Ridden hard....put away wet

I know that old saying refers to horses but what is it about bicycles that so many people think they can utterly neglect them and the machine should somehow magically still function well?

Leave them in dank basements or laying around the back of the house, leaning up on porches, left over the winter outside, ignored for a couple of years in the tool shed, no thought to grease or lube, corrosion and rust take over but pull them out one fine day and get on them and then be surprised they're messed up.

Bikes are not prissy things, they can take a real beating. This is constantly exhibited by the number of bikes still on the road after years (decades?) with absolutely never a thought of maintenance of any kind (until something breaks) and they keep on ticking.

The number of rusted bolts and nuts, frozen seat posts/stems, rusted and frozen cables and components, bad braking and shifting bikes I see are overwhelming and the majority of which could have been prevented with even a modicum of care.

Even a department store bike would be okay if it weren't subject to neglect (of course there's a connection between cheap bikes and neglect, the worst possible combination).

If one had almost any other kind of machine or appliance and subjected it to the kind treatment many people subject their bikes to, there would be a whole lot less functional stuff in the world.

Bikes don't ask much really, ride or leave them out in the wet, no problem: the best thing is to just ride them again on a dry day to air them out. Maybe store them for longer periods in as dry a location as possible. And yeah, a little maintenance and lube once in a while would go a long way in keeping them out of the scrap yard. .

Every website devoted to bicycles could have a little shrine near the entrance dedicated to Sheldon Brown. To those  familiar, this is not news, nor is Sheldon's passing almost 5 years ago. Still, as far as a web presence on the subject of bicycles, their repair, maintenance and just about anything and everything you'd care to find out or know about them, Sheldon Brown was and is unsurpassed. (To those who might not be familiar you can find it a handy index of Sheldon's work here ) I still use Sheldon's site to get myself out of trouble fixing bikes, particularly vintage bikes. It's hard to remember it all but Sheldon covered it, I've never not found what I was looking for on his site.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Sheldon a number of times over the years.when he was at the shop in Newton. He always set me straight and I always left knowing more than when I walked in.

The summer is all but gone, trees will soon begin to turn, nights getting chilly. I guess it's time to add a re-cap to what was a good summer for me. I got some riding in, quite a bit of test riding on a lot of different bikes and a pretty good amount of bike whispering done.

I think I ended up with something like 40 bikes go through the shed this summer, most all of them with a bare frame overhaul. Pretty thinned out now and not much left, this area had a revolving inventory of 10 to 20 bikes for most of the summer whenever I "opened" hehe. I only did that when the weather was nice, not too cool or hot or rainy or too whatever, lol. I met a nice bunch folks through the bike "business" though, bike folks are usually a pretty congenial lot.

Here's a  sample of what went through the shop this summer. These all have new owners and I hope they're all enjoying each other.....I'll add more pics when time allows.

A nice mid-90's Cannondale 3.0 Series, when Cannondales were still made in the USA

A lovely, vintage Motobecane from 1989, a tall ride found  it's new 6' plus onwer, tre bon.

1987 Univega Nuovo, I really like Japanese made bikes from this era.

 
Womens Specialized Hard Rock

1983 Diamond Back Trail Streak, really sweet bike, it had a special place for me, kinda sorry to see it go but it went to a good home with a pretty cool guy just getting back into biking.

 

1985 Shogun 400, I really enjoyed working on this bike, though it was cruddy and neglected it came apart like it was made yesterday and went back together like a dream. A sweet young lady fell in love with it, it was waiting all those years for her and I made her promise to never sell it, lol.

A matched pair of his/hers Giant Sedonas, they went to a couple appropriately enough.

1980 Schwinn LeTour, a real Schwinn made in Chicago, this one in almost pristine condition after the overhaul with near flawless, original paint and decals.

1993 GT Psyclone, all fillet brazed with Columbus 3X cromo tubing!, these were handmade bikes GT used as their team bike in "93 and made in their tech shop in Longmont, Colorado.

 

Bridgestone MB5, got picked out of the bicycle line-up by a guy who commissioned me to build up a nice MAB with it.

Old School, vintage Columbia Tourist made in Westfield, Massachusetts. A woman who lives not far from me, a nurse, wanted a bike to ride back and forth to work on. Perfect bike for her.

Bridgestone MB3, one of two I have. Went to the head mechanic at a bike shop here in the valley. He knew what he was getting, never quibbled about the price.

Late 80's Schwinn Impact, old school cromo ladies MTB.

Late 80's Univega Activa, 700c wheels with smallish frame. Perfect fit for a gal who wanted to get back into biking.

!990 Schwinn Sprint, a modest priced Schwinn roadie but a good, rugged bike showing very little wear.
Went a college student from India.

 Panasonic MC 1500, I put some riser bars and XC street tires on it. It's now a commuter down in the 5 College area of the valley.

Columbia Northway comfort bike, branded Columbia but a more modern bike actually made by Iron Horse.

 Haro series V1, a great older Haro, the V1's were alloy and known for massive tubing. The downtube is about 4" in diameter.

A lovely old Royce Union townie high-wheeler made in Brooklyn, NY. It went to the nicest young lady who fell in love with the lines of the bike. I know how she felt, I imagine her riding it with a front basket full of flowers or a baguette of bread sticking out.

Another Schwinn, this one a LeTour II, paint not quite as good as the LeTour above but still a real Schwinn.

I don't work on many of these but here's an oldie but a goodie, 1961 JC Higgins 3 speed with an early twist grip shifter. These were made in Austria by Puch for Sear's house brand Higgins. A lovely bike really, all original with great paint and pin-stripping.

They don't make them like this anymore: