derekthelion

A buddy of mine from a few years ago, whom I don't really keep in contact with for various reasons, called me last night and asked if I buy bikes. I said, "Yea, if they are what I am looking for." He, who has no bike knowledge what so ever, told me that he moved into a new apartment and the last owner left a bunch of stuff and did not want it anymore. Namely, a bike that had been locked to the railing outside of his apartment door. He told me the bike was a Schwinn Worldtour, and had no other info except, "it has skinny tires and funny handlebars."

I went to see it today, and realized it hadn't been rode in months .. it had a thick layer of dirt and dust all over it. The bike's frame was beautiful and even the wheels, at first, looked awful. He said he had no knowledge all for bikes and I basically told him that it might need new tires, and probably some work on the brakes, etc and told him I'd give him $40 for it.

I took it home, and spent an hour cleaning it with a rag and some Simple Green. I put air in the tires, and fixed the wheel alignment and took it for a spin around the block. From what I can gather, it needs a good tune up (chain lubed up, brakes tightened and some new brake pads), and I need to wrap the handle bars but besides that, all seems in great working order!

Here are some shots of it. What do you guys think?

CNY James

looks good, worth $40? I'd say so but it all comes down to getting something you like for a price that you like as much or better.

RonH

Looks good but you need to flip the bars around.

derekthelion

Really? haha. I had no idea. I was really confused by the handlebars ... so like a complete 180?

CNY James

I'm not certain but I think you're being sarcastic. I'm going to go with that.

derekthelion

Honestly, I'm being completely serious... they felt weird, but some people have different handle bar types, so I'm just real confused. Because that long silver part which extends from the gear shifters usually is exactly where it is. I didn't know if it would be weird having it face the other way. I'm still beginning to get my hands dirty with taking bikes apart and all ... I was thinking maybe they should be FLIPPED, not turned around ...

derekthelion

So I just went downstairs to the basement ... turned the bike over and saw words on the bottom of the handle bars. You were 100% right. I would have looked like a complete ******* riding around on that thing. I deserve a duh for that one!

AndrewP

Leave the long silver part which extends forward from the gear shifters exactly where it is, but loosen the bolt at the front and swivel the bars down so the ends point towards the rear hub. That bike could give you a lot of fun if you are well over 6' tall, otherwise fix it up following Sheldon Brown or Parktool websites and sell to a tall rider on Craigslist.

RonH

Loosen the bolt under the stem (see pic) and rotate the handlebar until the drop point toward the rear wheel bolt. Tighten and test ride. If necessary, loosen again and make small adjustments to the drop bar angle until it feels right.