It sounds easy enough. However, that can be said for anything - it's when you get to doing it...

I don't have the tools for this, and will be dropping $100 on tools next check (after 5th). And that won't include anything that will help me with the cable job, I don't think.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...kuId=202845557 this is similar to the tool I use, and they can be had very cheaply as can be seen. However, if your wife is willing you could possibly hold the brake or derailer yourself in the position while she tightens the cable for you. Teamwork and money saving ;)

That is the tool I imagined. But, 'holding open the derailleur' is what I cannot picture. I am just not used to the mechanics is all. I will look up a video. :)

Edit: Well this is a confusing video! Haha

LoL I think I can clarify, what I'm refering to is the movement the derailer does over the gears. IE if you were on a mountain bike and set it at base for a 21 speed, you'd be on the inside of the 3 chainrings in the front, and on the outside of the 7 cogs in the back, it's a matter of getting the arm of the derailer into position, IE pressing it in in the case of the back, or out in the case of the front, with the rear you can look down from the cage pulley, and make sure it's cog is lined up with the rear wheel cog, does this make more sense?

A Flying Pigeon is probably the most common bicycle ever. It is a Chinese copy of the Raleigh DL-1 of 1913. It's what all the workers had back when all Chinese bicycled to work.

If the wheels, pedal cranks, or steering fork and handlebars feel loose and can wobble when not turning, the bearings need adjusting. Riding even a short distance can ruin them. For example, lift the back of the bike, grab the rear wheel, and try to shake it from side to side. It should not clunk around. The pedal cranks should just turn and should not feel as if they can wobble around loose, not even a millimeter.

If you get new tires, don't use high pressure. The steel rims are smooth sided on the inside and do not have a hook bead or ridge to grasp the tire bead.

parktool.com or a book from the library ought to have guides on gear cables. The rear derailleur ought to want to be closer to the wheel or in low gear (low to pedal, but the largest sprocket) when the cable is slack. Just attach the cable at the derailleur when the lever is in the slackest position, and make sure the derailleur can move to or just past the outermost, smallest sprocket when the lever is moved to higher cable tension. Then use the derailleur limit screws to keep the derailleur from moving the chain off the sprockets too far to the right or the left.

Make sure the chain's not stretched or you're wearing down your sprockets. The distance between the centers of 25 pins should be 12" and 12-1/8" is too much.

Can't find the guide for gear/shifter cables @ Park's repair blog, garage sale GT.

Learned some things today on a test ride with our two bicycles.

1) The bicycle pump I purchased from that retired professional cyclist absolutely sucks.
2) The rear LED blinkers are inconsistent in quality - the one I mounted on my wife's bicycle tightened just fine, but the one on mine will not tighten much because of a defect.

Also, I installed the bicycle wall mount upside-down. Haha!

I am having trouble finding 27" tubes. I would like to get 27" Prestas. And what is the width? 27xWhat?

What kind of tubes and tires should I do?

Before you ride farther than walking distance from home, get these:

frame mounted pump (to reinflate the repaired tire)
patch kit (to patch the hole)
spare tube (in the proper size)
tire removal irons (levers to rermove tire from rim)
Small adjustable wrench (to remove the wheel from the frame)
Small seat mounted pouch to hold all the above (so you have it with you when you need it)

Crusty old bikes can exhibit difficulty shifting due to corrosion of the cable. Disassemble and lubricate cable or replace old style cable with modern, plastic-lined cable housings.

Your rear derailleur is steel. It could also be corroded and dysfunctional. Lubricate the mechanism with oil and operate the derailleur to distribute the oil.

Don't get presta valves unless you also buy adapters. The hole in the rim is too big and you could have the valvestem blow out.

Boy, that's wierd...it only says "valvestem" once when you edit.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...illeur-systems 700c inner tubes work fine. Get 28 or 32 mm. Schraeder valves work great too, and won't look out of place.

Make sure the tires you buy are not for hook bead rims only.

Hmm. I was told that 700c would not work. I hate conflicting ideas. >.< I'll take your word for it though, as this is the C&V forum. :)

Recommend any tires?

Also, my wife's front tire is being odd. Here it is:
http://i.min.us/jcvg7lOKy.JPG

If you look closely, you will see that the tire seems to be 'sucked in' at one point. Follow the tire from the bottom, up the left. Where the fender starts, you will see the 'line' of the tire dip into the wheel. Just before the support for the fender.

Anymore they don't make 27" specific tubes but 700c and 27" tubes are 100% interchangeable, for a given cross section. Some brands may even mark the box with 700c/27".

Good to know.

Any ideas on the wife's tire? I'm thinking that the last time it was deflated them pumped, it may have been on the bicycle standing up when it was done, thus making the tire sit unevenly. I will dismount it and do it, one of these days. Ha!

Your issue with the tire is probably that the bead has not seated into the rim hook in that area. When that happens to me, I inflate the tire to desired pressure, and, by hand, force the bead into the hook by grasping the tire and rolling it upward from the rim in the affected area. Typically, it will gently ease into place.
If it is not a hook bead rim then I don't know the answer. Possibly the tube is pinched between the bead and the rim, in which case it is in imminent danger of blowing out and you should deflate & remount the tire immediately to prevent that.

No clue abouts beads and hooks, so I should do some research. Ha

beads are the two outside lines on the tire itself, hooks are the bottom of the ends of the tire where when you inflate the tube, they hook into the lip of the rim.

Oh, well that is easy enough! Now, to re-read your post! :) Thank you.

fyi I second everything olds' just said about your wifes wheel. The only thing I could really add, is it could possibly be you have the tube twisted at that point and it's creating a hump pushing the tire up, that is extremely not good. (probably isn't the problem though)