Sunday, February 12, 2012

Reconditioning a 40 years old vintage racing bike

This old bicycle had been lying at the back of my parents' house for the last thirty odd years. My younger brother bought it second hand when he was in school and that was around 1980. When I was offered the bike I quickly took it and the deal was I will pay my brother RM 50 if I can rebuild the bike to a road worthy condition.

Upon arrival, I stripped the bicycle apart and gave it a good wash. It was a good thing that the bicycle was hung near the kitchen as the whole bicycle was greasy. this layer of oil actually prevented the bike from rusting. After that I sent the bike to my good friend's hop at Jaya Motors. His mechanic spent two days changing the list of consumable that I requested....tyres, tubes, cables, bearings brakes, lights grips etc. At the end of the day I was only charged RM 150 by my friend.. a really good deal as he only charged the items at cost. what are friends for?


A lot of people in the shop was admiring the antiqued Shumano 600 ten speed racing gears. It is still good and looks like it will last another 100 years.



This is how the beauty looks like now. I have just done about 100 km riding the bike. it feels good and it is a fast bike to ride.

It is not the lightest bike around but I am happy with it. This is my bike No 4 at home. Next I will try and acquire a Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike.. See I am happy with a RM 200 toy!


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