Originally Posted by
auskip07
Thank you for all of that info. Im not sure its rust maybe just corrosion/oxidation since i dont think Aluminum rust
But i might give that a try before i commit to PC.
Ill get some pics of the parts tonight. and try to take some measurements of the rear width
i called the bike shop and he told me in order to fit a larger cassette i would need a different rear wheel with the appropriate hub. He was also very against me assembling my own bike but at $100/hour i can imagine why he would want me to just hand it over.
Im fairly competent with tools so im not too worried. ill be taking the frame to the shop to get the BB taken off since im not sure what tool i need to remove it properly this friday or next (depending on when i get my tools in to completely strip the frame and get the chain off.
The issue with tools, they fall into 3 categories:
1) Hardware store tools, that can be used for other things, wrenches, screw drivers, etc. Buy, the best you can afford.
2) Bike tools that are used often, crank pullers, freewheel/cassette tools, spoke wrench, these you buy. You don't always need top of the line.
3) Specialty tools you may use once in a blue moon, headset press for example, the tools are expensive and getting a shop to do it really isn't, so you get the shop to do it.
For something like a headset, I prefer if the shop gives me an "installed price", in other words the shop will pull out the old one and install the new one.
I wouldn't invest a lot into that bike right now. I suggest you clean up the corrosion, use a touch-up paint, re-install the parts, replacing the consumables, tires, tubes, cables, brake pads, bar tape, chain. Now ride it until November, replace only things that fail completely. By November you will know what your happy with and what your not, you strip it down, if you still want to powder coat it, then you do so then. The problem with a budget is, is the might-as-well-as always get you. It's the things like you get the shop to pull the headset, it's $30 to pull it and put it back in, but it's a a $25 part, so you might-as-well-as a new one in, your putting a new chain on, you might-as-well-as put on a new freewheel, so that the new chain doesn't get wrecked by the old one. Before you know it, you spent double what you wanted to and could have had a new bike for that. Your better off just replacing what you need to, to get it road worthy, give it a good 6-8 months on the road, if there is too much that needs replacing, you put it on 'bay or CL and get a different one.