I bought a 2-wheeled thing (and some air tools) because I was bored

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
06/13/2020 at 16:53 • Filed to: Hooptie Bikes

Bored, a little drunk, I was on Craigslist last night. Never a good thing and last night was no exception. Luckily rather than committing to buy another 4 wheeled companion, I opted for a 2 wheeled one.

And here it is.

I mean... $30 bike from a name I recognize? Ok sure.... worth a look.

I’ll be the first to admit I know next to nothing about bikes and even less about road bikes but... fuck it. I’m bored and between car projects.

Things that intrigued me? Well... the price.

Also the weird old generator thing and the ultra vintage headlamp and tail lamp. If I can get those running it’ll be worth the $30 right there.

Dude was also selling some air tools so... me made a deal and now I own all this stuff.

The grand total for a very manky bike, a brad/staple nailer, and a 1/2" drive air wrench? $50.

I’d be happy to just have the air tools for that. The rest is gravy.

First item of note is that saddle is (allegedly) the original leather one, which is neato.

The second thing of note is HOLY CHRIST THIS THING IS HEAVY. Reading a little about the bike (post-purchase) I came across this gem:

For a quarter century the easiest way to show you were a sophisticated, discriminating cyclist has been to make disparaging remarks about the Schwinn Varsity. It’s true that the Varsity has the oxymoronic distinction of being one of the heaviest lightweight bicycles ever built.

I can’t tell the year exactly, but it appears the 8-speed was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and this thing has an expired bike parking permit from 1968 so... somewhere between those two.

Plans for it?

Well... I don’t really know. For the time being get it in whatever passes for running order for a bike and go from there. Also see about playing with the lights and converting them over to LED.

Luckily I’ve owned a road bike for over an hour now and haven’t had the sudden urge to buy spandex.

Epic pizza, for your time.

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DISCUSSION (19)

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 17:04

A bike parking permit? I have never heard of such a thing. That alone might be worth the purchase price.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 17:04

That pizza would’ve been a fair trade.

jminer > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 17:07

Seems like a good deal - I love my air brad nailer!

For $30 for the bike it’s hard to go wrong now and should be a nice project to wrench on and get working reasonably well.

shop-teacher > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 17:17

Neato!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > jminer
06/13/2020 at 17:18

What else is good is a stapler that shoots the long, skinny staples.

facw > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 17:33

I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend replacing the saddle...

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
06/13/2020 at 17:34

I had one when I was going to Penn State around 10 years ago. I think it’s mainly a college town thing. Was run by Centre county. The main reason for it was so that so many kids would buy cheap bikes to run around the big campus and just abandon them at the end of the school year. So the county had an excuse to clip locks and get rid of nuisance bikes that didn’t have permits. It was also a theft deterrent - small fee and you gave them your address and serial number of the bike. So the police could in theory get stolen bikes back to their owners.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > VincentMalamute-Kim
06/13/2020 at 17:44

It was a really good pizza.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > facw
06/13/2020 at 17:45

I dunno. A little leather conditioner and I think I could save it!

Nah luckily it came with a new one so that’ll be step 2 after seeing if the tires hold air.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 18:13

That thing on the back wheel is a bottle dynamo. It can be rebuilt if it doesn’t work. Tires are a pain to find for the older bikes. Modern road bikes use 700c wheels and those will probably be 27”. BikeTiresDirect seems to have some in stock. I’ve had good luck with Kenda tires.

Another wear item that will to be replaced are the brake pads. The wheel, bottom bracket, and headset bearings are all serviceable and cheap to replace if they’re pitted. You’ll need a chain whip and freewheel tool to get the rear gears off. Both are cheap and readily available.

The cables and housings should be replaced too. You can get an inexpensive replacement cable kit from WalMart. As long as the bike stays indoors, those cables will be fine. If you want to park it outside, spring for some coated cables to help prevent rust.

It’s a good find, but it’s not worth much. If you want to flip it, don’t put a lot of money into it. Working on bikes is a hell of a lot easier than cars, so it should be a fun project to keep yourself busy while waiting for parts for your other projects.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
06/13/2020 at 18:32

Awesome! Thanks! Yeah the dynamo seems neat. I’m interested in playing with it a bit.

Since I’ve got you: Everything seems... fine... except the rear wheel seems to be able to move around axially on the rear hub. Going out on a limb and saying that is bad but what about it needs to be replaced?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 18:55

Take a closer look. Is the hub loose on the axle or are the spokes loose on the hub? If it’s the former, then you will need to rebuild the rear hub. If it’s loose, then it probably lost a bearing or two. They’re usually loose, not caged like in the bottom bracket and headset. Here’s an overview. https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-overhaul-and-adjustment

If it’s loose spokes, you’ll need a spoke wrench. Broken spokes are a little more complicated, so let’s hope they’re all in decent shape. https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/wheel-and-rim-truing

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > TheRealBicycleBuck
06/13/2020 at 19:07

Thanks! Giving it a listen the front hub almost certainly needs new bearings. The rear spokes look fine but one of the fronts is indeed broken. I’ll probably take it to one of the local bike shops and see what they can do with the spokes, but I might try my hand with the rear hub .

Might.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 19:35

Front wheel spokes are super-easy to replace. Get a spoke tool and take one of the other spokes out. Take it to the bike shop and tell them that you need a matching spoke. Take both spokes home and put them back in. A drop of oil on the threads and the outside of the spoke nipple will ensure you can get them to the right tension without the spoke binding up. There are YouTube videos which show how to do it. I always refer back to Sheldon Brown’s website for the more technical information.

Working on the bike will be so much easier than working on the Jaaaaag. You’ll really enjoy it.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 19:41

With regard to the bike and getting it sorted....then check out the Sheldon Brown website. It's quite a font of bicycle knowledge... especially for older treadlies.

facw > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 19:54

I mean if the tires don’t hold air, that’s just a new inner-tube (which granted would be like 1/5th the cost of the bike each). Though new rubber might not be a horrible idea, those tires could be pretty hard at this point.

facw > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
06/13/2020 at 20:00

A great site (setting aside design). Somewhat embarrassing that a guy who’s been dead for a dozen years has arguably the best cycling resource on the web (though credit to his friends and coworkers for keeping it updated).

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > facw
06/13/2020 at 20:06

Indeed....the design is exactly how I would’ve done it back in 1995 too.

I don’t refer to it so much these days but it does help when you are tricking about with older bikes and trying to get them up to date..

Nom De Plume > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo
06/13/2020 at 21:16

The practiced move is linking SB which someone beat me to. Honestly, recycle everything but the dyno and light you want to play with. $30 could buy you a lot more bike worth building off of.

Jag’s are supposed to be the low point that turn you back from the brink! Hasten back up the path before it disappears.