Source
r/Favors•
bricksoup

[offer] I can fix your bike in the NYC area

Hello, if you're in the NYC area, I can help fix your bike and also teach you how to do it yourself. I used to volunteer at a bike coop in another city. I'm not as knowledgable as the guys in the bike shop, but I can help you with things like chain skipping, poor braking, rust(maybe), all sort of problems really. I have all the tools, but keep in mind it gets greasy and takes up space and I can't work outside in this weather.

I like working on bikes and I have a lot of free time. If you can teach me a recipe or make some food, that would be cool.

Posted Dec 17, 2009, 7:34 PM UTC · edited

154
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
krale26•

Hi. I don't need repair help. But I'm trying to find a couple used bikes to buy for a needy familys christmas. So I was wondering if you could give me a bit of advice on things to look out for? I'm a little worried I'm going to give this family a used bike from craigslist that will fall apart on them after a couple months.

1
bricksoupOP•

This is a hard question. First of all I recommend seeing if there is a bike co-op in your area. There you can look at used bikes for the best price and get help from volunteers that will fall over themselves to help you.

If you live in New York Times Out NYC sponsors a bike coop in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I know the Brooklyn one has some used bikes they're trying to deal with. The one I like and know is in Pittsburgh. If you happen to be passing by, go to Freeride.

I like these two guides.

http://bicycleuniverse.info/eqp/usedbikes-guide.html http://www.usedbicycleguide.com/Bicycle%20Inspection.html

When I was buying a used bike for myself in another country, I was looking for drop bar handles and a light frame for long travel. Bikes can really vary in weight and it's a big deal if you live in a hilly area. The one I bought had a lot of problems but that was okay because I could repair them. I couldn't ride it at first. After I fixed it, it was the best bike I ever had (an old soviet union racing bike). But it got stolen, sadly.

Bikes are simple, modular and can be maintained for a pretty long time. There are a couple things that might be too much work to fix.

Try jiggling the pedals and make sure that they only move in a circle (and not up and down) like they're supposed to. Also try a similar movement with the handlebars and make sure that they're snug too. I would advise steering clear of bikes that are not snug in these areas. It COULD be fixable pretty easily but it might also mean that there's permanent damage.

Try riding the bike and putting a lot of force on the pedals. Might have to switch gears. If the chain doesn't skip that's great. If it does it's fixable but a headache to do it yourself.

Make sure that the forks the hold the rear wheel aren't bent out of shape.

If you can do so without spending too much money, avoid old bikes with plastic derailleurs.

Problems with the brakes are generally fixable.

Read those guides. Those guys know more than me.

1
krale26•

Thanks for the advice. I found a huge biking community in my town that I knew nothing about, and they were incredibly helpful. I was actually put in touch with a guy who owns a bike shop and he donated two brand new bikes. I got to spend my budget on accessories instead, so the family is getting helmets and stuff too.

I really appreciate your reply. I never would have thought to look for a bike co-op otherwise.

1
bricksoupOP•

Sweet! What a happy ending.

1