I have a basement full of bikes collecting dust and a couple that I ride. It's time I start making them rideable and finish some projects I've already started.
Here's my everyday city bike. It's a Raleigh DL-1 Roadster, pushing 40 years old. It has a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed AW hub, roller-lever (rod-operated) brakes and 28 x 1 1/2-inch tires. This is the model you used to see pictures of English postmen and policemen riding.
I bought this Schwinn LeTour Luxe new about 1985 to ride until I could get my good road bike fixed after an encounter with a car door. I had been using it on a magnetic-resistance trainer as an exercise bike, although admittedly it hadn't seen much action in the past few years. It probably hasn't been outside on pavement in more than 15 years.
I replaced the drop bars with some comfy inexpensive upright bars and added a set of SKS fenders and a collapsible basket big enough to hold a jug of milk and other stuff. It rides very nicely, rolls easier than the Raleigh, and probably will be a very good bike for getting groceries and stuff. Note the old-school 100-per-minute yellow strobe and toe-clips and straps.
There are at least a half-dozen more bikes in the basement that need minor work, plus a frame hanging in the garage that I want to use to build a lightweight with an internally geared hub, either a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer or a 7-speed Shimano.
Restoring bikes takes a lot less space and machinery than restoring tractors.
I bought this Schwinn LeTour Luxe new about 1985 to ride until I could get my good road bike fixed after an encounter with a car door. I had been using it on a magnetic-resistance trainer as an exercise bike, although admittedly it hadn't seen much action in the past few years. It probably hasn't been outside on pavement in more than 15 years.
I replaced the drop bars with some comfy inexpensive upright bars and added a set of SKS fenders and a collapsible basket big enough to hold a jug of milk and other stuff. It rides very nicely, rolls easier than the Raleigh, and probably will be a very good bike for getting groceries and stuff. Note the old-school 100-per-minute yellow strobe and toe-clips and straps.
There are at least a half-dozen more bikes in the basement that need minor work, plus a frame hanging in the garage that I want to use to build a lightweight with an internally geared hub, either a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer or a 7-speed Shimano.
Restoring bikes takes a lot less space and machinery than restoring tractors.