Geez, I have bikes older than you guys

I think that if you and your dad walk into the Toys R Us with the bike and ask for your money back, you will get it. Just say it doesn't fit or something, not liking it might not be a reasonable excuse.

Is the Free Spirit in pretty good shape, apart from the wheel? It may be that you can repair that for a cheap price, say 15$, and with that remaining 65$, you can buy something cheap on CL and then you and your dad can both go for a ride.

I've got socks older than these guys.....

Toys R Us will take anything back - just show up with it and tell them you're not happy with quality/performance. Ask to see the manager as a last resort, but my bet is they'll refund the money without too much hassle.

I probably have a rear wheel you can have for the cost of shipping, but I'm in Northern California so shipping might be more expensive than the local thrift.

Speaking of which, I routinely find (and leave) Magnas, Huffys, and such at the local thrifts for $5 or so. You might want to check around - they'd be good for donor wheels, anyway.

Some examples on San Diego Craig's List ---

A donor bike for $40 in Mira Mesa:
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/bik/350420120.html

A Peugeot road bike for $50 in Kearny Mesa:
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/bik/350409036.html

Yokota Mountain Bike for $85 in La Mesa:
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/bik/350385610.html

go look at the peugeot.

I still have my bootleg concert shirts going back to 1978(foreigner with the cars opening). My oldest bike is a 1950 Rudge, 16 yrs older than me

Yup, the rear wheel has a five-speed cog. The bike is red and it says "Eagle Point" on it, hopefully someone can give me an idea of how old it is. There's another issue with the wheel - one of the spokes is broken, and the clear plastic that goes behind the cog might as well not be there.

I'm going to actually take the dyna to Toys R Us and see if they'll take it back. If they don't, however, I was thinking about switching the wheels from the Dyna to the FS. They're the same size (26" I believe). The only problem is that the Dyna has a 7-speed cog and the FS has a 5-speed, but I can get those swapped at my LBS right?

Crap, I've got bikes older than me.

hmmm, still wet behind the ears. .

but I don't have a bike older than me. . . yet.

+1

Keep your eyes open on Trash day! I find bikes set out all the time. You might well run across a useable rear wheel for free!

Hey guys, I'm at a loss. The FS could use a new set of wheels and the Dyna uses the same size wheels. Since a new set of wheels would cost more than the Dyna did, should I just swap the wheels and get rid of the Dyna frame? What do you guys think? Can I get the cogs switched at my LBS?

Thanks!

No, really look at the options that have been presented in this thread.
In any case,
1. return the dyna.
After that,
2. go to the local bike shop and see if they can true the wheel of the free spirit, if they can then you've just saved at least $60.
if they can't, then
3.buy a used wheel from either a thrift store or from craigslist.

yup, the wheels from the dyna don't fit. I'll try to get the wheel replaced

Toys r us will take the bike back. Like someone else said, take your dad with you. You could always take it apart and put it back in the box if you still have it.

First take it to the shop and see if the old whell can be trued (spoked adjusted and wheel straightened, do that before buying a new wheel).

1 spoke is not a big problem alone, thay are very easy and cheap to replace. You're right the clear plastic that goes behind the cog might as well not be there. You can change from 5 to 7 by changing the clusters then adjust the 2 screws on the derailer that control how far in and out the cage moves. The cable may also need to be adjusted.Measure how far apart the rear is whare the tire goes on ( inside measurement) I may have a wheel for you for the cost of shiping if yours cant be saved.

I called Toys R Us again, but this time I made sure they understood that be bike works fine but I just don't like it. They said they'll take it back (thank god). The bending on the wheel isn't that bad (I exaggerated a bit on my first post), so I think it can be saved. Thanks a lot for the help guys, I'll update you once I return the Dyna and take the FS wheel to my LBS. Again, thanks a ton - I had no idea the back wheel could be repaired for a fraction of the price of a new one. I guess the best way to learn IS from experience, except I'm lucky that I can return the Dyna and be right back to where I was before buying that POS.

Since your bike is a Sear Free Spirit try using the serial number to see who made it. The first three letters of the code should tell you the manufactuer. The most common was Murray.

219 MTD
247 MTD
502 Murray Ohio
503 Sturmey Archer
538 AMF and or Murray
809 AMF
809 AMF

If there is any Shimano parts on the bike this chart may help date them using their stamps. This may be totally inaccurate for the most part, I'm sure someone here knows if it is or not.

YEAR MONTH
A 1976 A JAN
B 1977 B FEB
C 1978 C MAR
D 1979 D APR
E 1980 E MAY
F 1981 F JUNE
G 1982 G JULY
H 1983 H AUG
I 1984 I SEP
J 1985 J OCT
K 1986 K NOV
L 1987 L DEC
M 1988
N 1989
O 1990
P 1991
Q 1992
R 1993
S 1994
T 1995
U 1996
V 1997
W 1998
X 1999
Y 2000
Z 2001
A 2002
B 2003

You could also try looking on the headstem, the crank, or even the hubs to see if the dates are stamped in them. I have seen this done before. Also, Sears during the early to mid 80's commonly placed a date on the bike in the form of a sticker on the bottom of the seatpost frame tube down near the BB.

It's good to hear that there is young folks out there that still care about the old stuff. Keep your interest and someday you'll be surprised the goodies you run into.

The serial number starts with R171 - not sure who that is. The cog (Shimano SIS 5-Speed) says VC on it, so according to your chart that would be March of 1997. That's not quite as old as I was hoping for, but it's not too new either.

EDIT: Update - My dad doesn't want to return the new Dyna. We talked it over and he said if I fix the old bike, we'll keep the Dyna around as a spare bike that he and my brother can both use, and I'll keep riding the FS. Neither of them are really into bicycles so that works out for them, and it's their bike now, which means I can forget about the Dyna and focus on fixing the FS. I'll be going taking the wheel to my LBS to see it it's fixable ASAP, and if not I'll start looking around on Craigslist and thrift shops for a new one.

Excellent! Stick around, we are here to help whenever possible .

At least you don't have to put up with riding the Dyna.

East Hill

According to my Sears code chart your serial number stamp comes up as 171 Vermont American. They are part of the Bosch Tool Corporation and seem to focus on the production of the drill and router bits, saw blades, abrasives, and the like.

A new one to me, I had no clue they made bikes. You learn something new every day.

So would that make my FS one of the better ones or a typical low-end model?

EDIT: I apologize, it's not R171 it's R717. Could you tell me who that is?

Where did you find it?

Well, my story had a happy ending.

My dad returned the Dyna, giving me $80 to fix up the FS. I went to my local thrift shop and found an MTB for $25. It was in good condition with great wheels, but both the tires were flat. I filled both the tires and rode it home. I might have just fixed up the thrift shop bike and rode that, but it didn't fit me. My feet felt cramped and it was just uncomfortable. By the time I got home, the tires were halfway flat. I headed to my LBS and got two new tubes for the new wheels. The tires from the thrift shop bike were in good shape (little wear); the entire bicycle looked like it had little use. I put the new tubes in the wheels, and put the new wheels on my FS. They were a perfect fit. The thrift shop bike also had GREAT brakes, in fact they looked brand new. Since the brakes were the same as the brakes on my FS, I swapped those too. I put some oil on the chain and cog, filled up the new tubes, and it was set. The second I got on my FS, it just felt natural like no other bike that I've tried feels. I went on an hour long ride and had no trouble from the fixed up FS at all. Thanks a lot for the help guys, I showed my dad your responses and that's what led to returning the Dyna. Thanks again, this is a great forum with loads of info and knowledgeable members and I'll be sure to come back here and ask for help next time I need it.

--weirdlookinguy