In the next few weeks, I'll be getting an old bike used by the police department from my parents house. The frame is in great condition, but most other parts will need replacing. What are some good sites for finding parts at reasonable prices? I'm not looking for high performance parts, just stock (if available), or reasonable replacements.
Bike Repair
- Thread starter jzuzphreek
- Start date
Get on good terms with your local bike shop.
It really depends on the bike and what needs to be replaced. If all you've got is effectively a bare frameset, it would likely cost more than a new (comparable) bike to get it up and running again. If you just need to replace shifter/brake cables, tires and brake pads, go for it. If it's much more than that, I'd suggest thinking for a while about how much you really want to do this project.
Building from the frame up is not for the faint of heart or wallet! Many parts require special tools to remove and are not somthing the casual bike maintainer will likely need.
Post some pictures here, we should be able to get a good idea of what is good still, what can be salvaged, and what needs immediate replacement. Patrol bikes are notoriously abused. I had the sevice contract fo our local PD bike unit, the things these guys do and don't bring to us to fix are amazing at times. Also, I have seen some really low end bikes used by small departments, nothing worth really rebuilding.
Not trying to discourage you, just prepare you. I build almost all my bikes from the frame up, but I have a huge stock of parts in my collection, and all the correct tools. Would you consider buying a french thread bottom bracket thread chasing and facing tool for $400for one bike? Unless you were planning on trying to recover that cost by fixing and selling bikes, I don't think the average person would.
We are here to help! We just need good, in focus photos, and lots of information.
-Xander
Post some pictures here, we should be able to get a good idea of what is good still, what can be salvaged, and what needs immediate replacement. Patrol bikes are notoriously abused. I had the sevice contract fo our local PD bike unit, the things these guys do and don't bring to us to fix are amazing at times. Also, I have seen some really low end bikes used by small departments, nothing worth really rebuilding.
Not trying to discourage you, just prepare you. I build almost all my bikes from the frame up, but I have a huge stock of parts in my collection, and all the correct tools. Would you consider buying a french thread bottom bracket thread chasing and facing tool for $400for one bike? Unless you were planning on trying to recover that cost by fixing and selling bikes, I don't think the average person would.
We are here to help! We just need good, in focus photos, and lots of information.
-Xander
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks guys. I'll get pictures up once I get the bike.
I'm a bike mechanic by trade. Posting pics can help, but not nearly as helpful or accurate as bringing the bike into a bike shop as ChefJohnboy-ardee suggested. There are many small details that go into determining whether a certain part is a suitable replacement. A bike shop can tell you if the major components like wheels, shifters, derailleurs, cranks. bottom bracket and headset are still good.
If all you really need is a new chain, cables, tires and tubes, it might be worth it. But when you get into replacing major components in addition to a mechanics labor costs, it quickly adds up to more than the bike is worth. You can get much better base prices on parts online versus a bike shop if you know exactly what you need, but shipping cost may offset the savings.
Service and installation of many parts need special bike tools. You need more than a flat blade screwdriver and an adjustable wrench to work on a bike.
If spending a bit of money isn't the end of the world, the bike is not a total loss, and you'd welcome the chance to learn a bike's mechanics, it might be a good learning project, especially with the help of reputable Youtube videos. If you just want to get a dependable bike with no fuss, go to a bike shop and avoid big box stuff.
Bikewagon.com, Nashbar.com, Pricepoint.com are some online stores with lower prices. Harriscyclery.com and Sheldonbrown.com are sites with great learning resources for mechanical work.
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- Thread starter
- #7
Thanks for the advice.
This is really what I'm hoping for. I don't have any intentions of becoming a bike mechanic, but if this bike is just a quick fixer-upper so I can ride alongside my 3 year old to the park, then I'm in. Otherwise, I'll just wait till after Christmas and get something. I'm not looking to go great distances and work off my gut... just wanna ride to the park.
What I'd do it take it to a bike shop and try to judge their reaction. A good shop take the time to look at it and give you info regardless of whether they wind up recommending fixing it up or junking it. Tell the shop exactly what you wrote in your last post.
A good shop will have a mechanic come out and spend a minute or two to look over the bike, test out the brakes, shift through the gears, give the wheels a spin to check for obvious damage, etc. and give a recommendation. If they do this and are pretty confident a $40 tune up with or without tubes and cables will get you reliably rolling, you're in good shape.
If the shop just glances at the bike and doesn't really show any interest in dealing with it, go to another shop.
A good shop will have a mechanic come out and spend a minute or two to look over the bike, test out the brakes, shift through the gears, give the wheels a spin to check for obvious damage, etc. and give a recommendation. If they do this and are pretty confident a $40 tune up with or without tubes and cables will get you reliably rolling, you're in good shape.
If the shop just glances at the bike and doesn't really show any interest in dealing with it, go to another shop.
Good pics should be enough to give me a good idea of what you're working with. The things you don't want to see are lots of rust, things that are supposed to move that don't and things that look obviously damaged/wrecked.
Make and model for now will let us know if it worth putting any money into.
-X
Make and model for now will let us know if it worth putting any money into.
-X
