I've had this problem with a number of old bikes I've decided to revitalise and bring back upto date. I've normally put 100 hours of stripping down and rebuliding and spent £300-400+ before I realize I'd be lucky to get £150 back from selling it ha ha. But that's not why I do it. I do it because I despise this 'use it up and throw it away' fast food culture we live in and I'm passionate about restoration, customization, preservation and improvement.
You sound exactly like me! 😁 I hate seeing things go to recycling when it only takes someone like ourselves to take the time and fix it good as new. There's been a number of times I've done the same as you and bought a load of parts then realised " I'd be lucky to get my money back" it's at that point I first look at my kids bikes and think "I'm keeping it and replacing the kids bike, sell the old one" that way my kids benefit.
I build up bikes and resell them for about what I put in (or slightly less). I justify it as a "hobby". But really it's because I have some strange emotion when I see a really good bike that's just in need of love.
if it was whipped like a rented mule, played kick the can with, the owner is a lazy disgusting individual, then thats what youre buying is a physical manifestation of their demise.
Cracked and bent old school frames sometimes can still be used as wall hangers. My friend has held on to Konas, GTs, classic Scwinns, etc. for display purposes.
I always look at bikes like this as parts bikes...for $20, you get a usable saddle, seat post, wheels, h-bars, BB, etc, all of which would probably cost more (in some cases much more!) if you had to buy them individually as a replacement for a worn or broken part on a "good" bike.
Yep! I part up bikes like these for when I find nice frames with bad parts and bingo, one good bicycle! People take the frames for scrap too so it's a win win win situation
If you're a glutton like me you'll pick up several parts bikes on the cheap ($30 or less) and have a good pile of used parts to fix up whatever bike you actually want to keep.
Sometimes, if it's a bike you've owned, you MUST restore it! I had a worn-out but much loved Gary Fisher, steel framed mountain bike from 1998. It is also the only bike I own with rack mounts. The frame was good, the original fork was replaced with a Rock Shox coil fork about 7 years ago, so I stripped and powder coated the frame. I replaced the drivetrain with an Alivio crank, a narrow-wide chain ring, and an 11-34 nine speed cassette. Yes, I could have put the cash into a modern bike, but now I have a retro but new looking bike with a modern drive train.
Hey Rj, im from phillipines technically south east asia,, for me u are the best bike mechanic in youtube. Every time that i had problem in bike .. I type the problem then you channel pop up,,,, ure great men
My rulers are metric. My tape measures are Imperial. My digital instruments swing both ways. Signed, Canada I was seven when Canada made the switch. I rarely convert. I use each system indepedently.
@@BangTheRocksTogether Uh - no. An inch is not an inch. It's like Hello, vs Hullo. We used "hullo" before the telephone, now we use "Hello" and "hullo" was just phased out.
Thanks RJ. Nice step by step explanation of non-obvious flaws. I've finally learned to do a through evaluation of a bike before doing repair of individual components. A lesson hard won when I spent hours on a bicycle only to find that the seatpost was epoxied into the frame!
I am constantly facing a similar problem with my MTB (Scott G-Zero FX4 from 2006). I know that spend more money on parts than the bike worth, but I still do it. For me it's a sentimental thing. It is my first proper mountain bike. I had some unforgettable moments with this bike. If I want to sell it, it worth probably around 100-120$, however for me it's priceless.
sounds like you're right. For me I probably wouldn't have noticed the frame being tweaked and would have tried but build it up anyway, nice that you have that frame tool.
Nah, you'd end up with just a large box full of spares you'd never use. If you use random parts from random stripped bikes you end up with an ugly frankenstein hybrid looking bike. Might as well just buy a nice shiny new bike.
@@darkknight17 He did say he bought this bike as a fun project, I get the feeling he had a good bike he uses for himself. But isn't the idea of spare parts to avoid breaking the bank on new parts later? I found this video because I'm trying to decide whether it would be cheaper to buy a used bike or repair the clunker in the yard.
I wouldn't feel too bad - you got a good number of working parts for $20, including shifters, wheels, and disc brakes.. Someday you'll buy a bike with a solid frame and crappy parts for $20, you'll marry the two, and have a nice bike for around $60.
Looks like it got run into. Seen a few bikes like that when people don't see it lying in the driveway and roll into the bike before they realise it's there. Particularly common with 4WDs/SUVs because of the terrible visibility.
One of the hardest things to do in life, business, medicine or just about any endeavor as well as bike repair is to admit that you are wasting your time and call it quits. Well done RJ!
I love your tutorials, very professional and straight forward. Now with COVID19 there are no bikes for sale so I'm buying cheap and flipping them for a quick profit. Your videos help a lot
At Bike Edmonton we are used to get bikes like that for donations. Usually the first thing we check is frame alignment as this is a big factor and we have used parts for almost everything else. The bike is still wort more than the twenty bucks as you can strip off the parts and use them to build other bikes. I personally like 1980's, pre suspension mountain bikes with lugged chromoly frames. They are almost always worth rebuilding.
So many bikes I find have a bent back wheel ! Did the fools back over them in the driveway where the kids dropped them ? So I take a good wheel I saved and viola, a good bike for a needy kid to ride ! I feel good about savings bikes from the dump !
Speaking of bikes that are too far gone. My neighbour wanted me to look at his sons bike because he'd had a crash and bent the rear derailleur. When he brought it round it was literally wrapped in the rear wheel. No problem. It's a steel bike, I can correct that hanger and maybe swap out the derailleur. I did but as I was doing it I noticed the front derailleur was all twisted, the gear shifters were smashed, it has no grips, the brake pads were bent... The brake pads... Bent, oh and then the bottom bracket was completely loose and the pedals smashed. What got me though is the Crank arm was actually bent and you couldn't spin the cranks 😭 He asked me how much it would be to fix 😂 it was a generic youth bike so I just told him to give it to the scrap man. How does a bike even get that bad??
Very interesting video! I just overhauled my 1981 Gary Fisher Hoo-Koo-e-Koo and converted it to a 1x utility bike (grocery shopping, commuting, etc.) It cost overall about $700, but I now have essentially a new bike with a great steel frame, that has the Gary Fisher heritage. In my case, definitely worth the money, if only for sentimental reasons. Your video gives a great heads-up to anybody who sees a cheap used bike for sale. I can't believe they hid the cracked fork!
I've recently done a similar project but the bike's frame was mechanically in way better condition than your's is. I've stripped it, took off the old paint and decals and gave it a nice respray, rebuilt it and all that took me around 20h of work. Now it's ready to be gifted to my niece (9) on Christmas :-)
Great video! I'm always picking up cheap or free bikes to fix and now seeing this will greatly help me with checking wether a bike is worth fixing or not 👍
Another sign you're getting too old, you start recognizing situations where the best thing you can do is walk away. *Before* you've sunk a load of time and money into them. (I'm borderline autistic, with a natural inclination to beat my head against a wall.)
Agreed. The best restorations are where the bike's financial value exceeds any cash sunk in parts and labour. Then there's the projects that are fun enough so you'll ride away with a neat bike for your effort, but no profit in the job. After that there are bikes that aren't viable, but you happen to have just the stuff to fix it up lying around. Then there's hopeless cases like this one. Take the saddle, seat pin, bars and stem, carefully checking they aren't toast along with the rest of the bike, and save yourself a bunch of time and headaches. That's for home restorations, bike shops are a different matter. Something like replacing a drive chain can render the job uneconomical over buying a new bike.
@@Magnabee97 No, that was the worst mistake I did in my life. Older doesn't mean wiser. Many people are born stupid, live stupid, get old stupid, and die stupid. Following their advice, just because they are old, AND SOMETIMES VERY REALIZED PROFESSIONALLY, is the worst mistake I did. Somebody can be very intelligent, but not wise at all.
Very useful. I recently bought an older Cannondale and I was planning on bigger tires mounted on another wheel set, also for a Cannondale. But the rear wheel is just too wide, I had to force the wheel set into the drop outs. Watching your videos and others like it I knew I could not safely mount the bigger wheel set because as you said, aluminum can't be cold set. And as an aside, I inherited a steel GT mtn bike with many shifting and braking problems, using your string method I found out the frame was way out of alignment. Looking at the super heavy weight construction of the GT, I decided to strip the parts and discard the frame. Bummer, but just too many welds on the triple triangle for a garage hack like myself to try and overcome. Wasn't worth it. Thanks for the videos.
I've recently done my first bike rebuild, a 1994 Koga Miyata Gran Special, only built for a year, super rare in the UK. Bought it for £90 on eBay and wondered why no one else was taking a put on it. It came with mismatched shifters, one mirage one veloce, the rear derailleur was goosed, it had no front derailleur, both hub bearings were shot and the frame was dented but its been a labour of love and now I ride it everywhere
Thanks! I am new to biking and I bought a used mtb on marketplace in my area. I have had to do some work and started to worry I messed up in purchasing it. I must say it is nowhere near as bad as this trek is. This was really helpful if I decide to purchase another used one. I will look for these issues.
Monkadelic just put a chain on it, a replacement fork, and its a junkyard bike. Employees at a junkyard would love to have a rideable bike to use around the property. I'd be interested in the disc brakes if you're parting out. Best regards.
The fork was the nasty surprise. I think the bike has so much more potential than one of the bikes i fixed up for my son, a real Franken-bike. I had to replace the chain (one on it was new and still in packing grease; i cleaned it and it had damaged linked in more than one location) new rear derailleur (had the cheapest possible one on it), derailleur hanger (bent/stripped threads), new shifters/brakes, bottom bracket and crank, stem, handlebars, and brakes (caliper), seat post and saddle. All that is original is the frame, front derailler, wheels, and front fork. Yes, I'm an idiot, but i learned a lot and do anything for my kids. Only one possibly better bike has come along since but i missed putting an offer on it by minutes. At least i know he has a reliable bike that shouldn't have any major surprises. The bike was like a rotten onion. Looked ok on the outside but slowly revealed its ugly layers as i set out to repair it. "Why is the chain jumping still? What is the knocking sound?" It took me for a nasty frustrating ride.
I walked away from an alloy frame that had a crash big enough to break the forks. The frame looked ok but I wasn't prepared to take the risk. Having said that, I've built loads of bikes up from a bare frame and they've become my favourite bikes.
Since you were going to scarp the frame, I'd see what happens when I try to cold bend the frame back. I mean, as an experiment. I'm curious how far I could take it before it's really toast.
Rj I did a bike course many years ago ran by local council. They brought bikes that were took to local tips they brought them to us by the shed load.if they were to bad we strip down for parts and use to make other bikes up. They went into front of house were they had the shop all adult bikes some for 30 uk pounds and kids bikes 15 uk pounds. As Christmas approached people with kids bought there kids bike for them for Christmas the kids faces it was full of excitement and expectation . It felt great knowing so many kids had something for Christmas and adults haveing bikes and being able to find work and have cheap transport to get there. All the best buddy john in the uk.😊
Following along, and I was like also like "But the frame is still good, it has good bones. Oh frame is bend, yea we are done here". It seems like the wheels, seat and handlebars are all that is worth saving.
FWIW: Cold setting aluminum is certainly something to be cautious about. BUT, with these lower end aluminum frames, the aluminum is actually quite soft and setable for small bends like the one shown on this bike. I have straightened much worse with long-term success. This is similar to bending lower end aluminum rims to straighten rim damage. Higher end stuff, which quite obviously doesn't want to bend when you apply force to it, will dramatically fracture when you try to straighten it (similar some of the hardened DT Swiss and Raceface rims if you've experimented with bending them). Also, on this bike, although those chainrings are worn, they don't look bad enough to need to be replaced. AND finally, thanks for lots of great content about fixing instead of throwing away old bicycles and forks.
I just made this mistake 3 months ago by swapping parts on my MTB and costs me around 360USD thinking that I could learn something and still be able to use the old bike. In the end, I did learn how to fix a bike but its an expensive experience as it still doesn't feel right. After I felt its not worthy to continue the project, I ended up getting a new bike instead. The point is if it's an old bike and haven't been well maintain in it's enitre life, scrap it and get a new one.
4 года назад
I'm currently in a similar situation with my work bike. It was a winter training MTB for me many years ago, now i ride to work with it (smaller risk of getting stolen). But yeah, i have to admit, the bike is quite neglected. I did take care of it, lubing when needed, but still... Chain, chainrings, cassette all worn, derailleurs are getting loose from all those years of use, breaks (V-brakes) could be better, wheels are also worn and quite weak. Cables need to be replaced too. The frame is an old steel frame, quite okay, but i still don't know if i should fix my bike or find an other one. I'm more of a "if it ain't totally dead, fix it" type, also to me a bike has a personal value, not just a bunch of metal, especially after all those years of adventures. Still, a good used bike could be cheaper and definitely a better overall product. It's not easy to decide, that's sure.
As long as the frame is okay it's always worth it. Agree with you don't bend an aluminum frame back. I ride aluminum now but I bought it new. If I was to buy used I would only steel.
i thought aluminum can be bent back a few times before it loses its integrity (including the initial bending out of alignment in the first place)? unless he just decided not to bother due to all the other issues? although he could have restored the frame which is the most expensive part?
I worked as a bike mechanic for a while and would come across bikes that were really old and needed too much work for it to make sense. I would always let the customer know that it was not economicaly worth it unless they have some sort of sentimental value towards the bike. I always told them I was more than happy to fix it but I personally would not recommend it.
About cold setting aluminium... I have a Marin from the same era as that Trek. Got it without wheels and the rear measured only 120 mm. Pulled the stays apart to just under 135 mm and put a wheel in. No issues with alignment. Built it up. Didn't ride it much for a couple of years. Then I needed an ebike and decided to convert that Marin. Have done over 5500 km on it with no issues. Now my commute has shortened so much that there's really no need for an ebike and I just use my regular fixed gear which is much nicer anyway.
We'll see if I have just jumped down that same rabbit hole. I wanted to get a project bike and maybe learn a few things, so I popped for a Giant mountain bike at the local police auction for $10. The front hub was loose, and based on another of your videos I think some new bearing and grease will get it good to go. The left side crank arm and pedal were missing, and that was cheap enough to replace. We'll see what else is waiting for me. It is not a matter of good money after bad, but learning. And keeping my mind occupied in retirement. Thanks for your great content!
This hit too close to home: recently I've been working on a 90's, big-box store mtb my family's had since before I was born. I planned on fixing it and just having some fun with it on lighter trails; but I've found more issues than success at this point. I think it's time for this bike to be reduced, reused and recylced. (edited for spelling)
The chain is probably the most overlooked part of maintenance. I was guilty of that myself long ago. Until I had to replace the cassette,chain, 2 chainrings ,and both rear derailleur pulleys,that is. Along with my parts list I added a chain check tool. Well worthy of my $10 investment
After dealing with a couple of used bikes it's definitely been a painfully slow (and time costly) journey to know when it's not worth fixing. Helps when it was a steal I guess! How do you get such cheap, decent quality bikes??
Wow. Thank God you said $20 at the beginning of this! I would've cried when you showed how far off the alignment was. But my tears would not have lasted long. Doing the math on how much you'd pay for each of the parts in good shape, your $20 was well invested. Sweet!
I have a Wal-Mart Next PowerX 26" 18 speed I bought over 20 years ago. For the first 10 years, I rode the HELL out of that thing. Then after that 10, it just kinda sat under my carport. I just got around to digging it back out to see if it's worth bringing back to life. Most of the components are a bit rusted and frozen. So I am just going to go ahead and get a new Wal-Mart bike just until I can build up my old one to what I have been looking for in a bike. I love the full suspension, heavy weight frame it has. That frame is tough as hell. I hit a tree head on (lost control) and the frame is still straight as an arrow. And the front forks are still holding up like new. So those are staying. It is going to get NEW Shimano shifter brake lever combo to replace the Shimano twist grip shifters. New Derailleurs for front and back. New cassette and wheels. New cables, and maybe a nice comfy seat as well as new brakes. New chain as well as new Knobby tires and Never flat solid foam inner tubes so flats are never a problem. Once those are done, It should be a good TOUGH bike that will handles a few trails as well as be smooth as glass on any road surface.
With the frame & fork issues, it makes me wonder if that bike was in a major crash, fell off a small cliff, fell off a moving vehicle or got hit by a car.
I always bring a piece of string to check alignment with when looking at a bike. Wrap the center of the string around the head tube, pull the ends down to the rear drops. Then look at where the string passes by the seat tube. Both sides should be even.
I have a bike from about 1990. Had the rings/cogs/chain all replaced. After a few months it started skipping gears and the chain would pop over teeth on climbs. Since I already replaced the drivetrain I don’t know what’s wrong but it’s HIGH time to let go. It was an extremely fast xc race bike, but almost every part has been replaced. I’m currently just mining it for upgraded parts that weren’t too worn yet.
I thought "He's got a Trek for $20, WTH could he be talking about "Cutting' his "losses"? Then I watched 2 minutes thirty-nine seconds of the video. Yeah, RUN!!!
Thank you, RJ even the professionals can't see always a cheap deal has good potential. I'm just starting out pick up a Trek 4500 mint no rust with some upgrades for $100. Unbeknownst to me sold my original owner 1988 Diamond Back Override 19" for $75!! Upgraded to the 4500!
I just made that call with my old bike. Cycling up a slight hill in town, I got out the saddle to put some power down and the bike suddenly got all weird and unstable on me. I pulled to one side and my down tube had broken near the head tube with an inch of daylight between the two bits. It was a handbuilt custom brazed steel frame that had cost quite a bit, so it might have been worth fixing - but not something I could have done myself, and with internal cable routing and a complete respray the repair would have cost a bomb. Also, I figured the break was probably due to an accident at some point, so there may have been other hidden damage. I moved some of the bits that were compatible across to a Surly Krampus frame I bought off eBay and now I have a sweet, bomb-proof ride. Did make me curse the plethora of incompatible parts standards in cycling though. Hadn't come across Boost geometry before this project, for one thing.
@@joewas2225 oh, well. Where I live. You can get real junk. Litterally Chinese made unbranded bikes with spring forks. Trek at least is reputable and has decent capabilities
@@bryanjudefernandez2195 Trek reputable & capable? 😂 Trek is junk. Want a real reputable brand & capable. Look at Scott bikes. Leagues better & cheaper.
You can adjust aluminum cold by freezing with dry ice or electronic spray use to spot cool circuit boards. when the area is cold the heat treated aluminum goes to what is called an " o " condition and is malleable. You do have to work it pretty quickly as once it warms up the heat treatment returns. This is the method used to "adjust" body rings for aircraft at the Boeing plant.
I had a Trek with a broken frame once. Light as can be, but nothing I could do with it. Grabbed the parts I could and metal bin for the rest. I made up my mind to keep and use the good parts and dispose of the rest. Don't feel bad.
I will pray to St. Klaus that he bring you a TIG welder for Christmas. You are the kind of guy who would quickly conclude, "I should have gotten one of these a long time ago."
Hmm funny you say that, I was totally screwed over buying used from a young guy. Then I started learning a lot more about bikes and bought a 1000 buck bike from a guy in his 50's for 200. It's just the most wonderful thing I've ever owned. Suddenly from having the shittiest bike in the entire city, I am the one getting looks of envy now :)
Just working on a steel frame Specialized from the 90s - a Hard Rock low level mountain bike with no suspension. I paid a fair bit of money for the frame because I specifically wanted a steel frame and to recycle something. Bottom bracket is shot and I can't get the damned thing out. Had to order a 60mm long M8-1.0 ( fine thread ) bolt to act as a retained for my bottom bracket removal tool and I may need to invest in a heavy duty 1/2" impact wrench to use on it. Apart from the money, I like to convert old MTBs into good street/commuter bikes with a close ration block and fat slick tires with a nice ride and low rolling resistance so I will be disappointed if the frame has to go in the trash. While I know you can recycle the parts, usually what you end up is a shitload of the same things like seat posts, bars and stems, and none of the stuff that wears out and breaks.
I am assuming cartridge BB? Make sure you are turning it the correct way. Right side is left hand threaded. And left side is right have threaded. Try a cheater bar. Also try hitting the wrench with a mallet to get it to move.
I fixed my Trek with your help. It's been my favorite bike forever, but I always dreamed of having a red Raleigh. Two days ago I picked up a brand spankin' new red Raleigh at a thrift store dirt cheap! I'm so happy!
I've owned and broken a lot of aluminum bike frames......and will never own one again. I'll gladly take the one pound weight penalty of having a chromoly steel frame so I can have a frame that can take far more abuse, and be self repaired. I'm not into disposable bike frames which is what aluminum ones are.
I think it's very sunjective. I spend more than I should on my old bike just because I like it and love the look it's got over time. I do a lot of second hand hunting though so could probably break it down for parts as they're all quite nice if it ever came to it.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Can't fault Trek too much in this area. The frame broke on my Trek 520 after 58000 miles. Of course I didn't have the original receipt and the shop I bought it at was long out of business. The local dealer was no help so I called Trek customer service. "Send me some pictures of where you've had your bike" the guy said So I sent a bunch of pics from France, UK, all over the place; they replaced the frame for free
This video is really useful specially for those who go for used bycycle, I wasn't aware of all these things to take into consideration when I brought my used bike, but thank god I had not land buying a junk☺️
Just subscribed! Tuning my bike up for the first time. The shifters are going to be pain, but I can probably muddle through it! Bummer on the rebuild. I've always wanted to build a bike up from scratch.
I agree with you 100% on parting the bike, I have tried to fix an aluminum frame and it's futile, I have bent chromoly and steel frames just fine back to original but aluminum just isn't safe after its bent
Love these videos, I have a question if you can help please. I got a bike for spares as the head tube has a small crack in it, is it safe to ride? Plus is the BB the same on any bike or do they all need their own? Thanks
If the frame has a crack, it is not safe to ride. No, BBs are not all the safe. There are different styles and sizes. It depends on the frame and the crankset.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Thankyou very much, I have a Norco Bigfoot frame and was going to strip everything from the cracked frame and build it, tbh I've never done a BB before, is there any advise you can give to help. Thankyou
I noticed a sticker for RVE Bike on this frame. I don't know if there are any other locations, but there is one in Fairport NY, right by the railroad tracks. Are you located in Western NY?
I was given a road bike hardly ridden , aluminium frame,carbon forks, but left outside for a year ...anyway bike retailed at 500 pound brand new so thought it would be worth saving it....so changed bottom bracket,and front derailleur and crank all Shimano plus a extra narrow chain for smoother gear change, cleaned up rusty bolts or replaced...anyway spent about 80 pound all in now rides great even with bog standard torney groupset. I might replace brake calipers eventually but at moment they fine .
If you ride a bike with uneven dropouts then you will wear the cones down quickly and the hubs will always be coming loose. There was a beautiful commuter bike I had once and I loved it and after the cost to get the right parts to make it comfortable and fun to ride, it was hit from behind by a car just a few months later and the rear wheel was broken but the frame looked ok. I thought I asked the bike store guy to check the alignment of the frame, especially the back, but I don't know if he ever did. So then I was constantly adjusting the rear wheel and having problems with it and then finally later on he checks the alignment and says "yeah it's pretty bent there". all this time I put way more money into it than was necessary and should have just started over with a whole new bike. then there was also an aluminum mountain bike I had and I rode it a lot. I had replaced a lot of original parts and the last thing to go was going to be the crankset which was a 4 bolt single speed spider crank. It held up forever but was starting to lose bolts. They are very expensive for the right side and I considered how the frame already corroded once and I resprayed the paint. I decided that I felt certain enough once I got the new crankset that it would be the frame which failed next. When you've ridden a bike for a really long, long time, you can be certain that the frame is going to reach the end of it's life just when you've finally overhauled everything else. steel lasts forever if it doesn't rust. But the life of a bike is also mostly determined by how many times you have to tap (rethread) the bottom bracket. Eventually there won't be enough metal to accept new threads so you might reach the end of the line that way before you even notice the frame beginning to crack. One bike mechanic told me that there is a threadless bottom bracket which can sometimes be used in bikes which cannot be tapped again and it may give you a few more rides. And at the rate new bike parts are increasing in price, you will easily exceed the original purchase price of your bike from the past decade to get good quality parts. so in more cases it might be worth just saving for a whole new bike because of that.