Aside from the fact that it is ugly, the "what's wrong with it" is as follows...

One brake = danger.

Heavy tires and heavy wheels negatively impact the feel of the bicycle, making it feel sluggish, slow to respond and difficult to accelerate(this is also a gearing issue).

The riding position is not to my liking but I am, mostly, a drop bar road bike guy with little interest in anything that does not feel like a drop bar road bike. Even if I did like more upright bars, the ones supplied on the bike are very narrow, uncomfortably so.

The gearing is way too difficult for a 70 year old man to push, except when on the flat or going down hill, both with the wind at my back.

The single cog freewheel is rough and in need of lubrication (remember this is a new bike, not something that has sat for forty years).

And, once that ugly orange starts to wear off of the braking surfaces on the rims (make that rim), the bike will be even uglier (again, an opinion).

All that said, I might like it more with decent drop bars, two brakes and a sensible set of wheels/tires. And, of course, a larger cog on the single gear freewheel. The fixed cog will never, ever, be used by me. I had my Fixie experiment with a Trek T-1 and hated it!

But there is one thing I really like - the rear drops...

Super Course MK II. Solid B+ as far as catches go. Brake pads and tires have been replaced, everything else is still original I believe. Purchased from the original owner who bought it in college. I think its a '76 but haven't checked to hard yet. 531 main tubes, decals on the fork that look like 531 decals but aren't. Brooks saddle is in great shape. There are a few blemishes to the decals but the paint itself is surprisingly unmarred for a bike its age.

Couple of bikes in a free pile. Cannondale sr 600, 105, and a Fisher Montare, DX group.

Found on CL for $30, a Chimo Criterium needing some love. Plan is attempt to strip off the repaint, then decide what's next.

Montgomery Ward bicycle. Made in Austria!
I got it for the rack and fenders, will fix and flip as cheap as possible. Great condition, poor quality.
I probably overpaid at $25, plus a $4 bridge toll. Will need another $30 or so in parts to be functional.

Quaint stem on the Monkey Wards bike!

I got the same set of Sugino BB tools. The plastic baggie ripped a LONG time ago mine is about 30 years old.

I like it. SR Swan 60.

Saved this guy from being disassembled and recycled.
1977 Centurion Pro-Tour. looks to be the 23 1/2 Inch Frame. It looked mostly original but had a bunch of rusty consumable parts,

This is what im working with after a mild clean up and a removal of rusty cables, Chain and Freewheel , ohh and the tires were mostly dry rotted away. I do have a stuck seat post and Stem to deal with,

shes gonna be a fun one to recover, i think its worth it!




Original bars and bar con shifters along with the braze on mount centerpull brakes


Original Cyclone rear derailleur


Mighty tour Cranks 52/36, MKS pedals and Cyclone Front Derailleur

Picked up these two today:
1995 Univega Alpina 505
Pretty good condition and looks like all original parts are still on it.
IMG_4373 by 2cam16, on Flickr
This Sorrento was so clean so I couldn't pass it up. Definitely low miles.
IMG_4375 by 2cam16, on Flickr

Yeah, that's a great platform to start with; those CP brakes with their braze-on mounts are the business! Mighty Tour crank is mighty cool, too. Barcons and Cyclone; a mostly complete bike

I didn't realize they came with vertical drop outs way back then. Quality bike; they weren't messing around on that model.

Amazing find. Your's is the only other one I've ever seen in the silver color. It's equipped exactly like mine was when I got it some ten years ago. The brakes can be easily adjusted for 700C wheels. Keep in mind that the fork crown isn't drilled on the front, which can present some interesting challenges with racks and headlights.

thanks guys, I was pretty happy to find it, and when i saw the brazed on centerpulls.. i was really happy to find a Pro Tour, Ive been keeping an eye out for a early Centurion to go with the Ironman's and was hoping to find something higher end of the centurion ladder.

The bike was all complete when i found it, I just had to get all of the offending Rusty chains/Cables , rusted and Seized Freewheel and disintegrated tires off the poor thing. I have all of those not sure what they were called but the spring shift housing . it looks to be in good shape.

I guess thats a question, should i use that cable housing or just go with a standard shift housing?

I'd use fresh, maybe silver, housing. Save the ferules off the spring.

Picked up these freebies today which will DEFINITELY be ridden, specially the Trek which is my first FS bike. Guy was cleaning out his garage. Upgraded to a Santa Cruz.
Can't wait to go through them and ride.
2001 Stumpy MX4 Pro

IMG_4497 by 2cam16, on Flickr
2011 Fuel EX8

IMG_4496 by 2cam16, on Flickr

Free?!? Oh jeez. You score some really nice bikes, but this haul is really good.

Thanks and it was luck as always. I wasn't even looking. He just answered my Freecycle ad from last month. Can't wait to try them out, specially the Trek.

A neighbor friend gave this to me yesterday because he's had it for years and never rode it. He needed to clear out the garage and knew that I was a bike guy and I figured I could put it to good use. It needs a complete overhaul but overall in physically good shape!

What is it?

It's a Raleigh Technium 460, possibly a 1986 model but not sure. Components might be all original except for the saddle. It came with a white Specialized Alias 143 saddle, which is nice, but I will probably swap it out with something more period correct.

Nice!

Saved this from the dump this week past. I was not keen on it at first because it's a little small for me but after cleaning it up it started to grow on me.

I picked up this early '90s Novara Randonee recently with the intention of fixing it up for my wife but it was too big for her so I am selling it. It was a mess when I got it. It was 'fixed up' by someone that had no clue what they were doing. The front derailleur was mounted about an inch and a half too high. One shifter was not working and the other had the cable jammed in the shifter. They had replaced the 700c wheels with 27" wheels. They had wrapped the bars with the back side of the bar tape facing up. The person I bought it from said it shifted well. I thought to my self that that was not possible.

I replaced the 27" wheels with a set of 700c wheels I had that matched what came on the bike originally. I also replaced the inappropriate crankset with a crankset I had. They had the wrong size seatpost too which I replaced. I put on the rear rack and bigger tires. I gave it a complete overhaul and it turned out nicely.

Nicely done, always had a soft spot for the Randonee

Some really nice saves going on. RJ, I usually get the bike with the seat post that was too big.