Doing up an old bike, any tips/tricks/helpful suggestions?

[Charcoal]

Okay so here's my dads old Carrera Krakatoa!! (circa 1991/2)

Frame: 19" handbuilt Reynolds 500 Magnum tubing
Crank:Mechs:Hubs: Shimano 300 LX
Brakes: Shimano cantilever

It looks like it's probably going to need new tyres and inner tubes, no biggie..
Other than that, nothing wrong with the frame, looks a bit grubby though so I might go to the effort of stripping it and painting it bright orange Never done anything that drastic though as I've never removed most of the parts on the bike before.

As may be a little obvious it needs somewhere to sit
Only issue is I don't know what diameter saddle it needs, the standard ones I have on other bikes don't seem to fit. Anyone got any idea what diameter seatpost I might need?

The bike hasn't been ridden in at least 12 years, but more likely it hasn't seen much riding in its entire life. What components are likely to have died in this time? It's been stored in dryish sheds and workshops.

Right now the tools I own include:
- Various sized hex keys
- Various sized spanners
- Chain tool
- Crank puller (isis/octalink)

In case it doesn't look like there was much point I was just wondering if there were any serious hurdles in the way of anything I was thinking about? Also any information about what parts people commonly upgrade from old bikes like this and where I might be able to purchase them.

This is the only place I've found via google info about it, anything anyone knows will be either helpful or just intriguing

 

[nathanman]

A damn good clean and service is the first place to start, if its been stored inside most of its life its likely that the parts will be okay. The cables might need replacing as they can rust to the inside of the outers if they weren't properly greased regularly. The cranks on this are likely to be square taper so your crank puller might not fit unless it does both types.

 

[Chute55uk]

Grease the bearings in the wheels and headset but you would do that if you were paiting it anyway. Clean out the seat tube im having a horrendous time trying to get a seat post out of a 96 gt so make sure whatevver post you fir is the right. Size and greased. Change the cables and chain oil up the mechs and shifters reassemble and go and have fun

 

[We_are_Stevo]

First of all, don't be put off by the fact it's a 'low-end' bike; early Carreras were good bikes and yours is no exception...

Looking at it I would follow the advice above and give it a good service before you contemplate anything esle; seatpost size wise I would get yourself a cheap electronic vernier caliper off of eBay like this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-150mm-ELECT ... 27bf39aa65

...I have the self-same caliper and it's brilliant. It may seem over the top to you initially but it will save you no end of hassle so many times you won't believe it

You can measure the internal size of the seat tube for the seatpost size, the external measurement if you want to buy a new front mech., a very useful addition to your toolkit;

Seat wise I would recommend a Charge Spoon...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHARGE-Spoon- ... 43ab60b3e2

...above anything else for this bike as it's cheap, comfortable, looks the part, and many on here use them. You'll also want to change the grips to something (preferably) like these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ritchey-WCS-e ... 3a6c6edff8

...as they will be sooooooooooo much better than the hardened rubber grips you have (Tip: cut your old grips off with a sharpe knife like a Stanley, spray the insides of your new Ritchey grips with WD40, slide them onto the bar and wait for a little while and Bingo! Job done. To get them off again slide a thin , flat screwdriver down between the grip and the bar, spray WD40 into the gap, work the screwdriver around the bar and slide the grip off undamaged ready to use again. Seriously! )

As for the paint, I would just T-cut it and polish it up; it's such a cool retro finish it would be a shame to spoil it!

Pedals you may want to put on some modern flats...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WELLGO-ALLOY- ... 746bd963e7

...to start with?

The rest of the components I would just clean and lubricate rather than replace, as it is a low-end bike so you would be better off refurbishing it and enjoying it as it is rather than lavishing loads of money on it.

That will come later when you've been on here for a while and the bug has well and truly bitten!

Oh yes, tyres, loads for sale on here in the appropriate thread - and noone will rip you off on here.

 

[REKIBorter]

Triple your original build budget

 

[Charcoal]

Cheers good advise, trying to make this a cheap build if possible haha

I have some BMX style plastic pedals hanging around so that's that done. Then whilst calipers might be handy, I think I might be able to find the old broken seatpost and I've just realised it would probably be easier just to measure the old one and buy one of these in the correct size.

I love the look of the charge spoon saddles! never considered ebay but they actually look to have them for the best price so I'll probably go for the one you posted:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHARGE-Sp...ure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item43ab60b3e2].

Hopefully I can stick a penny or something into the square tapered cranks as an adapter? That way I wouldn't have to buy another crank tool, they all do the same basic thing anyway.

Then for grips, I do have some reasonable grips that came stock with my modern GT hardtail which I could probably slip on the bars, thanks for the tips but I've had to do it a couple of times anyway so I knew what you were on about

I have grown a little fond of the old paintjob, aside from being grubby there's not a massive amount wrong with it, I might take your advise with the T-cut, I'll have a think about it.

So hopefully it will only cost about £40, I don't have any plans on massively reviving the old bike as for anything more serious I'd be using my hardtail anyway, but I can just imagine people nicking thinks off it if I keep riding around town with it!

 

[Splatter Paint]

The diameter of the puller you'll need is less than the octalink/isis one you currently have. Something like this will be suitable for your cranks:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bike-cycle-to ... 23144273e4

 

[bm0p700f]

You will need a square taper crank puller to remove the cranks.

Park tool have a repair and maintanence guide on ther site. The also do the Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, a useful tome for the home mechanic.

The grease in the headset and hubs will no doudt have turned to glue by now. To service the hubs you will need a set of cone spanners 13/14mm and 15/16mm most probably and a 16 and 17mm spanner most probably. Replace the bearing and remove the old grease. Pop in new bearings and grease.

I would dismantle the whole bike and buy the tool you need along the way. Buy the Park Tool book or use there website as a guide. Then reassemble, after that you will have the tools you need for further maintenance and you will know how to do it. We all started somewhere.

 

[REKIBorter]

Park Tools big blue book of bicycle repair is a must buy for any budding cycle mechanic and also good for those that think they know it all.

 

[bm0p700f]

Yes I have one, it has a useful torque table at the back for various components so you can't get it wrong.