sideshow

I have a 70's or 80's free spirit pinnacle 20" road bike, made in Taiwan. Its a fully lugged frame and really cool looking. I was looking for a 20" road bike and stumbled on this. There really aren't many out there. I was going to powder the frame, wrap the bars, new seat, pedals, etc. but I have no idea about upgrading wheels, derailleur, brakes, shifter, cranks etc. I don't want to drop a ton of coin into this, I'm just looking to make it fast cool looking and reliable. I want alloy rims and skinny tires, maybe some bmx hoops would work. There cant be many 20" wheels out there that would just bolt on.

nfmisso

budget? are you doing the powder coat yourself? Pros typically run around $200- here to powder a frame and fork.

Are the wheels 406mm or 451mm bead seat diameter, and what is the current inside width of the rims?
Here is a 406 wheelset: Amazon.com : Control Tech Clincher 406 Series Wheel for Foldering Bike, Carbon Black, 20-Inch : Sports & Outdoors
You can also get Sun CR18 and Velocity AeroHeat in 406mm.

Panaracer, Schwalbe, Kenda, Primo and others offer 406 slicks. Search 406 in bike tires on Amazon for these and others.

Derailleurs, cranks, BB, etc so many options......

sideshow

Friends doing the powder, looking to complete the whole bike for 200.00 not counting the powder

HillRider

Before you rush to "upgrade" everything check to see how much of what's already on the bike still works properly. New tires for sure but new wheel only if the current ones are damaged or have steel rims. If you can use the old wheels be sure to clean and relube the hubs. Maybe the brakes can be upgraded just with new high quality pads. Do the derailleurs work or be made to work with a cleaning and lubing? Is the chain OK? The freewheel? Why spend money needlessly, particularly if the child will outgrow it fairly quickly?

sideshow

everything works, except the gears on the rear wheel just started spinning freely both ways, while the tire don't move. it dose have steel rims and that's why I was looking to upgrade those to some sort of alloy ones. the crank is cottered and that's why I wanted to upgrade that as well.