Sweet catch! Even better than my $35 1948 Rudge. Practically the same bike though. Hard to beat a classic.

Well, maybe 5x. It's in pretty sad shape. However, it should work for infrequent, short rides.

I know the feeling. I live at the bottom of a bowl. Every direction is up.

Wow, I'm so jealous. Nice find

The neighborhood where I live is all hills....but over time I've come to appreciate it. I can get a great ride leaving from my front door and after that it's hard to find a hill that I'll think twice about.

Glad this one found a good home.............I replied to this one also, the bike looked pretty clean even in the hazy CL pic.......I hope your son enjoys it! Nice find and still a bargain at $65.

3 10 speed junkers today....

Univega (only badging is on the downtube where it says "chromoly frame tubes")


a KIA Deluxe with 26" wheels and lugged tubing (heavy....glued lugs? built like a demolition derby bike...not sure what to do with this one)


and a Rampar Rapide


I know, I know, you are all green with envy...I'm sorry to throw down such an awesome haul like this...

Actually, the Rampar is a nice looking bike in great shape that may be inherently theft-proof..or at least a classy beater and the Univega has the usually nicely-built frame you should expect from pretty much any Univega...it may end up replacing my flat bar road bike conversion that is just a little smaller than I need.

Hey, at least your home stretch is down hill! I live at the apex of a ridge, about 1000 ft above sea level (fairly high elevation for NJ). I rarely drive to a ride, so after a long ride, I'm usually faced with a 500 ft ascent after 60+ miles of hills. I really don't mind the terrain on my road bikes with triple chainsets, but it would be a bit much for me with the SA 3-speed.

That's why you're such a good rider. Hill training on every ride.

Man, I have not found a single bike worth considering for a long time. I'm getting discouraged....

Here's one I found recently, ...I added rims and tires.

mastronaut, I like that. What does it weigh? And will it be getting a rear brake?

It probably weighed about 17lbs tops with the correct wheels. I'm going to put a standard side pull on the rear after it stops raining...

I revived a Miyata Sports Model for a friend...goal was to go as cheap as possible...only parts I had laying around plus the standard bike flip consumables.

Didn't get a pic before I started taking it apart but here it is relatively intact:

Here are a few parts that went into the OA bath (brakes were pretty rusty on the opposite side):


I replaced the housings and cables, repacked all of the bearings, replaced the steel bars with with some alloy randonneur bars and both steel wheels with alloy. Swapped out the 5spd freewheel for a shimano hyperglide (I think) 6spd freewheel. Also put on a newer old seatpost as the other one had flaking chrome and was rusted to hell:




Pictures don't shine as much as they should as it was a nasty overcast day but the chrome is blingy and the paint polished up quite nicely. Alloy parts saved some weight and braking is quite solid now.

How's that saddle? I just got a similar looking model in NASTY condition and have been having good luck restoring it.
First I fed it a TON of lexol leather conditioner and then I had to manufacture my own tensioning bolt out of some old nuts and bolts. Today I sanded on the cracks a bit (they were all over) and I might sand a little bit more. Otherwise, the next step is a coating of sno-seal to hopefully finish the top and provide some waterproofing. It will go great on my next city bike project but I fear that there is too much stretching/cracking around the rivets on the front that might give way under riding.

Some random junk....

Yeah, it's got issues. Cracking around the rivets and front. It's still got some suppleness, but it's far too flexy. I'm also worried if I try to stretch it with the adjusting bolt, the nose will tear off. I may just give it a couple coats of Proofide and ride it sparingly. Might also try a light application of natural Neatsfoot oil first.

Very nice save.

First thrift store find of the season:

late 70s early 80s Ross Professional ($5):



Small touring bike, it should clean up nicely. Alloy 27 inch rims, Shimano components, 1020 steel

1976/7+ Raleigh Record ($5):





Not sure of the date, haven't even looked much into it, Suntour components, Weinmann brakes and alloy 27 inch rims make it an 77+, but it has a cottered crank; 2030 steel, really typically nice Raleigh lugs. Looks close to the 77 in Sheldon Brown's site (https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroral...d-limited.html)
Fully operational, will also clean up nicely.

Both will go in the car wash after Thanksgiving...

I am spreading the love: I got them here (https://allentown.craigslist.org/gms/1473634416.html ; link to the CL ad by the Thrift store). They had about 8 more bikes (a couple of which will make great donors, including a TIG-welded recent entry level road bike and numerous entry level mountain bikes), but these were the best there today, I had my sons with me and only 2 spots on my hitch carrier... If anyone lives nearby, would be a good place to check

Ottothecrow, How did you get the rust off the chrome so nicely. I have a Schwinn Sprint that needs just such a treatment. I'd very much appreciate it it if you could give me a reasonably detailed description of what you did. Don't assume I know much as I'm a newby at this stuff. Thanks.

Much smaller than most of the finds around here but its a part I needed and finally found! A 32 hole C-record hub. I polished half and the other half is how I got it. Coming down to the last few bits for my winter build. Stem, freewheel, tires and a saddle and Im ready to ride. But considering it took almost 4 months to find a stinking hub at a decent price, it could still be a while.

I also finished my new work bench today so thought I'd show and tell...

Sitting in line waiting to pay for dropping junk at the dump and...

Think it's a 1984. Rust comes off with a little spit and my thumb nail.
Head Badge reads Raleigh of America yet the Serial # is 4D500387, Raleigh from Kent, WA should be "R"XXXXXXXX.
555 manganese tube.
Mixed bag of componenets with Shim 600 derailluers and 700c and 27" wheels.
Traingle stem with panto Raleigh.
Check out the Ernesto Colnago(?) crank and rings???

Winter fun in store....

Hey everybody.

About a week ago I replied to an ad on the craigslist free forums. This older dude had a couple bikes both of which I had never heard of. I'm not experienced in bikes whatsoever. I've been riding a 12yr old + Scott Yecora mountain bike that I purchased new in 95/96 and while it's a good bike I've always wanted a decent vintage road bike.

So I go and check out this guys barn and pull out two bikes. A Takara and a Kuwahara road bike. The Takara looked very nice but was too big for me so I left it. But the Kuwahara fit perfect and despite all the layers of dust and cobwebs it looked to be in really good condition as well. It must have sat there for 10+ years because there were tons of bugs using it as a home. I have found spiders, caterpillars, lady bugs and beetles galore crawling around my apartment since the Kuwahara came into my home.

This forum has addressed Kuwahara bikes a little. But this one is a Kuwahara Count. It's has a beautiful purple/blue paint job and all the components look straight and from what I can tell everything still works. There isn't much info on Kuwahara road bikes out there, but a near mint Kuwahara Count for free has catapulted me into the world of vintage road bikes. I am so excited to learn more adn get it rolling!

How rare are these Kuwahara road bikes? I'm pretty sure it's all original down to the tires. All the components are either Sugino GT, Nitto, Suntour and Dia-Compe. The frame is really very light and has a sticker that says Champion 3 Tubes 4130 Chromemoly Butted Tubing

I am so excited to have found something good that I can use to learn on and fix it up to like new, and all for free!

I'll take some pictures here when I get a chance and post them up here.

I'm curious though, if I were to fix this bike up like new what would it's value be? Or can a value be determined? Not that I want to sell it, I'm just pretty clueless about this stuff and it would be nice to know. I'm going to be using it next spring as my main commuter bike and I don't want it to get stolen or anything, that's for sure.

Respectfully,
-Kenneth aka total newb

A purple Count you say?



One! One Kuwahara! Ah ah ah ah...

Seriously though, it sounds like a winner and free is always a great price. Please do get some pics of it posted...

LOL @ "One! One Kuwahara!" hehehe....

A friend of mine had this in his yard for nearly a year, and I had to do something! I offered my big orange stretch cruiser, and he bit. No it's not stolen... He got it from the original
owner who began having children within a few months of buying it. So, it sat unused in his attic since 1993(4).. The dirt is from sitting in the friends yard, and should clean off easily.
Yep, that's a Burley Bossa Nova touring tandem!! Suntour XC pro components, Specialized cranks. Dual rear brakes(hub and cantis) and single canti front brakes. Four water bottle mounts,
that I can see anyway. There might be more that have gone unseen. I am thinking of Specialized Armadillos and yellow wrap on both bars. I am not sure who picked the red wrap, since
white and yellow are the only two colors other than the metallic black. Should be a project and a half, but it will be worth it. Originally $2,300 brand new, what a find,,,,BD

Something tells me I will need a dirt drop, periscopa, or a Technium.