Two wheels good? Update - Somebody gave me a bicycle!

"NaturallyAspirated" (NaturallyAspirated) 11/19/2014 at 16:08 • Filed to: Bicycle

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One of my coworkers heard I was looking for a bike, and told me he had one that had been sitting in his garage for the past couple of years, and that I could have it if I wanted it.

He brought it to the office today, and I got a look at it. It's a Mongoose mountain bike with big knobby tires and 21 gears. The tires are flat, and the chain and sprockets are caked with old grease, dust, and cobwebs. But hey, free bike!

It seems extremely lightweight. I have no idea how to use the shifters, they aren't like any I've used before.

So I guess now I have to decide what to do with it. I plan to ride it mostly on pavement, so I guess I would want to swap the tires out for narrower, smoother tires?

What would Oppo's bicycle gurus recommend I do?

Aaron M - MasoFiST > NaturallyAspirated 11/19/2014 at 16:19

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A free bike is a free bike, but that beauty is what most cyclists would call a "department store bike". You paid pretty much the maximum amount that a cyclist would pay for a bike like that.

So air up the tires, lube up the chain and gears, and ride as is. For the fifty bucks you'd spend on a new set of tires you could get an old Univega or the like that will probably be better quality.

ACESandEIGHTS > NaturallyAspirated 11/19/2014 at 16:36

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Just ride it. Don't take it on the trail (on a mountain trail that is, the local park trail should be fine). Enjoy it and if it gives you much trouble (the kind of trouble you can't fix in your garage by yourself), then Goodwill it.

Mongoose hit a point in the 90s/aughts where they weren't competing with Specialized/Giant/GT/etc and sold the licensing in the same way Schwinn did years earlier, and now they're iffy.

That being said... Target-style bikes used to have shit cranks, bad stems, forks, wheels, quick releases, handlebars, shifters, pretty much everything. This one though might serve you well for a bit.

But like I said, aside from buying tubes, maybe a chain, shift/brake cables if it manages to outlive them without annoying you too much, and some lube, don't spend any money on it.

And turn the knobs on the fork and on the rear damper to make them stiff (without being rigid). No need to bounce around while you're trying to pedal.

And like I say to anyone who will listen. Wear a lid. Even a $15 helmet will save you.

JGrabowMSt > NaturallyAspirated 11/19/2014 at 16:36

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Spray it over with WD40 and PB Blaster to clean it up, but avoid bearing areas. Pick yourself up chain lube, and see if the chain is in ride-able shape. I've wrecked a couple chains before because I ride hard. An old chain like that needs to be greased before being ridden at all or you risk getting stuck somewhere.

If the tires hold air, great. If they don't, pick yourself up some self-sealing inner tubes, and be on your way. Maybe $30 for both wheels. Then just clean it up with some detail spray, and go about your day. Should clean up pretty good and last you a while. Only thing I would really think about replacing is the seat. Old seats are typically not good seats, and that one doesn't look to be a nice leather one either.

You can adjust the brakes yourself and make sure they work, just like the deraileurs. I wouldn't put a ton of money into it, but it'll work, no problem. Ride it until the crank bearings are shot, and then look for another free bike. Simple as that.

Boiled Frog > NaturallyAspirated 11/19/2014 at 16:50

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Bring it to your LBS(local bike shop) and have them clean her up, tune her, and most importantly adjust the shocks to the stiffest setting if all you will roll on is pavement.

You can also have them put some cheap slicks on but that is not really necessary if the current tires are in good shape.

The shifters trigger upshifts while the thumb pushes down a gear, on click one gear change while pedaling.

Practice skills;

When stopping just stand there brakes on balancing before you need to dab a foot, when comfortable with this wheelstand, begin pedaling again. Repeat increasing time standing in balance.

Wheelie by stepping down on the pedal and lifting up on the bars. Just enough to lift the front wheel over a curb more if you like to showboat.

If you feel competent at the wheel lift begin bunnyhopping.

Riding on the flats, violently lift the handlebars while simultaneously thrusting them forward. This is like a skateboard ollie, the motion eliminates the moment around the rear wheel instead lifting it in a double wheel jump. Pick a crack or other target and try to get both wheels over at a slow pace.

Last, teach yourself cookie cutters. Ride in ever smaller circles until your bars are fully 90* to the frame and your rear wheel is not moving. It is possible to do these over and over without losing balance.

The aggregate skills learned above will help you succeed off road.

Xyl0c41n3 > NaturallyAspirated 11/19/2014 at 19:23

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Echoing what others have already said: this is a big box store bike, so the parts are likely to be crap (especially the suspension). So you don't want to put too much money into it, but it can still be a great starter bike.

First of all, don't bother taking it to your LBS unless there's something you can't fix yourself. But for a cleaning and tuning on a bike like this? They might think you're a newb and be tempted to overcharge you. You can get pretty much everything done that you need to get this road-worthy with a screwdriver, a couple of allen wrenches, some lube, Simple Green, a soft bristle brush, and a sponge or cloth.

Hose this entire sucker down (keep it upright, you don't want water getting in places it doesn't need to be), and give it a scrub with Simple Green and that clean cloth. Use a soft bristle brush for the more sturdy parts, like the cassette, crankset, chain, etc. Then make sure you dry it really well.

Next, check that all the moving parts of the frame have good play. That includes the seat tube going into the seat post, and that the handlebars turn smoothly. If they don't, the seat post might need to be cleaned and greased, and the bearings in the headset might need to be cleaned and greased, too. I mean, I don't know how long this bike has been sitting in a garage, so moving parts might not need that much TLC, but then again, they might.

Next, check all the replaceable moving parts. The chain might be a little loose, and they're cheap, so it might just be worth it to swap it out for a new one. Grease up the chain. Examine the tires for dry rot. Check out the inner tubes for the same thing. I'd suggest getting new inner tubes, anyway, because the ones in there are probably already old and won't stand up to much use now anyway. If you want tires that are more suitable for road riding, Forte is cheap, and they're decent tires. These ones here come in sizes that will fit mountain bike rims. Bonus with them is that the sidewalls have built-in reflective strips. I've got a similar pair of tires on my own mountain bike-turned hybrid.

Flip the bike upside down, or prop it up on a stand and spin the wheels. Check to see if they spin true. You can eyeball it using the frame as reference. If they wobble laterally when you're looking down at them with the fork or seatstays as a reference point, then your rims are bent somewhere and might need replacing. If they wobble vertically when you're looking at the bike in profile, then you'll need to adjust the tension in the spokes, which is a lot easier to fix.

Next, check your brake and shift lines. Make sure there's no rust on them. Check that the levers that control them move easily enough. Adjust the tension as necessary. Gross adjustments by adjusting the ends of the lines themselves, fine adjustments using the barrel adjusters. The lines might need replacing, too. (Chain, inner tubes, and lines will be the things most likely in need of replacing).

Now check out the brake pads. Make sure they still have some meat left on them, and that they're not unevenly worn. And also, that they're not dry rotting. Spin the wheels slowly while applying light pressure on the brakes. Not enough for them to clamp down on the rims, but just enough to brush the rims. Check to see that the pads are hitting the rims at about the same time on the left and right side. If not, adjust the calipers so that the pads make contact more evenly. Then spin the tires again and look at each side of the brake calipers individually to make sure that the pads are hitting squarely on the rims when you brake, and that they're not trying to clamp down on the sidewalls of your tires. If they are rubbing up against the tires, adjust your brakes vertically so that they only hit the rims.

Next, fit the bike to your body as best you can. Adjust the height of the saddle. Play a bit with the bars if you need to. At this point, you've checked and adjusted everything that's easy to do on your own. Oh yeah, tighten up the shocks as much as you can. If you're going to be mostly on the road with this bike, having shocks with lots of play is going to make your job harder and make riding more tiring.

Get a helmet. Please don't ride without one. In many states, they're actually required by law. As are head and tail lights if you ride at dusk/dark. Check your state's laws to see if you are required to ride in the road, or sidewalk, or whatever.

Ride as safe as you can. And have fun!

Oooh... almost forgot... don't forget to check your blinker fluid! ^_~

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > NaturallyAspirated 11/19/2014 at 20:44

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is there a cycling Kinja anywhere?

Old-Busted-Hotness > NaturallyAspirated 11/20/2014 at 07:03

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I'm putting a 49cc 4-stroke on my old bike. Just sayin'

NaturallyAspirated > Old-Busted-Hotness 11/20/2014 at 13:46

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Hmm.... *rubs chin thoughtfully*

NaturallyAspirated > Xyl0c41n3 11/20/2014 at 14:43

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Thanks for the detailed post. I was laughing at myself last night - I pulled the engine from my car last Saturday and had the car back on the road by nightfall, but here this bicycle that can't even move under it's own power was making me scratch my head in puzzlement.

How viscous is chain lube supposed to be? I have a can of Tri-Flow, which apparently some people like to use on chains, but it seems awfully thin.

Lights are something else I hadn't considered. I do usually leave my office after dusk.

I'll definately get a helmet, assuming I can find one big enough for my oversized melon. Apparently California state law only requires a helmet for kids under 15, but it seems dumb not to wear one.

I get a four-day weekend next week, so hopefully I can spend some time getting the bike cleaned up, planning my route to work, and of course, seeing if I can actually get to work on a bike without giving myself a heart attack.

NaturallyAspirated > JGrabowMSt 11/20/2014 at 16:18

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How thick is chain lube? I have a can of Tri-Flow, but when people say "grease the chain" I'm thinking of something more like bearing grease.

JGrabowMSt > NaturallyAspirated 11/20/2014 at 18:17

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You should get like a teflon based chain lube, and it's going to have a similar consistence to water, it's not going to be very thick. Chain grease would be if you had a motorcycle, and you really don't want that on your bike.

CalzoneGolem > NaturallyAspirated 12/03/2014 at 13:47

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Those are my favorite style of shifters.