There Was A Time When:
Bicycles came with fenders (mudguards)
Bicycles came with kickstands
Bicycles came with a comfortable seat
Bicycles came with a comfortable upright riding position
For me, there is nothing more satisfying than coasting along on a bike. It clears my head and puts me back on course for the day. Unfortunately, parking my bike on the street resulted in two thefts. After the birth of my son, I was desperate to go for a ride and wanted badly to introduce him to one of my favorite pastimes. But purchasing another bike that would need to be parked on the street and maybe stolen again was more than I could stomach.
My (brilliant) husband came up with the perfect solution. A vintage folding bike, the Raleigh Twenty. Easy to store, it folds down to a manageable size. It's light enough to carry up stairs and uncomplicated in design but still retro cool. It was pretty easy to restore the bike, I question why we haven't bought recycled bikes before.
Two weeks later it arrived in box. All its original parts intact, thankfully, just a bit dirty and rusty.
We (mostly Alex) set to restoring it... here are a few things we learned along the way.
Tires
Thank god for twenty inch tires, they have a standard size inner tube which you can buy at Target, it's also super easy to replace the actual tire. Don't spend extra money on them at a bike shop.
Brakes/Gears
We replaced the brake pads pretty easily but for safety you want to have a bike technician go over all the wiring before you hit the roads. The gear works are pretty straightforward but we just don't have much experience so we let the experts clean it up. It cost us just $50 for a thorough tune up and parts.
Cleaning the Aluminum
So we heard that SOS pads are the best for cleaning aluminum. They were right. All the rust and grit came off easily. We were able to restore all the original gleam to the metal parts. We used a toothbrush with a little bike oil to get in the nooks and crannies.
Cleaning the Frame
A fresh rinse with soap (mild dish soap is best) and water. Then go over everything with a toothbrush and rag doused lightly with bike oil will restore the shine and get rid of all the stubborn grit.
Here is the finished product, isn't she a beauty! Worth a few extra hours of work, right?
