BigPolishJimmy

Stopped by a local bike shop today and was looking at the bikes I can't afford, asked them about used bikes that would fit my 6'4" 295lbs and they showed me the back wall. There for $120.00 is a Fuji that seems to be in good condition, sadly the Trek I'm working on will cost me nearly as much in parts to get up and running, still that's a darn easy price for a decent ride. Currently I'm trying to ride a Huffy 15-speed mountain bike and it's just cruel. I was riding my grandfathers old Vista Cavalier which is also too small for me but the front wheel is starting to go out of true, along with being too tall I think I'm over-weight for that bike. Well this huffy has just been a miserable experience. If I put the seat up high enough it's over the min seat post level, plus it has grip-shifters and I find myself involuntarily shifting gears when I turn. Wrist pain... yeah I got that. It's worse than the 3-speed and painful to ride after going just a block. The main issue is that it's just too small, even with height adjusted to max I'm still cramped with too much weight forward, turning is mighty squirrely. Still, the more I wrench on this bike the more I'm amazed at how crappy it is. I knew it would be crappy, but WOW! I didn't think it would be this crappy, bad bearings, shoddy derailer, and I like wrenching on bikes. Did I mention the wrist pain and the horrible grip-shifters. It's humorous to realize that if I invest the $$ to buy the parts to make this comfortable--set-back seat post & taller handlebar stem I'll have spent more than what it cost to buy the bike. I'm sorely tempted to try to scratch up the dough to buy the fuji while I'm working on my Trek.

Tom Stormcrowe

I would.....and if you can return the parts for the Huffy, I'd consider that as well... You're basically trying to put a pig in a three piece suit, there.

BigPolishJimmy

Fortunately I can't return the Huffy because I got it from freecycle, currently it's part of 2 freecycle huffys, a mens Tames sp? and a womens Backwater. It was free and the bearings are used, but in the short-term I am considering a crank bearing transplant from an old ladies 70's Dayton Ohio huffy if it fits. I don't know if it's a quality thing or if it's due to these old ladies bikes being stored inside and ridden gently but they're easily 20 years older and except for the rubber, they're in better shape mechanically.

Tom Stormcrowe

I understand about the Huffy, but the parts you've purchased should be able to be returned, unless you've already installed them.

On the flip side, you're also learning much about bike maintenance, so it's not a wasted effort, in any case, + you learned a lot about the lower end of bikes. The basic maintenance procedures will be similar enough that the knowledge acquired will transfer.

BigPolishJimmy

Oh, ok I misunderstood an perhaps miscommunicated. I have not yet bought any parts for the Huffy. I do have parts on order for my Trek at a different LBS which focuses on repairs. I'm just feeling frustrated at the lack of 'my-size' bicycle to ride atm. I've got pieces & parts of about 15 bicycles around the house that I've collected in the past month to try to get something working and there's always something that shuts me down. Just another log on the "duck-trough-doorways, slouch-in-car, re-tuck-shirt-after-bending-over, smack-head-in-basement" lifestyle of a tall guy. Irritating but still, life could be and has been worse so I'll just have to get over it and get on with it. I've had a taste of what a bike should feel like when it's my size, I am afraid that when I finally get it I'll have lost my current gumption to get the exercise that I need.

Fribley

When you finaly get the right size bike that feels good your gumption will only increase.

I am glad i am not the only one that has the "re-tuck-shirt-after-bending-over" problem. Not very tall at 5'10" but its all torso.

CliftonGK1

At 6'4" you shouldn't have too much difficulty finding a standard production frame which fits you well. 60 or 62cm is a fairly common thing these days.
There's a guy or two on here who make you (6'4") and me (6'6") look like jockeys! Even at my height I'm still just at the top end of production frame sizing, riding a 62cm Surly. Check out Mazama and bardoor's bikes if you want to see some really big frames.

Tom Stormcrowe

Here's the thing.....if you hate the bike and it's torture, you won't want to ride, whereas, if you love the bike and it feels good, you will ride it's wheels off.

WhaleOil

+1

Bill Kapaun

I kind of understand your pain!
When trying to make a usable bike from several donors, you want the donors to be the same type.
When you start mixing old 10 speeds with old MTB's, throw in a 3 speed internal hub etc., you end up with a lot of spare parts that just don't quite work.
Education isn't free, but try not to make it too expensive.
Now days, for example, if someone wants to GIVE me an xmart type bike, I look at it soley as a parts donor and decide if the parts on it are worth spending the time/effort with a hacksaw to dispose of the frame. Who needs 5-6 stripped RoadMaster/Magna (fill in the blank) frames taking up space?
2 years ago, I would have thought "here's a free bike to fix". It didn't take long to realize it wasn't worth putting $20 & 5-6 hours into a "free" bike that was worth $25 when fixed!

BigPolishJimmy

I agree fixing them up is just foolish, however the reason I went to trying to fix up this mountain bike is that I have 3 sets of wheels & tires readily available for me to trash out. If only it wasn't so painful to ride this pile-o-crap.

mochapants

I'm 6'6" and feel your pain. Late last season, for the first time in my life, I could afford a new 62cm bike that fit me. It is night and day. Good quality hubs make a huge difference too. I've grounded up many a cheap wheel bearings in a few weeks.

If the budget is tight, keep an eye out for tall people having garage sales. You might find a good older 27" wheel sport touring bike from the 70's or 80's. They seemed to make taller/longer bikes back then.

Spartan112

This guy has a very large fuji fully functioning plus an old Nishiki frame that looks like it was built for a giant.

https://siesta.bikecave.com/bikes.php?page=2

v1k1ng1001

At the risk of sounding like a jackass, I refuse to feel your pain. What I recommend is that you get out the credit card, buy that Fuji and start logging miles as soon as possible. You'll never regret it.

The only part of your pain that I feel is the tight budget. As a grad student, I've been at or near the poverty level for the last 10 years. But seriously, you don't want to pinch pennies when your health and psychological well-being are concerned. $120 bike that allows you to improve your fitness while having fun is a no-brainer. Look at it this way, is hmming and hawing over $50 or $100 really worth sitting out for another month or so?

Harry Stone

Count me in on the gorilla torso club. I see bibs in my future.

RT

Fuji has treated me well (2005 Sagres).

BigPolishJimmy

I get what you're saying, but I'm not hmming and hawing over $50 or $100. I see the value, I really do, thus the "I'm a Believer" part in the thread title. The difference here is the difference of being poor vs. being cheap. I'm not being cheap, I'm married w/2 kids and a mortgage, braces, med bills, credit cards are maxed and we're just now rebounding from being over-extended in living the American dream. I will state this in a way anyone in my shoes will understand. When you are a dad in the family you just need to realize that you come last, once you do that life is a lot easier.

Now, having said that, I am also a master of scrounging. So far I've got about 15 bikes off of freecycle, two that fit, but not ready to roll. I've scrounged 2 more bikes which are coming in tonight, and will get another 2 that I'm going to pull out of a 20-year sleep in some guys barn on Friday. Hopefully something in my size. I did score an old trek road bike in my size and I'm working on it but it needs tires which may be in today. I just want to ride now, if I were average size I'd be riding already.

I'm going down to my LBS to see if the tires are in and if not I may postpone and try to sell a guitar and a couple of bikes or something to buy the fuji then work with my LBS guy to go ahead and build up a set of deep-v rims w/tandem spokes and convert the trek. The LBS guy is very cool, but he's mainly a repair shop and doesn't carry a lot of old inventory. If he's already put in the order then I can't flake out on him. I do have a little spending cash every-other week and have vowed not to let it go to the fast-food monster but rather be re-directed toward the bicycle habit. This alone should make a big difference in my life.

txvintage

Amen.

I've been really lucky in my two finds. One was a gift MTB from a co-worker who saw me checking Craigslist and asked me if I was serious about riding, and he wanted the "ornament" out of his garage. I was very lucky it was in good shape and fit me. I don't think I will ever be able to thank him enough. My "new to me" road bike is of the vintage ilk, and came by way of a fellow BF'er. It rides well and was very economical compared to buying a new bike with like components. I do need some serious garage time on cosmetics though, lol.

I do know I lost valuable riding time while I searched for a good deal on a used ride. I will buy something "just for me" that is brand new eventually. I was worried about buying a new bike and not sticking with it, and then dealing with the fact I had paid out cash on something not being used, when the money could have been used elsewhere. Now I have set a goal, and when I reach it the new toy is my reward.

BigPolishJimmy

Whoo Hoo! Tires are in.

Maybe I'll be able to ride the Puch tomorrow w/new tires, Trek is far from being ready.

v1k1ng1001

No, I catch your drift too and I'm not trying to come down on you. We financially challenged folk deserve to ride too!

jgmacg

Here's a quick thought that may help you reframe the argument between scrounged parts for homebuilt bikes and simply buying that Fuji:

How much time have you spent on all this, and how much is your time worth?

BigPolishJimmy

Here's the funny thing. I was in that very same bike shop about 2 months ago--before I started scrounging in earnest--to check on parts availablity for my wife's bike. I looked around but not very much, never saw the used bikes and didn't think they carried them. The value of my time varies depending on if I'm enjoying the hunt or not

BigPolishJimmy

Update:

The Huffy gathers dust...

There is no doubt in my mind that the $120.00 Fuji would have been the easiest most efficient way to go.

I WILL ride the Puch

I spent about 2.5 hours dinking around with the wheels last night. It was rather difficult to seperate ancient rubber from ancient wheel, once I got the tires, tubes & strips off the wheel I saw all the rust. I started taking it on with the anti-rust wheel, then the wire wheel on my power drill, the skeeters began to nibble on me and I saw that I was scarfing the edge of the rim too much with the wire wheel. Major dissappointment set in. ...it was the knowing that I had a lot more work, probably hand-sanding, filing...etc. all for a wheel that I know wont last but a few rides because of my weight.

Today I hit it with a renewed attitude, perhaps the wheels will last long enough for me to get a deep-v w/tandem spokes... so I just spent another 3 hours with the bike. First I tackled the chain. It was a lovely shade of brownish-orange and the rust was so bad that you could hold parts of it out like a stick. I read about rejuvinating a chain somewhere on the web, I can't remember who wrote it, but it works pretty good if you have no alternative. I took the wire wheel to each side of the chain, running a few links at a time, holding the chain down with my foot against the cement floor of my barn. Then I put the chain back on the bike and linked it back together with the chain tool.
(This is my variation from that process) I then looked for stiff links through the rear derailer assembly and touched up those links with the wire wheel while they were in the bend of the crank or the rear derailer. I dont suggest anyone do this unless you're desperate like me and don't mind that you might ruin something...
(ok back to what I read) I then took the bike outside and sprayed the chain with WD-40. I know, I know ... even caveman know WD-40 bad for bike. But... WD-40 good for get rid of rust and free up stuck thing.
I sprayed the chain then ran the bike through its gears. after that everything seems to be working nicely. I then took a rag and carefully wiped down the chain several times to remove the WD-40. After the wipedown I then sprayed the chain with some old motorcycle chain lube that was my grandfathers and has no doubt been laying around in my junk for the past 15years. My first house used to be my grandparents after they passed, consequently I inherited a bunch of misc. stuff and being a packrat never throw away anything remotely useful. Thus I have 20-yr old motorcycle chain lube that my grandfather used on his bicycle. The result though is that the chain looks pretty darn good except for 3 stubborn rollers, they roll a bit, just not easily yet, I think they'll come around and loosen up.
The wheels are smooth and mostly rust-free, there will be no sharp rust spots feasting on my new inner tubes. Tomorrow it goes into the LBS guy who wants to work some magic on it. (its an even longer story) the point (to myself and to anyone in my shoes)... Don't give up. Keep trying and somethings got to work.