Introductions - My Intro

I have never really taken any sort of serious interest in biking until extremely recently. I was given a 1979 Schwinn World Sport by my grandparents in their last garage cleaning effort. It is definitely a small project and will need plenty of TLC; however, it has sparked a huge amount of curiosity and desire to learn as much as possible about road bikes and how they work/ how to fix or restore them. After being given this bike, I found an ad for an unbelievably cheap road bike-nameless and re-painted several times- ($10) and bought it the next day. It was in awful shape but has some decent parts that I'm hoping will contribute to the mild restoration I will soon be undertaking. I would really appreciate any advice from all of you on how I should approach this process. The main purpose for fixing the bike is commuting. I am a USC student and need to get from my off-campus apartment quickly and safely so this bike needs to work well and require low maintenance. All advice is welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Matt

Welcome,

Check out the SoCal sub-forum. I think there are some UCLA alums there, but they don't bite.

I have never really taken any sort of serious interest in biking until extremely recently. I was given a 1979 Schwinn World Sport by my grandparents in their last garage cleaning effort. It is definitely a small project and will need plenty of TLC; however, it has sparked a huge amount of curiosity and desire to learn as much as possible about road bikes and how they work/ how to fix or restore them. After being given this bike, I found an ad for an unbelievably cheap road bike-nameless and re-painted several times- ($10) and bought it the next day. It was in awful shape but has some decent parts that I'm hoping will contribute to the mild restoration I will soon be undertaking. I would really appreciate any advice from all of you on how I should approach this process. The main purpose for fixing the bike is commuting. I am a USC student and need to get from my off-campus apartment quickly and safely so this bike needs to work well and require low maintenance. All advice is welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Matt

USC is in one tough neighborhood. Once I parked on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd just outside of the Law Library for about an hour and my car door lock was opened and the contents of the car removed. I wouldn't spend a whole lot of money on fixing up. If its just commuting, you shouldn't do any restoration. Just make sure in your backpack you have spare tubes and a reliable pump and minimum tools. USC is definitely a beater bike territory.

Fix the repainted nameless bike to make it rideable, as a learning experience. Then you will be ready to do a proper restoration job on the World Sport. Get more advice from the Vintage & Classics section.

I'll definitely have to check out the sub-forum. I'm planning on buying a new (used) fork-considering that I can find one, tires, tubes, and handlebar tape. The reason I have to replace the fork is because it was (probably in some sort of an accident) bent inward towards the frame and now rubs on the side of the tire/wheel. Are there any other things that I NEED to check in order to ensure safety on my daily commute? Excluding the bullet-proof vest and side arm of course. :p USC is definitely a tough area and I'll be locking this thing with a U lock and a chain (I have quick release wheels).