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09-30-10, 12:13 PM
> I posted this in the other Classic Vintage section, you can delete the previous thread if repeats are shunned upon. I'm looking for tips on repairing and appraisal on both bikes.
So the other day me and my friend Gram where casually talking about a bike he pulled out of one of our school bike lockers from over the summer. He said he moved it against a fence and it's been sitting unlocked for about 3 weeks. Nobody seemed to claim it so it sparking my interests and we checked it out. It was a pretty old 70s Schwinn Le Tour, but all its parts work like a dream. One peddle on it's highest gear and we got well over a hundred revolutions, and this bike as been sitting in a locker for about 20 years. No rust, no plastic parts, no weldings, no damage (besides the kickstand someone broke off years ago). All it needed was new tires and a cleaning.
After realizing the potential of what we found, we went over to the bike locker to check a second scrapped bike I knew of. We opened the door and the Hercules emblem was staring us right in the face. We pulled her out and she was a dirty beauty. It's original rear view mirror was attached, it's full frame was perfect including front and back wheel covers, even it's wheel's were straight, just needs new tires. We started to clean away at the grime on the bike and a shiny chrome finish was revealed, it's barely tarnished.
Lastly we went back to the Le Tour and on the back was an old master lock from the 70s. Gram had a master key on his lanyard and surprisingly unlocked the vintage lock that may have not been unlocked in over 20 years. we walked both the bikes back into the locker, and locked it up with it's own lock.
If anyone has tips on repairing (well it has all its parts in fine working condition, just maybe on adding new tires on old bikes or fixing up a vintage seat/ touch up paint job) throw'm my way. If we get them riding again we might sell it to a collector, or maybe just keep them as treasures, who knows. I heard Hercules had fallen out of business so maybe we would look into selling that one first, but we both are focused on fixing them up for now. If anyone's interested or just has some advice, I'd be glad to hear it.
So the other day me and my friend Gram where casually talking about a bike he pulled out of one of our school bike lockers from over the summer. He said he moved it against a fence and it's been sitting unlocked for about 3 weeks. Nobody seemed to claim it so it sparking my interests and we checked it out. It was a pretty old 70s Schwinn Le Tour, but all its parts work like a dream. One peddle on it's highest gear and we got well over a hundred revolutions, and this bike as been sitting in a locker for about 20 years. No rust, no plastic parts, no weldings, no damage (besides the kickstand someone broke off years ago). All it needed was new tires and a cleaning.
After realizing the potential of what we found, we went over to the bike locker to check a second scrapped bike I knew of. We opened the door and the Hercules emblem was staring us right in the face. We pulled her out and she was a dirty beauty. It's original rear view mirror was attached, it's full frame was perfect including front and back wheel covers, even it's wheel's were straight, just needs new tires. We started to clean away at the grime on the bike and a shiny chrome finish was revealed, it's barely tarnished.
Lastly we went back to the Le Tour and on the back was an old master lock from the 70s. Gram had a master key on his lanyard and surprisingly unlocked the vintage lock that may have not been unlocked in over 20 years. we walked both the bikes back into the locker, and locked it up with it's own lock.
If anyone has tips on repairing (well it has all its parts in fine working condition, just maybe on adding new tires on old bikes or fixing up a vintage seat/ touch up paint job) throw'm my way. If we get them riding again we might sell it to a collector, or maybe just keep them as treasures, who knows. I heard Hercules had fallen out of business so maybe we would look into selling that one first, but we both are focused on fixing them up for now. If anyone's interested or just has some advice, I'd be glad to hear it.