Unicorn

I bought a bike off craigslist for $95 that rides absolutely wonderful. It's a fully-lugged, springy steel and thinner tube frame. The problem is that I have no idea what it is, what brand it is, where it came from or what parts it has. The back wheel has become a bit wobbly and can be jiggled back and forth by hand. I understand that the hub on it is probably blown out. It's still useable but the vibration becomes more and more noticeable.

The only identifier it has on it is a serial number. And the guy who sold it to me said he bought it sometime in the early 1980s and that it was previous used before that.

I'm taking it to the LBS tomorrow hopefully as I cannot stand being without a bike.

But how much should I expect to spend? It looks like I'm probably going to need a new hub and a new wheel. But I wouldn't be surprised if they end up telling me I'll have to change out all the gears, the chain and possibly the derailleur.

If this is more than $200, I'm f*cked.

KendallF

Go to Sheldon Brown's site, read this:

https://sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html

Read a bunch of the articles while you're there. Your hub most likely needs a simple bearing adjustment, and it'd be good to clean and repack the bearings while you're in there. You can do it yourself quite easily. Paying to fix old road bikes at a bike shop will quickly become an exercise in "$50 bike, $500 repair bill".

Unicorn

I'd do that if I even had a reference for what exactly the parts are used but I've never seen a hub like this. I don't know if it's imperial, standard or metric. I'm not sure what kind of bearings it has or if I can even buy them.

AlexZ

^^^This^^^
Do it yourself! It's too simple to pay money! There is nothing in that hub that can't be replaced for a couple of bucks but more likely just needs grease and adjustment.

Unicorn

Reiterate one more time:

There is no reference point for the bike. It is possibly upwards of 40 years old.

AlexZ

That's OK. Bearings are a really common item. All the bearings from those days are still completely available. But unless they are just all rusty or something I don't forsee you needing to change them. If you just loosen one of the locking nuts (one side only) and tighten it up lightly with your fingers you should be able to take all play out and at that point you will know if the ball-race is smooth or needs a clean and grease. It almost takes longer to discuss it than to do it!

wkg

A simple hub adjustment might fix your wheel. This would be relatively inexpensive.

If your bike is older and uses a freewheel then you can get a cheap wheel for $40-$60. If your wheel has a freehub and requires a cassette then you're looking at probably spending a little more but not much.

An actual hub replacement would be really expensive because you'd have to pay the price of the hub and then pay labor for a complete wheel rebuild which is usually at least $60.

adclark

Not to mention that some shops might not even rebuild it depending on the condition of the used rim. I would take a look at the hub bearings first. They really aren't hard to adjust if that is all it is.

Unicorn

Thanks. So a possibility of around $120.

Will I have to get a new gear set too?

Unicorn

Also, there's a pretty nice looking schwinn with decent tires on craigslist for $50.

Is it advisable to buy that bike and just swap out the tire?

Accordion

They're all exactly the same. They only differ in units of measurement.

Unicorn

After some careful searching, the bicycle in question is a Centurion LeMans 12.

Actually might be the Accordo.

merlinextraligh

there's nothing terribly exotic or unusual about that bike. You should be able to easily find new bearings for the hub.

If the hub/and or wheel is shot, then determine 1) is it a cassette hub, or a hub with a freewheel, and 2) how many speeds ( my guess is 6, but it might be 7).

After you know those 2 things, you should be able to find a replacement wheel used for less than $50.

Unicorn

Well, the frame is definitely a Centurion of some sorts but the serial number starts with R38.

After looking at the thread about a Centurion serial database and some other resources, there seems to be very little if any Centurion bikes that came in ruby colored paint or start with that serial number combination.

hybridbkrdr

There's something at the bottom of this Wiki page that explains how to figure out the date from the serial number.

It's kind of interesting you got a bicycle from a brand that's now defunct.