Fixing up a truly POS bike
 

Anyone ever fix up at really POS bike? My dad has this old Murray 10-speed hanging in his garage. I don't think it's been ridden in 15-20 years. It's a straight-up Walmart bike, but I was thinking of fixing it up just to see what I could make of it. Kind of a little summer project. I already have two sets of wheels, the stock saddle from my Giant, and a set of Tektro brakes from my old Felt. Replace the cables, maybe get some used cranks, cheap cassette...any suggestions? By the way, I have never built a bike and would pretty much be doing it all from youtube videos.

I'm relieved to find this isn't yet another CAAD thread.

Could be a cool project if the frame is straight and it's not rusted together in some horrible way. First thing I'd do is make sure I could take it completely apart, clean and regrease everything, and figure out what parts will / won't work (check wheel spacing, brake mounting) with my concept.

YouTube videos might be good, but I like an old school book like Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance as a general resource -- it shows the different kinds of components used on road bikes through the years, which can be helpful in determining just what you have and how to dismantle it.

As to if it is worth it, I can't personally tell you. I have a very bad judgment of what project are worth doing. I completely rebuild a older walmart mongoose MTB this past summer with much much better parts. Yes it rides more like a $500-$600 bike, however, it is still a cheap frame and to the average person would only be worth maybe $100, even though I have close to $350 into it. So whether it is worth it is only if you are willing to ride it enough to make it worth it to you.

As for doing the actual work, when I rebuilt my bike I did all the work myself, and I replaced both wheels, the brakes, shifter, brake levers, handle grips, front and rear derailleurs, BB, crank, and all cables. So I pretty much replaced almost everything you can and I did all of it off of youtube videos, forums, and sheldon brown, so it can be done. It's all about having the right tools and knowing where to look to find out what you need to do.

You might wanna just lube everything up, replace the chain, brake pads, and cables if necessary and just ride it and decide if it is worth it after a couple of weeks of riding it.

Good luck if you decide to fix it up.

A Murray ? uugghhh ! Nothing from a "real" bike will fit. Throw it in the dumpster.

I wouldn't be doing it for resale purposes, mostly just to learn something and maybe end up with something that actually might be a decent second bike.

I had a Murray riding lawn mower a couple of years ago. That thing was bullet-proof.

With that being the case I would like to say go for it, just try to find parts on ebay and craislist for cheap to keep the cost down. If you keep the cost under $50-$75 I think if would be worth it and a good learning project....... but like I said, I'm not a very good judge of what is a worth while project so I would still try to get some other peoples suggestions.