Simko

well i posted a thread a while ago about building up a winterbike, the decision was to buy some cross tires for my old nishiki and some fenders.

I couldnt fit fenders and cross tires on my old nishiki, so abandoned that project.

My friend dug this out


its an old , big box (sears) store special!

for some reason i thought only alum frames were tig welded, but this ones steel


it has 1.96" tires on it right now, which have suprisingly good tread, i might take some better pics tmw, and maybe try my hand at studding them.

clearance in the rear:

clearance up front


not sure if i want a fixie or not, but it has horiz dropouts


theres no chain on the bike, so im not sure if the drivetrain works well (shimano 515), the rear brake seems pretty siezed, but the front works fine.

I realize its a cheap low quality bike, however i think this will make a great winter commuter going to campus, it will get nailed with salt and slush, and hopefully wont be a theft magnet (tons of bike theft on my campus).

My plans for it are:

chain
rear rack
fenders front and rear, probably add some pieces of plastic as flaps
reflective tape all over the frame
front and rear lights
maybe some used panniers if i can find some for cheap.
stud the tires
figure out the rear brake and drivetrain

November

Nice score! I like the double eyelets on each dropout for fenders and a rack. Diggin' the indexed thumbies too. Show a pic when your done fixing her up!

heywood

Looks good, a project but it's a start. I'm doing the same thing myself but haven't found a bike yet so you're ahead of me..

tornado60

I am in the middle of a similar project myself. Although, thankfully, I have my chain. I bet the chain rusted. I have seen some similar style bikes around me with chains rusted solid. Seems to be the first thing to go in lots of cases. Check the cable on the brakes. Best bet, it's froze up. Hope it helps.

Simko

just put a new chain on it, replaced the rear brake cable and everythings good!

im waiting on some fenders, panniers and a rack. Got my lights mounted and i think shes ready! no snow or rain forecasted for tomorrow so shes going to make her maiden voyage to school!

capejohn

The only issue for going fixie or single is redishing the rear wheel if you can't do it, it gets expensive.

Randochap

A likely candidate!

Dominion

you should definitely consider getting aluminum rims. It looks like you have steel rims right now, and once they get wet, breaking power is almost gone.

Simko

did not realize that would happen, yes the rims are steel, I will swap them for alum asap

Simko

None of the alum 26" rims i have fit, the threaded axlesof the hubs either arent wide enough for the forks, or they are too wide and wont fit !!!!!!!!!!!

I am trying to find some cheap alum rims, or a different candidate if I see a cheap and decent MTB.

rumrunn6

Simko - how is it looking now?

Simko

it changed!!!!!

rumrunn6

well, there ya go! gave up on the other? what's the story behind this one? looks great btw!

Nigal

That's a fine winter bike. I picked up a Schwinn walmart bike on CL for free. New tires, tubes, swapped out the handle bar and grips and it's good to go. It's got 1.96 nobbies on it and I couldn't get the fender I bought to clear the tires so I'm going to put the fenders on the Trek 700 and ride it when it's just wet.

Simko

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ior&highlight=

thats the new bike, i adjusted the fenders (PB Cascadia), so they cover the tires more evenly.
I couldnt find a deal on alum rims for the old white bike, and i didnt want to pour much money into it... so i got this RM for a great deal, in great shape, other than a couple cosmetic things. I figured it was almost ready to go for a winter commuter, i added the rack, fenders, lights and some other things, still looking at some studded tires.