Bicycle Mechanics - Newbie with old bike question

Hello all, I have been lurking and I find all of the discussions to be very informative. I would like to start a little road biking (besides the up and down the lake ride on nice days, here in Chicago, on my MTB). I have an old Giant road bike, I'm not sure how old, I bought it from a friend for 35 dollars, including the U-lock and helmet. The bike says Giant Quasar, however I can't find any information on this type of bike (it is Chromoly, it says in the front). Does anybody know anything about this bike type? Secondly, I would like to strip this bike, clean the frame and possibly paint it, and then replace all of the components with inexpensive components, to learn about bike maintenance and have a half way decent city road bike. Is this doable? Would you have any suggestions? I apologize for the long message.

Thanks

Brass

Do a search for painting. there are a few threads that should help you out.

I have heard of the Quasar but have no info on it.

And lastly, you should be able to strip it down and build youre self a decent road bike but it would probably be cheeper to buy a new one.

Slainte:beer:

Long message? You obviously haven't read some of mine. :D

I would resist the temptation to strip the bike for now. If it works OK then just ride it. Its best to learn bike mechanics one step at a time, so do repairs and adjustments as you need them. You will also be able to build up your toolset gradually, buying what you need.

Thanks for the advice. I will follow it. Right now the brakes are horrible, and I would like to replace the wheels. That should be enough to work on.

For some good repair "how-to" click on Barnett's at the top of this thread listing. In addition, www.parktool.com has a very good "how-to" section as well.

L8R