Help bringing an old bike back to life

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Well, probably like a lot of people, now that this lockdown is going on and on, I am newly-interested in rescuing my poor old bike which has been sat outside down the side of the flat with no cover or anything for about 4 years

It's a very old Gary Fisher Gitch Gumee, probably 20 years old?

Upon a quick once-over it doesn't seem too serious, but I don't really know what I should be looking for. Hence the thread! What should I be checking over seriously to ensure I don't kill myself, or have it fall apart underneath me?

I pumped up the tyres yesterday, they seem to have held the air.. They do have slight cracks but not sure how bad that is. Probably need to replace the inner tubes I'm sure. Perhaps safer to replace the tyres, afterall they are off-road tyres and I think hybrid would be best now. Will be mainly suburban riding with a bit of canal towpaths and gravel etc. Brake cables look a little rusty, as do some bits like the headset.

tldr; what would you do/replace on a 20yr old bike that's barely been used and sat unloved outside for a few years to make it safe? Thanks

 

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Are you happy spannering yourself? Do you have the tools? If you need to start buying specific tools as well as parts, you could soon rack up a bill and be approaching the cost of something new from Decathlon.

Yes this is what I'm dubious about. I have some tools but nothing 'bike specific' apart from a pump and leaver-things for replacing the tyres! I have however forgotten how to do any of that stuff

However, along with new tubes & tyres, I'd certainly do the brake blocks and cables

You mean replace, yes?

2) Give it a good degrease and fresh lube on the chain and cassette if it looks like it might come up, even after a good clean and degrease it may still not be mechanically sound so that is a risk(cost wise for the degreaser etc). I recommend the Gunk 1l Degreaser Green, just get an old paint brush and paint it on.
See, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ak4AzlUz5Q for a really good video on how to clean the bike down.

Thanks that vid was just what I needed. I do have WD40 but that seems to be a bit of a minefield as to whether or not it should be used as lube? I always did, back in the day..

o I guess I shouldn't be too worried about the frame/spoke etc? What should I use to get rid of some of the rust?

A potential tip, there is a rumoured voucher being released by the government of £50 to encourage people getting old bikes back on the road.

Great tip, thank you. I will keep my ears open on that for sure.

EDIT: Just because you mentioned Decathlon I took a quick look at their range of bikes. Interestingly enough my GG seems to weigh around 13kg whereas the Decathlon are only a little bit lighter. I was convinced my bike would be ridiculously heavy compared to newer bikes

 

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The dude from the video posted above seems to say WD40 is ok to use as a degreaser and a lube. Controversial? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvzVRxlIUL0

I'm getting confused about what I need to buy for cleaning, let alone the others

 

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If you're in London, are you near a bike shop?

Only a Decathlon and Halford really close. There is a 'Bike Hub' a bit further but looking at their price list it's £50 for a repair plus a lot of additions. So to be honest, I have the time and inclination to do it all myself!

I gave it a first clean yesterday, used a bit of WD40 to degrease but didn't have a big sponge p) so it needs to be done again once I've bought the appropriate kit.

I took some pics; https://imgur.com/a/JrE3Jnl (er.. that was after the clean but remember I didn't have a paintbrush or anything to really get into it, and I didn't bother with the tyres!)

I think it actually looks alright. I managed to straighten the handlebars but the big issue is the brakes are well off. Couldn't get those right although I did run out of time to play. Any advice/tutorials? I think for front and back they're both rubbing completely on one pad. I think the cables will be ok.

So, what to buy?

• Degreaser
• Paint brush
• Chain lube
• Inner tubes
• Tyres
• Puncture repair kit (+kit for replacing the tyres)
• Helmet!

Any recommendations on where to get inner tubes and tyres please? I'd rather not go into Halfords or Decathlon if I can avoid it (due to COVID). And what sort-of "hybrid" tyre should I be looking at? I'm in suburbia but would always try to ride along the Thames path and canal paths that are near me. So a bit of light gravel at most, really. I think my MTB days are over!

Thanks.
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Also, any idea why my tyres say 26x2.00 but 54-559 also? According to this table those measurements don't match https://www.cyclinguk.org/cyclists-library/components/wheels-tyres/tyre-sizes

 

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I used to ride with these for my commute to work (27 mile round trip). I clocked up about 4k miles on these and had 0 punctures. They have a K guard protection IIRC. IIRC also easy to get on and off.

Schwalbe Land Cruiser 26 x 1.9/2.0

*edit* found them cheaper on halfords website..

Thanks. I'm finding it a real struggle to find much because all road/hybrid tyres are measured in cm whereas the tyres I'm replacing are 26x2. Schwalbe have come up a lot and that is a good price actually. The tread actually looks quite similar to what is currently on my bike, weird considering I thought they were 100% offroad tyres. Any other online stores I could look at?

 

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I normally use chainreactioncycles.com and wiggle.co.uk.

Struggling to find those Land Cruisers in stock. Halford's computer-says-no on my location for delivery or collection!

Some of the Q&As on particular tyres seem to suggest I could use a 26x1.75 or I was also looking at the Hurricane's which come in 26x2.10. Is that possible?

 

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I've found them cheaper for you here!

Link

Cool. Before I hit buy what tubes should I gt to go with them? I'm tempted by the 'plus' versions but I'm not sure I need the added puncture protection (famous last words) and would probably prefer the lower weight...

What else can I chuck in to make the shipping worthwhile...

EDIT: Argh what valve is a 'normal' bike valve? lol...

 

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I would go with these inner tubes. I normally buy whatever is on special The spec states they are for 26" x 1.75 so will fit the land cruisers I linked to. If your not sure what valve you have, post a picture of it. It will probably be the schrader (AV).

SCHWALBE No.12 Tube 26" (2020)

Thanks. I did actually place my order yesterday and went for those tubes (although foolishly did not add an extra ). Went for schrader valve, after a bit of Googling I'm sure that's correct.

So, I have 2x tyres on their way, 2x tubes, a puncture repair kit from Bikester. From Halford I have just ordered the Gunk Green degreaser and Muc-Off wet lube. Last things on the list are a helmet (no idea where mine went...), a water bottle and of course a bell EDIT: I do have a very old D-lock and a number cable lock. Hopefully they're all good although the D-lock is heavy...

Are bike water bottle cages mostly the same size? I already have one on the bike... any recommendations for a tiny bell would be useful. I will need one for the towpaths etc. around here.

 

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Thanks. Yeah I like the idea of an insulated bottle. Not sure if it'd be overkill but I really should have bought this Schwalbe repair kit; https://www.bikester.co.uk/schwalbe...sv13-tube-and-2x-tire-lever-black-478918.html Not sure how big or heavy it'd be on the bike though. I mean honestly I'm not going touring but I do like the idea of hopping on a train out into the country and doing some proper rides. But for now it'll be 1hr from the house just on the towpaths etc. Maybe one of those is overkill..

So, all my stuff arrived on Fri and I went an queued for 40mins at Halfords to pick up my Gunk Green. The poor kid in there, they were so busy Spent a good 45mins degreasing, cleaning then lubing. Got the wheel off and everything. Didn't have time to have a go at replacing the tubes and tyres though, think I need to study some YT videos on that before I embarrass myself in our front garden in full view of the street

I really need some pointers on how to straighten the brakes and re-index the gears. They're all over the place. Any helpful links on that please?

 

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Hey guys, a couple of busy weekends/away has meant I've not really had a chance to get stuck into this. I'm now faced with a very clean looking bike with nice new tubes and tyres on But the gears are totally screwed. Rattling all over the shop no matter what I'm on. I've tried playing around, fiddling a bit with the adjustments I do know about. But I'm a bit stuck. Are there any good links out there that will help me sort-of start from scratch? I can't even seem to get a good 'baseline' to work from I haven't got a stand which makes it a bit more difficult...

Also my only pump is an old one. It's not too heavy so could probably bung it in a bag if I do go on longer rides but I have nothing to check my tyre pressure. Is it worth investing in a pressure gauge like this or better to buy a pump with one in-built? I would probably buy a smaller pump at some point but don't really want to buy one big one and one small one, considering I've already got one that works fine. I'm supposed to be doing this on the cheap

Thanks.