jkk

They've been riding this 'free' Motiv bike for 2 years. I noticed it needs some attention so I'm going to help them with the rehab. The rear axle has a 6 bearing ring, which seems unusual today. The bearings came out from the ring - is it ok to put them back into ring with grease and reuse? Although we haven't taken the crank out yet, they also need work since the crank has a 'catch' in it.

Will the standard 44 piece bike toolkit sold on eBay work for rehabbing this bike? Will the LBS have parts for this beast?

Thanks.

techsensei

It has a six-bearing retainer because it is an inexpensive bike, so they even cut corners on the bearings. You can reuse them, but ideally you would replace them ... bearings are cheap. I would install nine 1/4" loose bearings in each side.

Maybe, but without seeing the bottom bracket, the kit may or may not have the tools needed for it. Your LBS should have any parts you need.

RubeRad

the 44-piece bike toolkit is more expensive than the value of the bike (although the bike was 'free', the value is only a few bucks more than what you paid)

But for The Kids, it may well be a valuable learning experience just to tinker.

What is the crankset like? Is it a one-piece through crank (bent steel going all the way through)? If so, standard large crescent wrenches should be able to deal with it. If it is a 3-piece, with arms that both attach to a bottom-bracket spindle, then yes you'll need a crank puller, which would undoubtedly be in a 44-piece bike toolkit.

fwiw I bought the Nashbar Essential toolkit (on sale), and I think it is a great place to start.

Note most of the toolkits out there are just rebrandings of 2 or 3 actual different kits. Shop around and you'll learn to recognize the same kits, and find at any given time who is selling their version for the lowest price. For instance Nashbar=Performance, so my kit comes in Nashbar and Spin Doctor flavors, plus others I think.