mauritso

Hi,

I bought this bike from someone for $160 (120 euros), after buying it and looking around (wrong order... I know) it might not have been the best purchase for that price, but it did have new tires and everything was in working order.

I have to cycle to school everyday (72km/44 miles a day), and I have been using this bike for a week now. It is a lot lighter than my normal bike and it runs smooth.

Can I get some help identifying what parts are on it and what parts I need to replace? I don't mind getting my hands dirty and I am willing to spend ~100 euros right now and more later. As I have to cycle 3+ hours everyday I don't mind spending some money on it and I think I will move up to a lighter frame in the future (so if I buy parts now it would be nice to reuse them then).

The title is the name of the type of frame, I don't know exactly which model this is, as the piece of paper at the underside of the bike is only partly sort of readable. After looking around on the forums here I get that it is a kind of heavy frame but also pretty strong.

This is my first road bike and I plan on taking good care of it, any tips/tricks/identifications of parts and recommendations of parts will be greatly appreciated :D

Same tires front and back.
Different wheels, the front one is newer.
The brakes are not that good (I have to "squeeze"(?) them all the way to brake.)

Pics are here

Only <2mb pics here:

TugaDude

Beautiful blue color on that Pug! Should clean up great. Check the stem immediately because it is quite high and might be beyond the minimum insertion line! When that is checked out: First thing I'd do is check all brake and shift cables. Any rust or sign of wear/damage and I'd replace. Housing might be fine by the looks of it. Lube cables with Tri-Flow. Then, greasing the wheel hubs and bottom bracket is vital. Check bearings in both and if any doubt whatsoever, replace, it's cheap. At that point, a thorough cleaning is in order. Lots of tips and tricks on this forum, just search. Touch-up paint for the small paint chips from auto store or possibly hobby shop.

Components are probably just fine. Only you will be able to tell. Teeth on crank appear to have life left. If it shifts fine now, thorough chain clean and lube will only improve it.

For bar tape, I recommend black cork. Relatively cheap and very comfy. Stick to black, it will go with the bike and not show dirt.

As far as wheels, whenever a front wheel is replaced, radar goes up. Fronts don't carry nearly the weight of rear wheels, so it probably was damaged. Check over the frame and forks for signs of injury. Nothing is obvious in the pics.

As far as model, maybe a P-8? I had an 82 P8 with similar graphics, yours looks newer though.

Good luck with it!

mauritso

Thanks for the extensive reply.

I cleaned it 2 days ago, but yesterday it was raining...

very comfy indeed

I have Brunox Turbo Spray, will that suffice for the bearings/wheel hubs?
The people at my local bicycle store said that you can use that for everything (the chain too), but over here I read that I need something with teflon. Is it fine to clean the chain/gears now, spray Brunox on it and replace when get something with teflon?

It shifts fine at this moment, planning on cleaning it today if the brunox stuff is fine for use on a chain.

The front wheel went missing or something.

I"ll try to get a picture of the paper with the model number, maybe someone can figure it out.

So after the cables, bearings, stem, cleaning, if I wanted to upgrade something to make it lighter/ride smoother what would impact the performance the most?

Thanks again :D

Grand Bois

You need grease for the bearings, not some spray lubricant! I refuse to believe that anyone that works in a bicycle shop told you otherwise.

wrk101

+10 Forget the spray, use grease for bearings. I use automotive marine grease for all bearings, found at any auto parts store. Here in the US, a $5 tub of marine grease will last most bicyclists decades.

Myself, on a 30 year old bike, I don't inspect the cables, I replace them all. OEM cables were galvanized, which rust, and OEM housings were unlined (rust as well). I prefer stainless cables (no rust) and lined housings. You can buy a nice Jagwire set on ebay at a very reasonable cost. Stopping is important, I would not jeopardize it with old cables and housings.

+10 Lower that stem immediately.

Add new brake pads to your list, pads are probably rock hard and 30 years old. Cheap upgrade.

Long term on upgrading, consider better wheels. If you are patient, you can find something on the used market. Read up on the whole 700c versus 27 inch wheel brake caliper reach. Be sure to get a set with stainless spokes (no rust).

I also much prefer aero style levers, with hoods, along with bar tape. Generic aerostyle levers are available cheap on ebay.

auchencrow

Somehow that seems entirely credible to me!

auchencrow

It looks like you already have 700c rims and tires, and as noted previously, your components are already decent. A nice bike.

Heed the advice on maintenance and lubrication - It is extremely critical given the miles you are racking up daily!

old's'cool

In case you're new to long distance commuting on a road bike (which is the way to do it IMO), you should be aware that the tires are relatively vulnerable to punctures, and I recommend that you prepare to deal with a flat tire enroute. I try to be prepared for anything, so in addition to a pump, tire levers and a spare tube, I carry a full repair kit and a spare tire. I also carry all the tools needed for adjusting and tightening the major components. 11 miles from home or school is a long way to walk with an unrideable bike.
With that kind of daily mileage, if you can afford the cost and space, it wouldn't be extravagant to have a spare bike, so that you can ride one while the other is undergoing repairs and/or maintance.

mauritso

I did the front wheel bearings and fork bearings today, I had grease laying around for that. Not entirely happy yet, the front wheel still feels like there is some/too much resistance left.

Stem is lowered.

Thanks for mentioning something specific (Jagwire), I will certainly replace them, because the current cables don't really look that well in my opinion and I want my bike to be blue/black.

Brake pads, got it, I will probably use the brake pads from my other bike until then.

What kind of money should be spend on wheels if I wanted to upgrade?

Me too...

So not even that bad of a deal after all!

I still need stuff for my chain, I did spray the brunox stuff on it (light oil) for the time being (reapply every few days).

Already had a flat, luckily just 4km from home... I am probably going to buy some extra tubes (one for on the road), a small pump and tire levers to deal with that. I am never more than a few km away from a bus stop or train station though (Netherlands).

I have a gazelle lausanne with which I did this commute for 5000km, works like a charm, just not near as light/little drag as my road bike.

Fork (looks fine right?):
Bike with lowered stem:
Backup bikes:

To-do list:
Replace cables
Replace brake pads
(optional) Replace brake levers
Buy chain oil
Buy tubes/small pump/tire levers (I have those at home minus the tubes, but I'd rather carry a separate set)
Read up on 27 inch vs 700c wheels
Clean and apply grease at the backside of the bike (wheel and bottom bracket?)

Thanks for all the help/tips/suggestions

Narhay

You should route your cables behind the bar if and when you replace the cables. Repack the bottom bracket and rear hub. You will have to figure out if the bearings in the headset (what you called fork bearings), hubs and bottom bracket) are too loose or tight by feel. You'll get it eventually...it isn't difficult.

It's a nice bike and I think worth the price. If you are commuting that far I would get a rear rack and panniers for the bike. If it doesn't have brazed on rack mounts you can get what is called a p-clamp to put one on there.

old's'cool

Not to deter you, but that is academic since according to your photo you already have 700c, alloy to boot, it appears:


So it looks like you're all set.

bikemig 

With a commute like yours, I'd get fenders, a rack and some sort of lighting system.

mauritso

On a bicycle "road", this size:


Cycling on my half of the road, I got cut off by 3 oncoming people 3 meters in front of me (they were trying to turn left (for them))
I was going 30kmh/19mph. This was the first time in a long time (5+ years) that I crashed with my bike, and it just had to be my "new" road bike...

Now the fork is bent:


more pictures

I have a friend who works at a blacksmith, because it's steel it can probably be fixed in a safe way.

Yes, it looks like I have 700c tires/wheels.

The bearings in the headset (thanks for correcting me there, new at this stuff) were just tight enough (it steered well and it wasn't loose) I believe.

So fenders, lightning, panniers and a rack.

Lightning will be needed, but at this moment it's not dark when I have to go to school/home.
I don't think I will need panniers and a rack, because I travel light (lunch and a pen mostly) and if I need to take something heavy with me I can take my other bike.
Fenders seem like a good idea as I live in a rainy country.

I am trying to keep this bike as simple and light as possible and I am not trying to move a lot of stuff with it every day (except for myself).

old's'cool

Ouch!

Unless your friend has prior experience straightening forks, I suggest you do yourself a favour and search on fork straightening successes (& disasters) on this forum, and pass the knowledge onto your friend. There's been a few clever solutions, using improvised rather than fancy dedicated tools and fixtures.
My one success was during my early teen years, when some bullies forcibly "borrowed" a friend's bike [a very cool CCM Marauder BTW, IIRC] and bent the fork by running the bike into the schoolhouse brick wall. My fix was running the bike into the wall again at the same speed, with the fork reversed. I don't actually recommend that method today, especially not for road bikes with alloy wheels.

mauritso

Pictures with explanation here

New fork, fork nut/bearing thing don't really fit.
New fork is slightly larger in diameter than the old fork, but it does fit the frame.

The old fork is a bit better than before, probably ride-able. It still needs to go to the blacksmith, the local bike shop has kind of fixed it and gave me a new fork to try if it doesn't work (well enough).

What do you suggest? Try to force the fork nut/bearing thing on or try tomorrow if the bike shop has replacements for those?

I know I still need to saw the new fork to the same length as the old one, but obviously I am not going to do that when I am not sure I can use this fork and a nut on the place where I need to saw makes it easier to do it straight.

@ old's'kool It did leave you with a funny story though, that's awesome. I will look up some best practices on fork straightening and pass it on to my friend, thanks for the advice.

I try to only post here when there is some kind of development, I don't want to spam/bump this thread needlessly, thanks for all the advice so far :)

wrk101

1. Inspect frame carefully before doing anything. With the fork bent that far, damage to the top tube and down tube is not unusual. Look for slight ripples, usually on the bottom of the tubes, close to the head tube.

2. IF the frame is OK, install a new fork. I'm with Tom below, looks like steering tube and fork are BOTH bent. Really, I would think the frame is damaged too.

noglider 

I'm not the most cautious guy in the world, but once a steerer tube is bent, I say DO NOT repair the fork.

It's a shame this happened. It's a good bike, and you paid a fair price. I wouldn't spend much on upgrades. It's fine as it is. Or it was. Buy a new fork.

mauritso

The steerer tube/frame is fine, the picture wasn't taken in the right angle.

The old fork is installed now (after being straightened), it will have to do a week or so.

A new fork was visible in the pictures, I do have a new fork, I just need the right nuts to install it.

mauritso

I bought 1 set of new brake pads ($7 powermax), they work great, I probably will get a 2nd pair of those.

Is this good/legit (judging by the pictures)? (marktplaats is sort of the Dutch ebay)
? complete jagwire kabelset (zwart) - Fietsonderdelen - Marktplaats.nl

My front wheel became untrue in the crash, I want to learn truing wheels myself.

Just find a guide on it, buy the proper tool, invest some time in it and I should be good?

I got a KOM on Strava with this bike today

jimmuller 

Use a new fork. With the steerer tube bent on the original, you'll never get the headset bearings to set up properly even if you can straighten the fork blades satisfactorily.

mauritso

I am planning on buying a new one, but at this moment the fork is secured in the frame, steers wel and doesn't move. I hope that doesn't come across as me being a smart-ass, I am a newbie, just saying that it appears to work well at this moment.

Sorry I misunderstood what was meant by steerer tube (it's a part of the fork, I thought it was the part where the fork goes in to the frame), the steerer tube is kind of straight (it was straightened by the LBS) now. There is some space where the steerer tube goes into the frame and when installing the headset bearings I didn't encounter anything out of the ordinary. Is it visible by eye? If so I can take a picture.

Any thoughts on that Jagwire set?

jimmuller 

The steerer tube is the part of the assembly above the crown, the part that goes into the head tube on the frame. From the pic you posted, your steerer tube was seriously curved. I don't care what a bike shop told you, there is no way they could straighten a bent nominally-round tube to get the bearing races concentric and parallel like they should be. Maybe they are "good enough" for the time being, but that's not really something you want to keep for long. Or maybe that's just a trick of the camera.

Jagwire is good stuff.