Corwin

I just rescued this bike from the curb recently. It seems to be a road bike or hybrid with flat bars. 27" tires, aluminum rims. I've never seen a bike with straight forks like this. Anyone know what it is?

Homebrew01

It's a rusty department store quality bike. I think it was on the curb for a reason.
You could buy a used bike for less than it will cost to get this thing in decent shape.

hammy56

sunken treasure. you cant polish a turd.

pdedes

doesn't matter which way you pronounce it, it's still garbage.

GP 

Spray some WD-40 on the chain and it's a Burning Man bike.

Homebrew01

...

zazenzach

the d-bag answers in this thread are why i mainly stick to the C&V subforum

the frame looks perfectly fine, it would be idiotic to let something like that go into the landfill. oh waite never mind, bicycles grow on trees and are completely biodegradeable, perfectly fine to trash them if they dont meet youre requirements. /sarcasm

the only issue seems to be the rusty chain and freewheel, and for $40 or less he could have a nice commuter set up.

Bahnzo

Or, if you have a local bike coop you could call them and let them have it. I'm sure all are different, but my local one would recycle it and keep it out of the landfill.

zazenzach

^^^
equally good idea

Turbo231

I agree. I rehab bikes like this all the time as my local bike market seems to have a demand for them. Are all the cables free? Generally you have to start somewhere, and there is where I go. Work the front brake and then the rear and get them working. Cables are usually worth the 5 bucks if they are totally frozen although you can free up dead ones with lots of time and love. Pads look good, or good enough, and the tires don't look cracked. Really depends on how much it's moved with them totally flat as to how the tires/tubes will be. They look ok from the pictures.

The drivetrain is a little ugly for sure. CLR the chain to free it up then oil it down well, not much you can do with the rest cheaply. There ya go, dump the seat for a black one if you can and you have a bike you can ride OR sell (note lack of money invested) for $50 and put towards a better bike.

This presumes you know a bit about bike repair...if you don't, you have your introductory lesson on how to fix things you just picked from the curb. Good Luck.

Germanicus

Assuming the wheels are in decent shape, you could also convert it into a single speed townie bike as a fun second bike. Just strip all the rusty gears, cables and shifters off, relube the bearings and get a $20 SS conversion kit from Nashbar.

Remove the inner chainrings, brush the outer one and pop a chain on it. a tensioner will be included in the kit.

You could be cruising' from the vintage garment store to the coffee shop with your hipster buds in no time.

krobinson103

I've seen worse - in fact got bikes in worse shape on the road. the rust in the drivetrain is an issue, but its surprising just how much you can get rid of with a can of wd40 and a few short rides. It would actually make a nice commuter with a few cable swaps, some new brake pads (bikes need those anyway) and some tlc. put a rack on the back and clean it up nicely and I'd ride to work no problems.

E.S.

rustbucket

cyccommute 

It's not a BSO from a big box store. It's not much better but it's certainly not a department store bike. The straight blade fork, cast dropouts and actual cable fittings put it at a higher category than that.

It's not worth putting a lot of money into it but with a new chain and freewheel, it'd be a serviceable grocery getter or winter commuter.

fishymamba

I would go with this. My friend turned his old department store bike into a single speed and it is so much fun to ride now.

rmr1923

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI

WhyFi

Awesome vid.

rumrunn6

depending on the circumstances it might be worth fixing up. if it was refurbed it would be a decent straight bar road bike for someone looking for that kind of ride. it's a project bike that is not ready to be junked. if you don't fix it up find someone who will and give it to them.

Noize4

That pretty much made my morning.

hammy56

I stand corrected.

thump55

That front wheel lookes totally f'ed in that second pic...

Bikes are like cats....sometimes it's best to just put them down.

nhluhr

You would literally spend more on this bike to make it safely rideable than it would cost to buy a brand new one just like it. This bike is far better going to the scrap yard for recycling.

jasandalb

I think its called a lecrappo

jesspal

Looks like something ridden in the early 80s TDF. Probably worth some good money, you did great.

Bob Dopolina 

It's neither "C" nor "V". Give it away and quit *****in' about answers that don't quite suit your sensibility.

The idea of dropping it at a co-op are good ones as there may be parts others could put to good use.