Originally Posted by
bemicu
I'm slowly coming to terms with cleaning up the bike. I took it for a modest ride today and enjoyed it. If I am to continue enjoying it a little TLC seems appropriate.
It is a mongrel bike with non-standard parts everywhere. It's a restorers nightmare, but an unnecessary worry when your main aim is riding.
Is there a link a thread giving a step-by-step teardown?
There must be some sort of Youtube video guide on how to fix things on your bike, but
I strongly suggest you get a book on bicycle maintenance to use as a general guide, and just use the videos as a back up for any clarifications. The books should also give you an idea on what basic tools you will need to do your basic teardown and maintenance.
Many cylcist like me learned through doing it ourselves gradually, not by choice but by neccesity becuase we could not afford to go to the bike shop to fix or adjust our bikes back in college. There's no rushing on how you learn how to work on your bikes, but in the end you will realize that you will end up mostly trusting only yourself to do most, if not all the work on your bikes.
Remember, adjusting and maintaining your bike directly translate on how safe it will be to ride on the roads, so doing so should not be taken lightly and it is good that you are seeking information and guidance on it instead of just jumping in and turniing wrenches.
.....like unfortunately, as we can see, the PO might have done on some things on your bike.
Chombi