this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2024
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Bike Improvements/Restoration - What Order? (self.bicycles)
submitted 2 months ago by BananaCoffee to c/[email protected]
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I recently bought a junk bike. I want to slowly fix it up myself for two reasons: 1. To have a nicer bike. 2. To learn about bike maintenance. I'd like to improve it slowly (weeks or months) while keeping it functional. What order should I consider improvements?

I'll elaborate. When I first bought the bike, I tuned the brakes (linear pull). I struggled. I realized brake tuning was difficult because my wheel wasn't aligned. In retrospect, I should have straightened/replaced the wheel before tuning the brakes. I'm wondering if there are any insights you could provide about the order I should tackle this project (e.g., wheel alightment before brakes).

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[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

As a shadetree bike mechanic, you might be able to make the wheels true-er, but you might also make it worse. You won't be able to make them perfect, because that takes tons of practice and the right tooling, so if perfect is what you want, take them to a shop. But if all you need is to make your thrift-store ride ridable, you can get the wheel true enough with some patience.

[โ€“] BananaCoffee 1 points 2 months ago

Thanks for keeping my expectations realistic. I think I'll give it a go on the cheap wheels for experience, but I'll likely leave it to pros if I ever invest in a quality bike.