Is it worth it? Spalding Blade
 

I dont know if i should post here or the mechanic forum?

But was at the parents garage and found my old late 80's or early 90's Spalding Blade 12speed bike hanging in the rafters (next to my murry bmx). I thought to myself maybe if i fixed it up i can commute on this bike instead.

the tires are dry rotted, would need new ones. the seat looks ripped, would need a new saddle. the wheels most likely will need to be trued.
I remember i stopped riding it because it would skip when i would pedal, but cant remember why it skipped. everything on it is original.

so to the bike guru's, will it be worth it to fix it up?
what do you think the cost may end up being if i just fixed what was broke with mediocre parts?
would my time and money be better spent on a new bike?

As long as the frame is sound, it could be an interesting project. Why not convert it into a single speed?

i thought about that and it might be cheaper, but the bike i have now is a SS so i am thinking gears would be a nice change of "pace".

Does it fit? If so its a decent bike.

If you go cheap ordering off the internet you might be able to get tires and tubes for $20-$25. Saddle cost is sometimes pointless to calculate because people would change that on any bike to wht they like. At this point its free, but I suppose you could calculate the $20 or so someone might give you for it in its current condition.

For your skipping problem it could be as simple as adjusting the derailers or just a new chain. Like someone else said converting it to a singlespeed might be one way to go.

I found a Blade at a thrift shop few years ago and later sold it on craigslist. I believe I sold it for around $175, but I don't know if I could get as much today. It was an entry-level road bike, but seemed solid and reasonably well made. Lugged steel frame, Shimano SIS derailleur, lousy brakes, etc...

If you can do the work yourself, I'd say "go for it!" Paying a shop to do it will probably cost more than the bike is worth.

I just saw this Blade in a another thread and it actually looks pretty sweet. Maybe this one could be your inspiration. =)

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv...418111724.html

i probably wont skimp on tires and tubes and got a rec from a friend to try gator skins, dont know yet if the make a 27 size. good sugestion, i will do a new chain of the bat and see if that fixes the major skip.

i wont sell it! sentimental value and all. but if i the derailleur and gears are shot or cost $$$ to fix up then i will go Single Speed.

first i think i need to see if the wheels are salvageable, as i called the LBS and 27ers run like $80 so that right there would be the deal breaker.

from what i remember the brakes were lousy to borderline unsafe, do you think if i added some kool stops it would help?

i am going to try to do the work myself with the assist of youtube and interwebz, but i think i will first take the wheels in to the LBS to see if they are good. if they need replacing that seems to be the biggest cost and may make it not worth it.

Its cool that you have a bike with that much sentimental value.

If much of the bike is no good one thing you could do is buy a donor bike. Get something with good wheels and whatever else you need. It would likely cost less that that wheelset and you would have a frame to sell afterward to lower the cost. If you wait for the right deal or deals you could make this a pretty nice little bike for not a ton of money. I am almost certain they make the Gatorskins in 27.

I have an older ATB 12 Blade and I love the little thing. It has slicks and
rides light. Great for short rides, to the store or just out riding.

I was told it was a '75 vintage. $10 thrift shop find, wouldn't take ten times
that for it.

Picture if you like, not a roadie type bike.

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/4087/dscf1992z.jpg

man when i was a teen i rode that bike all over to the city, to the beach, to what ever girl i was dating at the time and her parents out of the house, to work, to pratice, with my pops around the hood, just all over.
my goal was always when i get cash or the kid gets out of day care (its so dang expensive) to take it to a LBS and make it new again.

i found the 27 gatorskins for like $30 bucks a tire! ouch! i will hold off on those. this weekend i will be getting it down and back to my place for a full mechanical inspection, i have no clue what to do, or to look for but it will be a fun learning process

cool! mine looks exactly like the one monsterpile posted minus the white bar tape.

So took the wheels to the LBS today, front was salvageable back was shaped like and egg :( so i went ahead and bought a new rear and had the LBS true up the the front. because the extra cost of a new wheel i couldnt go with gatorskins. I forgot what brand they were but i got red-walled ones to match the red spadling blade stickers and picked up red bar tape too.

took the bike home and youtube'd how to adjust derailleur/gears, did that and cleaned the bike as it had a ton of grease everywhere.

I took it for few test spins around the block, and its 100x faster than my beach cruiser but i am having a hard time getting accustom to the stem shifter.

I for the life of me couldnt get the brakes adjusted to stop safely but after looking at the pads they dont look good and front looks warn uneven. so new pads will be happening. any rec's for good ones?

i cant figure out how to tighten the brake lever to the bar, i peeled back the rubber thing and found no screws? so its all wiggley which is not safe, help?

also i found a few rust spots on the seat tube and seat post, what is the best way to fix it up?

Souns lie you are having a good time fixing up the bike. I look forward to pics of this bad boy. =)

Kool stop for the brake pads.

Brake lever tightening bolt is behind the lever. Look straight at the lever pull down on it and look straight in and you will see a bolt or screw to tighten. Most likely it will be a slotted screw on that bike.

Teh seat post you can take care of the rust with some steel wool. The seat tube IDK without pics and even then I might not know either.

I am going to pick up some kool stops on the way home! they dont look expensive :)

thank you for the tip on adjustment!

I will take a few picks of the bike and the rust spots tuesday, today i need to sleep i caught a cold or something.

so here is the bike so far, i need to make a few adjustments and get a new saddle and seat post. the saddle if you look close says MURRY, is that brand still even around? the LBS didnt have kool stops in my size so i went with some basic no name brand. I need to tilt the bars down and move the brake levers up.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-O...2019.10.56.jpg

Looks good!

thanks CCrew, it gets addictive quick one i am finnished with this one, i am already looking on craigslist for a old schwinn to turn into a fixed gear. and maybe a good winter beater this fall ;)

That looks great!

Pretty cool. Should make for some fun commuting. If nothing else it'll give you a second bike to ride if your first one is down for mechanical reasons.

Didn't see it mentioned what kind of rims are on it, but if they're steel don't count on the Kool Stops to make the braking much better. I put Kool Stops on my 81 Panasonic with steel rims. In dry weather they stop OK, but squeal terribly no matter how I adjust them. In wet weather, however, the braking is near non-existant. I've resolved that mine is a dry-weather bike only. I even have to be careful on dewey mornings if I cut through any grass.

thanks, i am hoping that with use the bar tape wont be so bright and i am getting a used saddle from a friend its a specialized avatar but its white, it will look off but its FREE.

the rims are not steel, they are alloy or aluminum cant remember which. If i cant get the bike to stop to a good standard i may switch out the whole braking system if i am able to do it on the cheap $ide of the spectrum.

The bar tape should darken a bit to match if nothing else it will get dirty to darken. =)

Bikeisland has a deal right now for aero brake levers and dual pivot brakes for $40 with free shipping. Make sure they will have the right reach (brake pads to your rims) for you bike but that seems like a pretty good price.

tried a few more tricks to get the brakes to work better, still no good. so i took it to the LBS, they replaced the backs cable and got the brakes to stop my fat butt.

taking the bike out for 10 mile test ride tomorrow, if all is kosher this might end up my 80% of the time commuter. and weekend exerciser

That was probably part of your braking issue also. The cheap pads.... lets just say you usually get what you pay for.

On road calipers I've found that if I can''t get Kool stops then dura-ace pads work ok.