Project bike completed!

Over the last few days, I have put the finishing touches on the restoration of my old Sears Free Spirit bicycle.  Upon finishing the last bit of assembly (mounting grips, levers, cables, etc) I took the bike out for its inaugural ride.  While I had to make some minor adjustments, the test ride was successful.  Everything works! 

So... how much did this restoration cost in parts and materials?  Well, let's have a look.

Part(s)	Cost
Brake levers, brake cables, shifter cable	$75
Sturmey Archer SU-SLS3N NIMBUS Shift Lever	$34
Schwalbe Delta Cruiser Tires, ball bearings	$58
Pedals	$21
Chain	$18
Misc. Fasteners	$10
Paint and paint supplies	$268
Rust cleaners	$15
Grips	$45
Bell	$3
Total	$547

Ouch! I can safely say that the project ended up costing a lot more than I had anticipated. Having said that, if I were to try to buy a bike similar to this (with parts of similar quality, etc) I'd have to spend well over $700...

So, would I do this again?  I think so.  Chances are, I will be doing this again with Cess' bike.  The only thing I might change is to see whether I can have the frame proffessionaly painted at a reasonable cost ($200-$300 maybe?). While I'm happy with the results I have, I know a proffessional paint job would have a more durable finish.

Now, for pictures!

Graffiti alley:

More graffiti alley:

Distillery District:

Bike's front end including handlebar, grips, tires, etc:

Grip and brake lever closeup:

Bell:

Project bike update

In the last month or so, I haven't quite had nearly as much time as I would have liked to work on the bicycle restoration project, especially with the Colorado trip and all.  Having said that, I've still managed to make quite a bit of progress.  Here's a quick outline of what's been done since the last update:

• Ordered and received parts that needed replacing (shift lever, brake levers, cables, and pedals)
• Bought new Schwalbe Delta Cruiser whitewall tires
• Frame, fork, stem, and handlebar have all been painted
• Restored the rims, including repacking bearings in the front wheel hub
• Started re-assembly, specifically:
  • built and installed headset and fork
  • built and installed bottom bracket
  • mounted tubes and tires on rims
  • mounted wheels and kickstand onto frame (now that this is done, the bike can stand on its own which should make the rest of the assembly process easier!)

So... how about some pictures then?

New brake lever:

New and old pedals:

Painted and reassembled frame, fork, headset and stem:

Stem up close:

Project bike... of a different sort

A little while ago Cess and I decided we would try to acquire a couple of bicycles to allow us to run errands downtown and go for an occasional bike rides.  Having said that, we didn't want to have to worry about the bikes being attractive to bike thieves so we opted to look for used bikes.

After some initial research, it turned out that my father in-law had an old Sears Free Spirit city bike in his garage.  We're not sure how old it is, but it's likely between 20-30 years old.  It's going to require a restoration effort to get it into good working condition.  It hasn't been used in many years and it shows. 

So far, this has been a learning experience, but I'm fairly happy with my progress.  Thankfully between some of my friends and my Dad I've got some good resources to lean on for advice.  To date, I've done the following:

• Completely dissassembled the bicycle down do the frame
• Revitalized the front brake calipers, cranks, front cog
• Stripped the handlebar of all rust
• Sanded the fork in preparation for a new paintjob
• Started sanding the frame

Here are a few photos to illustrate the original condition of the bike and how the restoration is going.

Stem:

Brake calipers, one arm in original condition, another restored:

Handlebar, before and after stripping:

Front cog and crank in their restored glory:

Paint: