TRIAX PK 7 Mountain Bike

Hello and Welcome
One day I will remember this season as "The Summer of the Department Store Mountain Bike". It started with the RHINO then the MOTIV now the TRIAX PK 7. This bike needs a new back wheel, a better kickstand and a nicer saddle and some serious rust removal for the chain.

Above: The rear 26' wheel proved to be beyond truing. I have not yet stripped the woman's GIANT Acapulco. But I did salvage the front tire for the Motiv. Which did not affect the future of the GIANT Acapulco as it had miss matched tires anyway. But salvaging one of the wheels has sealed it's fate. It will now be just another parts bike. And that's ok because I really needed another bicycle frame hanging from the garage/shop rafters.

Above: The aforementioned Ladies GIANT Mountain bike. I should have been stealing the 26'tires off the TRIAX to finish this bike. But this is not the bike I am being asked to repair. So it goes...

Above: The FEMCO wheel worked out perfectly:) No need to swap out 7 speed freewheels or do any truing. So that solves the main problem. But the kickstand situation is a little weird. The mounting plate for the kickstand is mounted under the front of the swing arm. The only problem is the mounting plate is not on a level plane with the ground. So when you mount a kickstand on it the stand swings much farther forward than usual. And you could see the result of this set up looking at the grip ends. (I have a plan for those too) But I was sure I had a salvaged rear stay mount kickstand somewhere in the shop.

Above: I could not make the original mounting bracket work. As I remember it was not fitted very well on the parts bike it came off of either. So I cut off the upper part of the sliding bracket with my hacksaw then used a typical bracket for tubing. You should be able to find these at any "real hardware store". I was able to use the original holes in the sliding bracket so no drilling was necessary. This worked out pretty well, as the bike stands up much straighter now.

Above: As is typical for a bike that has been dropped or fallen over several times the handlebar ends had cut through the ends of the grips. A cheap fix is to just cut out the remaining grip-end even with the end of the handlebars. Then just install a normal end plug. Not perfect by any means, but none the less an improvement.

Above: This always goes hand in hand with the damaged handlebar grip ends, the sides of the saddle tore up from the bike falling over or being dropped several times. In this case I suspect the crappy kickstand was the culprit. Don't you just cringe when you see some kid deliberately drop his bike on the pavement? I would never do that to my Candy Blue Schwinn Sting Ray when I was a kid. And God save me if my Dad ever saw me doing that!

Above: Here I have installed the unused comfort sport saddle from the parts bike that was left over from Laura's Trek winter commuter build.

Above: Another typical thing you see on used department store bikes is frayed (unwound deraileur cable ends. Here I just snipped off the worst of it using my Pedro cable cutters. Then I rewound it "as best I could" and crimped on a cable end. I don`t know if the bike is worth all this love, but it just something I like to do. Cost? about 1 penny.

Above: As for the chain, I just sprayed it (in sections) with WD 40 and wiped it down vigorously using a terry cloth rag. The chain rust (surface rust) was not as bad as I originally thought. After it dries I will lube the chain with some White Lightning chain lubricant. As for the rest, it just needed to be wiped down with Armor All Cleaning wipes. I did take some slack out of the rear brake cable and reposition the shoes as well. I think it looks pretty good. For what it is anyway.

Above: The left side of the TRIAX. The red arrow indicates where the kickstand mounting plate is located. If you enlarge the pic you can see how this mountain bikes swing arm sweeps upward at this point. And I should mention, I did install a Greenfield Alloy kickstand and the same thing happened. So the problem definitely was not with the cheesy kickstand, which is what I suspected at first. After a little cleaning I returned the bike to it's owner (who would like to remain anonymous) But she was very pleased and surprised that it came out so nice.

Above: We are finally retiring the 1987 Ford Taurus. It has been in the family since it was new. And for the most part the Taurus has been a good reliable car. But after 26 years it needs more in repairs and maintenance than it is worth. And the gas consumption is unacceptable even though I drive much less than 10 thousand miles per year. We are donating the old Taurus to The Purple Heart of Michigan.

Above: I will now be driving a 2007 Mazda 3, which also has been in the family since new. I have been really enjoying driving the Mazda so far. And I feel better about using much less petro (about 1/2) than the old Taurus. And did I mention the Mazda is a Blast to drive? Zoom Zoom Zoom! It looks like I am going to need a new bike rack for the Mazda. I do not think it would be wise to hook the straps to the Mazada's plastic rear bumper. I think a roof top rack might be the best way to go. This will also give me quick and easy access the trunk (boot). No more "on and off" with the rack every time I want to haul something.

We purchased the Mazda 3 from our son who just purchased the first 2014 Yaris SE (above) in Michigan. "at least that is what we were told". I really like the look of the Yaris SE and I know my son really loves the car. The Mazda is not my "mid life crisis".... I am too old for that :) I had mine when I turned 50 and purchased a 1985 Outlaw V MAX. That was tons of fun too!
Until next time, Please RIDE SAFELY and Remember to Always RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh

MOTIV RockRidge Mountain Bike

Hello and Welcome,
Well we are done working on the house, for a while anyway. So hopefully I can get back to repairing and or restoring. A while back a friend asked me about doing some work on a bike he was cleaning up for his son. This rigid mountain bike will be used as a campus bike, at least I think that was the idea. Anyway, it took a little while but the bike finally made it here. As always it needed a little more work than I originally thought.

Above: I was only supposed the replace the rear derailleur shifter, but when I test rode the bike this front "D" shifter was not working at all. So I guess I will be replacing both. Which is what I would rather do anyway as we are changing to a simple and reliable Shimano thumb shifters.

Above: The soon to be replaced shifter for the rear derailleur. This one is totally 100% seized-up. This is not really a project So I did not take as many pics as usual. So for most of the "before stuff" you will just have to take my word for it.

Above: Here I have installed the new (salvaged) shifters I also replaced the cables and housings as well, using Jag Wire basics shift cable w housing. I did however reuse the short cable housing at the rear derailleur. Of course I added a few drops of oil before inserting the new cable. At any rate both shifters are working fine. And the rear d shifter is SIS just like the original. S.I.S. = Shimano Index Shifter. You know..... click, click, click. At least on this rear d shifter. You can turn off the SIS if you are so inclined.

Above: I have a tub full of salvaged bicycle reflectors, so I went ahead and installed a front reflector. I also covered up the rust on the bars using 3M plastic trim and detail tape. (which I think is no longer available)

Above: Since I had to remove the handlebar grips anyway, I took them inside and scrubbed them down using hand soap and the old fingernail brush. They were really grimy and really needed a good cleaning. To remove the grips I carefully inserted a small screwdriver and sprayed a little WD40 in between the bar and inside of the grips. I have used soapy water in the past and it works well too. But this is quicker and more convenient, as I always have a can of WD40 close by. I picked up this method from one of my blog followers, I don`t remember who it was though.

I also trued both wheels on the Truing Stand. The rear wheel looked to be beyond truing. But it actually trued-up quite nicely to within about 1/16th of an inch. The rear cantilever brake was "maladjusted" to accommodate the wobbling back wheel. So after reinstalling the rear wheel I replaced the cable and the front part of the cable housing. Then I reset the the post type brake shoes or shoes correctly, and it stops really well now. Although it will need new shoes soon.

Above: I had this Bontrager rear rack laying around and I had already decided "the next bike that comes in that this rack fits properly I am just going to install it {for free} and be rid of it". The damn thing isn't doing me any good laying around, so why not just put it to good use?

Above: I noticed the bike had no water bottle cage either, so I installed this salvaged Specialized cage. I will be donating this to the cause as well.

Above: Some of the spokes were rusty, so I sanded those down. The dust cap was missing on the drive side, so I installed a salvaged one (also donated). I could write a book on "How not to make money repairing bikes"..lol. Who gives a s#1% ! It can't always be about making money. Did I mention this bike is going to my hometown, which means it is probably for an O.C.C. student. Anyway the bike looks pretty good considering it's tight budget.

Above: I cleaned-up the sidewalls, rims and everything but the grips using Armor All Cleaning Wipes. So the only "new parts" I used were the cables and housings. The owner purchased the comfort saddle. Everything else I used was salvaged so this bike truly is Recycled :)

Above: Here is a shot of that rear tire. When I first saw the bike the tires were at very low pressure about 25 psi. This did not happen (or wasn't visible) until I brought the tires up to 55 psi (they max at 65 psi). I will dig around the shop tomorrow, maybe I have something better that I can use. And I should mention, the front tire looks 100% better.

Above: Here is what I found the following morning. Even after dropping the pressure to 45 psi this tire blew out sometime during the night. Fortunately I do have a Kenda 26 x 1.95 black wall mountain bike tire. The one I have is definitely a front tire so I will have to move his more "aggressive tread" front tire to the rear. So I now needed to remove both front and rear tires to make this work out properly.

Above: Here I have replaced the front "paddle like tread" tire with my replacement. Note how the tread starts to make the curve up the sidewall of the tire a wee bit. This helps the tire grab better in the turns. A more modern version would have the tread even farther up the side wall. So far so good. Now I need to remove the blown out tire and tube from the rear wheel and replace them with the newer ones that were on the front.

Above: It is obvious that this tread pattern is better suited for the rear than my replacement would have been. I could have just replaced the rear tire with my tire but that would have looked stupid and not performed as well. At least in my humble opinion. Since I chose to bring the cracked tire up to pressure and it failed, I will only charge for the tire not the inner tube. I think that is a pretty fair deal.

above: Ok finished again :) I have bagged up all the parts I have replaced including the tire and inner tube. This is so I can show the customer exactly why each part was replaced. I have found that most people don't mind paying for parts and labor if you show them why it was necessary. This is especially important with new or first time customers. With most regular or repeat customers I do not need to do this. But it is always a good idea to offer to show the old parts and explain the expenses.

Above: It was a little stressful having so much work done on the house this year, especially for my wife. So I put up some Hummingbird feeders to bring back a little peace. It has worked pretty well and we both enjoy watching these tiny birds hover around the feeders and flowers.

Above: The Ducks have returned this year and we have seen more Rabbits than in recent years. The Hawks and Feral Cats (Felis Catus) have kept the Chipmunk population in check. The Hawks seem to prefer the state land for nesting the past few years. I hear them occasionally but rarely see them anymore. If the Chipmunk and Rabbit population increases the Hawks will surely return.

Above: Rabbit feeding on the spilled seed under the finch feeder. At least it is not going to waste. Until Next time Please RIDE SAFELY and Remember to Always.....RESCUE,RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh