GiantDefyGuy

I'm just sharing because I'm so excited.

I normally ride a Giant Defy 3 road bike. Since I've decided that I wanted to start commuting, I have brought my Giant to work a few times. I'm not willing to leave it outside locked up on the bike rack, so I've been taking it in the elevator and keeping it at my desk. That's not a problem for anybody but me....I get sort of tired of people walking by my cube and noticing a bike and then having to have a 20 minute conversation about "oh, you ride bikes?" (why is "bikes" always plural in that question anyway?) Whatever.

I decided that what I really wanted was a cheapo beater bike that I could leave locked up outside. So I started looking at the local craigslist (never done that before) for an old bike (any kind...the uglier the better) with MTN bike tires. I found a guy selling an old steel Schwinn Hurricane MTB for $80, so I bought it. It weighs like 100lbs too! It was in reasonable shape, I guess. I went to walmart and bought new cheapo tires and tubes and one of those Bell cable kits. After some cleaning (but not too much!) and some adjustments, I have a beater bike that I've been bringing to work this week and locking up outside.

The bike is actually too big for me, but it's still rideable. When I stand over it, my junk actually rests on the top tube. But once I'm on it, everything is fine. I suppose it's actually safer now that I'm sitting so high up. LOL.

It has one of those really huge schwinn comfort seats with springs under it. The seat was in pretty bad shape, and I figured I would need a new seat. But after taking the seat apart into 1000 pieces, I was able to put it back together correctly, and it's almost like having a new seat. I had to make a new "separator" piece out of duct tape, but you can't see it. The seat still squeaks a little, but it's actually a stable and comfortable seat again.

I think my front shifter is broken. It moves the derailer, but the derailer doesn't stay where I put it. So I just have it on the middle chainwheel in the front, and the back shifting seems okay. I've only really been using 2 gears anyway. I think my next project will be to actually remove the front derailer and shifter so that I can actually reach down and move my chain with a screwdriver or something if I absolutely need to be on another chainwheel. But it will probably stay as-is for a little while. I'm not buying a new shifter, so if I can't fix this one, it's coming off or just not being used.

Something that has me laughing is the fact that I needed to buy a lock, and the lock actually cost 1/2 of what my bike did. LOL. And also, my helmet cost more than the bike and lock combined. LOL.

To make the whole thing a little more Fredly, I went to Big Lots and found a messenger bag for $15. It didn't have one of those extra straps to keep it centered on your back, so I use a small bungee cord for that.

With this bike, this bag, and also some reflective velcro straps around my pants legs, I feel pretty ridiclous. But I'm safe and happy, so all is well. I could feel my giant smile as I was riding home yesterday.

Anyway, there's no point to my story. Just that I bought a cheap beater bike to commute with, and I'm happy. (jeez, I guess this sentence could've been my whole post. Sucks if you actually read everything up until this).

Oh, something else I've noticed is that MTN bikes don't go as fast as road bikes. LOL.

swwhite

I know NOTHING about shifters, but, if the bike is old, the shift levers might stay in place by friction instead of those clicky ratchet things inside. If the derailer moves, maybe the shifter could be tightened with the screw that might be on the top of the shifter.

IchBinDarren

When I was in college I rode a really nice hybrid bike and I was really worried about leaving that thing locked up outside at the campus, I really wished I had a beater!

You can laugh about riding an oversized Schwinn with a bungee cord on your messenger bag because your not ignorant about bicycles, you have a beautiful road machine sitting safely at home, but you choose a laughable commuter for a purpose!

CB HI

Read some of the "how many bikes" and "N+1" threads and you will begin to understand.https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ighlight=N%2B1

GiantDefyGuy

As far as the shifter being indexed (clicky ratchet things) or not, I believe it's supposed to be indexed because the other shifter is!

It seems like my left shifter has lost the clicking and ratcheting part. You can watch the derailer move when you pull the cable or use the shifter, but something is supposed to be inside the shifter holding it at that setting, and it's not. I'm pretty convinced that there is a mechanical problem inside the shifter. That's why I'm about to just remove it and have to manually shift the front chainring.

After looking at that thread, I need more bikes!

Leebo

There might be a D-ring or a screw to tighten the shifter.

Chris_in_Miami

There are cheap sets of generic thumb shifters on ebay at the moment, I have one on the way to me now... I like to get the full functionality out of my bikes, but I can also relate to your not wanting to spend any unnecessary cash on a beater.

Underneath the crap exterior, the Hurricane was a solid MTB, a great candidate for a commuter that won't attract too much attention.

GiantDefyGuy

Seems like you know more about the Schwinn Hurricane than I do. I'd never heard of it, and whenever I google it, I end up seeing pictures of whacked-out suspension Hurricane 5's or something. I'm not finding anything on the actual bike that I have....which is a very basic "normal" frame with big fat wheels. No shocks or strange shapes or anything like what I'm finding on google. So any details you felt like sharing would be awesome.

Still undecided about the whole front shifter issue. Whenever I get around to it (not top priority by any means), I'll do my best to disassemble the one that I have and see if anything is obviously wrong....like caked up gunk stopping something from moving, or a tiny broken bolt or something like that. After that doesn't get me anywhere, I'm up to deciding to either replace or remove it. I'm sure a replacement one would be super-cheap, so I'll just have to see what happens. I'd like to be able to fix this one though. I got such pride and joy from "rebuilding" that crappy seat that I thought was toast.

Chris_in_Miami

Actually, I've only heard of the the kiddie 5-speed by the same name, but I assumed you weren't talking about that one . I don't think I know anything more than you've probably already found, a reference on Bikepedia and a Velospace entry, it looks like an decent plain-Jane MTB. It's probably comparable to a base level Specialized Hardrock of that era, but with a high-ten frame.

If those are trigger shifters, you might be out of luck. Sometimes they get gunked up, but even the better Shimano MTB shifters are almost impossible to repair when they fail due to wear. Try shooting some P' Blaster or WD40 into it and you might get lucky.

bengreen79

This is a good tip. I've had this work on 5 different shifters (mine and friends/family) that were misbehaving. I've only ever had it not work on one. Sometimes it takes a couple applications and often takes a few hours before it works.