Recreational & Family - KHS road bike, need help!!!

Hi guys.

I've been visiting your forum for a while now, and i now have a reason to join in!!!:D

I'm happy to say that i have purchased a (new to me) used road bike, and i would like your opinion on whether or not i got a good deal.

It's a KHS triathlete 12 speed road bike (don't know the year).
It has shifters on the down tube that read "suntour"
I'm positive that the crank arms are aluminium and they read "sugino vp130"
The front and rear derailleur and the caliper brakes read "suntour alpha 5000"

The only things i think need changing are the tires, i think they are the original ones that came with the bike wen new, they are old and dry, they are 700x25c.

Also, the rear wheel is "loose" i think it's the quick release pin/shaft??? it doesn't matter if i tighten the pin, it still wobbles and you can see that it's between the hub and the pin, it wobbles just a little bit, you can ride it and not notice it, but i think if i ride it i might make it worse.

Ok so now the price!!! i got it for 90 dollars at the swap meet.

So, what i'd like to know is, did i get a good price???

How can i fix/change the rear quick release???

Also i plan on riding this bike as a recreational bike and possibly for short commutes, what tire size can make the ride more comfortable??? because the tires it has now are super thin but i don't know what max width will the rim accept.

Thanks in advance for any reply!!!:)

Cheers!!!

If it looks like this one? Yes

http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/owner-submitted/rocky-ms-1987-khs-john-howard-edition/

Have bike mechanic overhaul both wheels.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

I think it really does look like that one, except for the fact that the one you show is super neat and clean.

Mine also has the two tone color, only that mine is white and turquoise but the black stem looks the same, also the crank arms and chain rings look newer on mine, my crank arms look thicker like the belong to a newer bike.

i'll post a pic tomorrow.

Sadly i don't think it's a "John Howard edition" because it doesn't say anywhere on the bike and i think it has all the original decals, and i don't know who John Howard is (sorry for the ignorance) but i think it has to be special if its an "edition".

But it does look a lot like that one.

Cool

Anyone else have some info on this bike???

Are the suntour components good???

Any simple stuff i can do to make it more comfortable and reliable???

I'd take it to a local bike shop and have it tuned up. They will clean it up and check to make sure everything is adjusted and safe for you. They should also be able to tell you how wide a tire will fit on your rims. (Be prepared to spend $60-100 on the tuneup. It might be less, it depends on your LBS)

As you go you'll be able to learn to do a lot of this stuff yourself, but for now it's probably best to let an in-person pro help you out.

If you haven't done so already, post a pic and parts list of your bike over on the Classic & Vintage sub-forum:

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php/181-Classic-amp-Vintage

The folks over there know a lot about older, more obscure bikes like yours. Nice score!

Buy yourself a set of cone wrenches so that you can remove the cones on the axle. They are fairly cheap, last a lifetime, and are invaluable in being able to lubricate the wheel bearings and adjust the pressure on the bearings so that the wheels turn freely but don't wobble. If you don't know how to do this, go look at the tutorials on the Harris Cyclery website http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/. Work in a clean area where if you drop any of the bearings you can find them again. There almost always is an odd number of bearings on each side. When you divide them up again the number of bearings on each side of the hub should be the same. If the bike has been ridden a long time with loose cones, they may be damaged to the cone or hub as a result. There should be no pitting on the cones and hub surface where the bearings ride. Any visible wear should be even around the cone and hub. New cones are cheap but a hub isn't. I fixed about 5 MTBs with this problem at a Boy Scout camp in California this past week. The kids running the bike program didn't know what damage riding them loose can do and didn't know how to adjust the cones either although they had the cone wrenches to do the job.

Thanks!!!

I thought about posting in the classic & vintage sub-forum, but i thought my bike was probably not old enough to be considered classic or vintage, and i thought the experts would laugh at me, hahaha, but that's just my ignorance telling me that vintage bikes are the ones with the huge wheel in the front, hahaha.

Any way, now that you recommend it, i will post a pic and specs on that sub-forum.

Cheers!!!

Hey vegastriker, thanks for the info.

I tried to reply to your PM but i'm new to the forum and it says that i have to have a minimun of 40 post or something like that in order to send PM.

Yeah i think i can buy the cone wrenches and adjust it my self, but if i do i might do it in like a month or so, hahaha, so i think i'm going to take it to my LBS and have it fixed already so i can go out and ride it!!!.

Cheers!!!

Does your rear wheel wobble like this vid? If so that's normal freewheel wobble and nothing to worry about. If you can move the rim at the outer diameter that's another story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nMAkJvDnBI

More good stuff here.
http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/FREE_SITE_1/FREE_SITE_1_HOME.htm

Cool!!! thanks for the info!!!

i got the problem fixed, i took it to the LBS and the said that it needed the bearings adjusted, now it's as solid as a rock!!!

I have an old KHS mixte with Suntour gruppo. It's not fancy, just reliable. Once I became one with the bike, I learned to snick it in and out of gears quite neatly, given its limitations. Enjoy it -- it's a bargain.