savagethespian

So, like the title says i hesitate to make this thread simply because in know im going to catch some flack for the bike i just picked up, but whatever lol. so i picked up a HUFFY Mt. Storm. i know its a HUFFY, but i road it around and it felt unbelievably comfortable. however i what to strip it down to bare frame and rebuild it from the ground up. i dont know the year it is but i was wondering if anyone where i could find the breakdown specs for the bike. also what color do you all think would go good one it. thanks in advance and let the laughing begin lol

Bill Kapaun

Try the brakes. Notice how those thin metal stampings just flex?
Shift it..............
Need I say more?

Andrew R Stewart 

The Op's goal is a good one. To both undo all that might be wrong/worn and redo with proper assembly/lubes and adjustments. Many of the big box bikes suffer from poor assembly and tuning more then bad production. I don't think the "break down specs" will be available on line or in any printed form. But these bikes have pretty basic parts, designs and most repair manuals will cover the needed steps and processes to take the bike apart and reassemble. There will be some speciality tools needed dependent on the model and specs. This is where befriending a local shop will be helpful. Not only can they supply you with the tools and any parts you discover are in need of replacement but they also can pick up any aspects that you can't complete. Andy.

Bill Kapaun

To elaborate more-
That SPECIFIC bike is one of the worst choices for your project.
You can do things exactly right and still have poor results.
Simply not good to build confidence in your skills.
I was given a couple of them in my early bike flipping days.
There is ONE good thing that came out of my Huffy Storm Mountain experience-
I learned to true wheels, which led to me learning to build wheels.
The brake calipers are so flexy, that if the wheel doesn't have near perfect lateral true, you have insufficient brakes.
ANY wobble means you have to have the brake pads backed away from the rim. In that scenario, you run out of lever travel before you have adequate stopping power.
Trying to get good shifting is another rabbit hole.
For your own sanity, start with a little better bike for your first project.

FastJake

I'm going to disagree with Bill a little. The Huffy can be a good bike to learn things on. Because you'll make mistakes the first time and more experience is always good. But whatever you do, do NOT stick any money into the bike you aren't willing to throw away. Because it's not worth anything.

If you want to spend money, find a good rigid MTB in the same size as the Huffy and start with that. There are lots out there.

le mans

huffy?! haha
i have a Huffy Realm, all alloy that came with a collection
looks like a sound thing but the front suspension is frozen, im just going to fit standard forks, and turn it over

Andrew R Stewart 

Here we have the opportunity to not be condescending or make fun of a poster. He knows that his bike is not well thought of but it's what he has. Let's help him and not berate him. Andy.

AlmostTrick

I've rehabbed many dime store bikes. They always turn out way better than they were before I touched 'em. Not spectacular bikes mind you, but fully acceptable given the price, and %100 ride-able. I say do it.

Oh, and if you're gonna paint it, go with flat black.

No "break down specs" are needed. Just start tearing it down. Search the web or ask here when you get stuck.

AnkleWork

You have the bike (or BSO) so no point in critiquing it now. Your thought processes, however, could use some examination.

Stripping down and rebuilding it will only teach you about poor quality bikes -- do you desire that skill set? [If you ride it much you will necessarily learn the same thing, unfortunately.]

As for color, what ever color it is now is best. Repainting is a pure waste of paint and effort.

Booger1

Rip into that thing and learn something....Your not going to hurt anything,they did that at the factory!.....Just freshen the thing up,lube,make adjustment the best you can with what you have.

It isn't the best bike but you can make it ride OK.

I just bought a Walmart Thruster SS to ride to Knotts Berry Farm all year (24 mile round trip),so if something happens to it,I'm out $78,$6 less than the year pass to the park!....It's a total piece of crap,but after adjusting everything,it rides OK for what it is (gas pipe with wheels).I gave it a paint job also,flat black EVERYTHING,red tires included...

Best advice,put as little money into it as possible,just make it work.

Andrew R Stewart 

This thread has some aspect of what kind of bike is worth servicing. If I read some of the replies (and replies in other threads over the years) there's a view that some inexpensive bikes are not worth the trouble to service.

I'm a doctor's kid and I think to my Dad's discussions about his obligations to each patient. He once made the comment about fellow doctors who chose to deal only with patients that weren't too sick or too poor. They made a lot of money for sure and had great reps too. But when looking at the real reasons of their "success" they took the easy way and avoided the hard cases. How one feels about this philosophy is yours to ponder on. Andy.

AnkleWork

Also, any rebuilding and re-setup, no matter how thorough will not likely improve the bike. Why not just ride until it breaks then fix it?

FastJake

Because EVERY old bike I've come across needs a complete rebuild and overhaul. From bikes that are complete crap to top-of-the-line. I've overhauled and ridden a couple Huffy bikes back in the day. Tremendous gains can be made in braking/shifting/riding performance over "as-found" condition. It will never be as good as a quality bike but if care is taken it can be made to ride better than many quality bikes that I see which are in terrible mechanical condition.

Also, most of this work takes a lot more time than money and will be a valuable learning experience for work on nicer bikes later on.

Retro Grouch 

It's an old Huffy. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?

Strip that sucker down to bare metal, paint it any color you like, and reassemble it with whatever parts you can acquire cheaply. Even if you absolutely HATE it when you're finished, you will have learned enough along the way to have made the project worth while. The only thing I would caution against would be trying to return it to original specs. What fun is that?

bikeman715

+ 1

AlmostTrick

No examination of thought process needed here, as long as the OP doesn't sink a pile of money into this bike. I get the feeling he won't.

Practically all of the skills learned working on a lower end bike are transferable to higher quality models. Think about it. Tires, wheels, bearing cones, chains, allen bolts, cables... are all shared, and serviced in the same manner.

These bikes come misadjusted from the factory. Giving them a proper once over can PREVENT service issues.

le mans

i don't know what the huff is all about really
i think a huffy can be as likeable as any other bike, i know the one i've got doesnt look any different in quality then anything else produced from the same area

and there are a lot of up market brands made in the same location too
this Dyno Quartz i've also got has the same crank as the Realm, i dunno

i'm just in the hobby of flipping them

if freebies weren't so much in abundence where im from, i'd keep the Realm, because i reckon it could grow on me.

Wilfred Laurier

That bike is superior to many of the bikes being sold at box stores today because it has no suspension. While it will never be a great bike, cleaning, lubricating, and carefully reassembling the bearings, truing the wheels could result in a nice bike to ride around. I wouldn't leave on a cross country tour with it, but as a grocery-getter it will likely be fine.

Please, though, OP, spend as little money as possible on it. New cables, brake pads, tires, and grips will probably make it ride like new (or better than new). Total cost for all these things might be around $40 for the most basic stuff, and you might not even need all of that.

Bill Kapaun

Apparently, many of you aren't knowledgeable about THAT SPECIFIC MODEL.
I'm not trying to be a downer for the OP, but it's a situation that will provide little positive feedback.
IF the OP wants a bicycle that will function "adequately" it WILL require a completely new brake "system", DER's and shifters.
Even a slightly better bike will show noticeable improvement when things are properly adjusted. This bike simply won't without different parts.

savagethespian

Thanks Andrew i appreciate the confidence.

This bike will be my first complete tear down bike. im mostly just wanting to use it for transportation to and from work (20 miles round trip everyday) and to learn how to repair bikes (besides it gives me a reason to buy a repair stand). im wanting to replace the breaks, handle bars, sifters, derailer, crank, cassette, pedals, and add fenders, chain guard and some other things. im sorry if i sound like a complete noob but whats stopping a bike from being a kick A#$ bike when decent to good components are installed on it regardless of what it started off with? dont get wrong here im not going to install $1000 brakes on this thing, or make it into a pro racing bike, like i said though noob question i know but i just don't get it.

FastJake

The frame. A frame like what you're working with severely limits what you can do with the bike.

- It will be prohibitively expensive to replace the crank with something even remotely decent (3 piece design.) Your bike's crank is a 1-piece design. All decent modern bikes (since the mid 1970s) have used 3-piece cranks. You cannot put a 3 piece crank on that bike without an expensive adapter.
- You simply will not find ANY brakes that will do an acceptable job to make this bike adequate for serious use. If I'm looking at the right "Mt Storm" on Google images it uses super-long reach caliper brakes. Real MTBs from that era used cantilever or V-brakes.
- All the money you will spend replacing the other parts like shifters, derailers, handle bars, wheels, tires, etc. could easily purchase a real, quality used rigid frame MTB.

If you want to use the bike as a fun project to get some learning experience that's fine but once you start throwing money at replacing stuff it will be money wasted. Also, 20 miles round trip is a serious commuting distance. You'll want a real bike for that.

le mans

you'll need it to travel 20 miles a day?! well, that changes my opinion

i bought a new raleigh roadie to suit that purpose, i travelled 20 miles per day too, 5 days a week.. before i got my license, can't recall the model but it did the job perfectly

what sort of terrian will you be commuting to work on?

ThermionicScott 

Good stuff to think about, thanks for sharing.

LesterOfPuppets

Yes it will improve the bike. Ultra lowend bikes like this are often set up without enough grease in the hubs/HS/BB and the bearings are more likely than not to be poorly adjusted. Rebuilding a BSO, even if you were to go into Walmart, pick the first rigid MTB you see and tear it down to bare frame, then reassemble, and tension spokes, the bike will be at least 10-times better than it was on the floor at Walmart or Target.

squirtdad

My experience with low end bikes, is that you really don't learn about wrenching because the components are so cheap, they don't adjust well, they don't keep their adjustment, etc.

IHMO, the OP would learn more and have a better bike by finding better quality bike in general

Also unless you have a big parts bin of of stuff you have taken off other bikes (or access to a co-op with same) it becomes cheaper to buy a new better quality really fast as compared to the price of parts

my 2 cents for the OP. Don't spend anything on parts. Take the wheels off and grease and adjust the hubs (if they have ball bearings), grease the headset, grease the bottom bracket, make sure the seat post has grease on it (so it does get stuck). the make sure brakes and shifters work and asjust as needed. Ride the the thing.