get around to a restoration.. enjoyable video thanks!.

yes ,i was always working on my pride and joy racing bike when i was 15 or 16 ,i found the exact model and color bike recently and im overjoyed ,cant wait to restore it...

Love old bikes. I did some work on and ride my grandfather's old Raleigh Sport occasionally. Built in 1959!

The rubber that was wrapped around the wheel was the rim tape. You later said that you needed to make one, but it was there somewhere. The slop in the chainring can usually be taken out by the cone/ lockring that is screwed onto the inner side. You may have to disassemble the bottom bracket to get at it, but you would still have to adjust the bottom bracket bearings if you adjusted the cone. It's all a bit more involved than your regular DIY'er would ever really have to know.

I attack and work through a project in the same manner as Adam (which makes sense since I grew up on MythBusters) however, I have no technical training or skills. This is how I learn to do things and I will always appreciate that Adam is my teacher for life.

I've got to say, that is a beautifully crafted frame.

This video took me back to 1981 when my friend gave me his old bike, i pushed it home and stripped it, cleaned it all up and put it back together, have great memory's of it, i was 10 at the time, i wonder how many 10 years olds could do that today....