Bought an ebay bike

[Tiberius]

I wanted another bike to convert, and I ended up getting one off ebay. Had it delivered to the office, thinking I could ride it home, but soon went off that idea when I examined it. The brakes were all wrong, the steering and the front wheel starting to seize up.

Anyway, I got it home, dismantled the headset and front hub and started cleaning them up. Slowly I changed my mind, yes the grease everywhere had been allowed to dry out, and the brakes were way out of adjustment, but....

...it was all there, there was hardly any corrosion, only thing bent is one spoke and everything works (apart from the brakes). I was after a specific combination of gears, gear shifters, 26" wheels and a steel frame, and I managed to get it all for £30.

Result. Celebrated by buying several thousand bank shares.

Nick

PS. I guess the message is that most bikes out there would benefit from an hour's attention.

 

[flecc]

PS. I guess the message is that most bikes out there would benefit from an hour's attention.

Sounds a good deal Nick. Your conclusion is my experience too where neglected bikes are concerned, much of the time there's hardly anything wrong with them apart from lack of TLC and use.

With two million a year sold and most not seen on the road after the first couple of uses, Britain is probably the home of the world's most underused bikes.
.

 

[Tiberius]

Its a Kudos T20, if that helps.

The brakes are centre pull, and in reality, they probably only need setting up properly, but they look like the same mounts as for V brakes if I decide to change.

Nick

 

[flecc]

No, I don't know that one Nick, so many makes around in recent years that are unfamiliar.
.

 

[The Maestro]

Never had anything go wrong with a bike and I've had a few.

 

[frank9755]

Well done Nick,

There are some real bargains if you're willing to fix them up, and look for what is not in fashion at the moment. Steel framed mountain bikes are one category. Another which tend to go for next to nothing are mixte frames - those with low crossbars, mainly designed as women's versions of men's bikes. A few months ago my wife got a lovely 80's Raleigh mixte with drops, for £12. Bought from the original owner, it was rideable and clean.

I only wish I could think of a reason to justify buying another bike!

 

[Tiberius]

That sounds an even better buy, Frank. Maybe I'll look out for one of those. Getting a whole bike for less than the cost of a single component can't be bad. In this particular case I wanted a steel frame instead of aluminium so I can weld/braze it. Maybe it will be done in time for Presteigne.

Nick