600 mile useful life

[racethenation]

When I started to get into cycling and lose weight in January, I had to ride what I had. What I had was a 11 year old Huffy mountain bike with 26" wheels that cost all of about $75 when it was new. I estimated that I had put about 150 miles on this bike in 11 years. In the 4 months since, I have put 454 miles on this bike. I was 17 miles into a 27 mile ride yesterday when the cassette (or freewheel, I am not sure I know the difference) fell apart. It is done. I am definitely now stepping up my search for a road bike now, but I would still like to have a mountain bike to mess around with the kids.

Is there anywhere that sells parts for cheap x-mart bikes like, this or is it just meant for the garbage pile now? I am guessing that just finding a $30-50 garage sale bike would be the best way to replace this one cheaply.

[piper_chuck]

I don't know about the parts question. If you're just looking for a beater bike, I see lots of good deals on on Craigslist.

[bautieri]

It's probably not worth your while to upgrade the Huffy when you consider parts and labor, I'm sure someone else will be around to explain in further detail.

If you wander over to the road bike section of the forums that have a sticky thread called "The under 750 dollar road bike thread", it may be worth your while to check into it.

[racethenation]

I don't know about the parts question. If you're just looking for a beater bike, I see lots of good deals on on Craigslist.

Thanks. I have shopped the local (Huntsville) Craig's List for a while, but it is not well used. I think that in this area, I am going to have better luck going the yard sale/thrift store route.

[racethenation]

It's probably not worth your while to upgrade the Huffy when you consider parts and labor, I'm sure someone else will be around to explain in further detail.

If you wander over to the road bike section of the forums that have a sticky thread called "The under 750 dollar road bike thread", it may be worth your while to check into it.

Thanks. I assume that to be the case. I have read through the under $750 bike thread. I am currently looking at a 2007 K2 Mach 2.0 from rscycle. They have it for $599 with free shipping.

[twobikes]

It was probably a freewheel. It screws onto a threaded portion hanging off of the hub on one side of the wheel.

I had one particular Maeda freewheel that unthreaded its retaining ring on three different occasions resulting in the bearing balls spilling out onto the roadway. It has been replaced. The problem was not at all due to the bike. You can get a new Shimano 14 - 28 freewheel from Harris Cyclery in Newton, MA for about $20 delivered. (www.harriscyclery.com (http://www.harriscyclery.com)) If the rest of the bike is good, it might be worth the investment. If you buy a road bike, the old Huffy could serve as a backup.

[CACycling]

Most likely a freewheel which is an easy and cheap repair. Most inexpensive MTBs you find on Craig's List or at garage sales have been sitting a while and will require at least some refurbishing but you can end up with a much better bike.

[racethenation]

It was probably a freewheel. It screws onto a threaded portion hanging off of the hub on one side of the wheel.

I had one particular Maeda freewheel that unthreaded its retaining ring on three different occasions resulting in the bearing balls spilling out onto the roadway. It has been replaced. The problem was not at all due to the bike. You can get a new Shimano 14 - 28 freewheel from Harris Cyclery in Newton, MA for about $20 delivered. (www.harriscyclery.com (http://www.harriscyclery.com)) If the rest of the bike is good, it might be worth the investment. If you buy a road bike, the old Huffy could serve as a backup.


Thank you!!! That is indeed the problem. I am usually very good at finding parts for older equipment, but I could not find that one. The bike is definetely worth (to me anyway) putting $20 in.