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What should I do with this old thing?

by Leviathan
Sat, Oct 05, 2013 16:34
12

This is my 2008 silver Carrera (um, some kind of metal) road bike. I rode it for 18 month and drove it into the ground. I now have a Jamis Xenith which I have learned to rebuild and change components on. The Carrera has sat behind the sofa since autumn 2009 and slowly been cannibalized to save me some money. When the brakes on the Jamis gunged up I swapped them; when the front gears broke I stripped off the shifter. The drive train is totally worn down and I don't have the tools, knowledge or need to remove the BB.

So now it just sits there sadly. I have now reached a point where I can just afford to buy new parts for my proper bike; and even if something happened to that I would just have to pop out to Halfords and buy a cheap mountain bike to get me back on the road. So what to do with this old thing?

I am loathed to just throw away a decent frame in good nick. I am not sure that the bin men would even take it away. The local dump is not near and my only transport is bike anyway.
I could put it on ebay/gumtree for someone to rebuild as a project because there must be some value in the frame. But I have no idea if anyone would want to invest the time, and I am certainly not trying to post it.
I could give it away for someone to rebuild as a project. But I have no idea is anyone would want to invest the time, have the tools or interest in rebuilding for someone who would appreciate it.
Finally I could give it to my LBS as a project, but they did mess me around for a month over a broken hanger, which I later got for myself in 5 days off the internet (I don't fancy carrying the frame a mile, sorry, annoyance leads to laziness and spite, I am already halfway to the dark side.)

I do still have the wheelset and plan on keeping those as you never know; one day some kids might see your bike on the street and decide to kick the back wheel in (2005) or some thieve might try to nick your frame and bend the back wheel to get at it (and fail, abus D-lock, 2007) Any suggestions what I should do with it? Money for old rope would be nice, but I would be happy if it went to a nice home too, like an old dog.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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12 comments

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Timbo13 | 11 years ago
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G,

YGM

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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Tim, The frame is a Large, so 56cm at least according to my measurements. If that would suit a growing boy with some adjustment you are welcome to have it, especially as some kids are now mahoosive. 263 forum posts and lots of strava segments suggest you might know what to do with it; and your offer to collect is more attractive than carrying it anywhere.
Just to say that the entire drive is shagged, brakes, and front shifter/rear brake lever is gone (see pics) But the frame forks and bars and right 8 speed shifter. If you can fix it up, great, give me an email on graememx [at] hotmail.com. I live in Didsbury, which is proper South Manchester cause I can walk to the 42 Bus!

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Timbo13 | 11 years ago
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Tell me I'm being cheeky, but I'm based in South Manchester (Flixton) and help out at a local Scout Group. There's a young lad there who is interested in cycling for his Duke of Edinburgh award. He's not tall for his age (14) but he might be interested (with some support from me and the LBS) in taking it on as a maintenance/rebuild project, perhaps as a singlespeed conversion if nothing else.

He has to learn about maintenance/repair as well as getting out and about and it would give him something to do over the winter months.

Let me know if you're willing to donate it to a good home. I can even collect if that makes a difference.

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Fair enough. I was thinking of your bike mantenance skills rather than your ability to ride a bike. It seems that you have a good secession plan. It would be worth finding out how to change your bottom bracket though. All you need is a crank puller for a cartridge BB or a BB tool for a hollowtech one on that old frame. Neither is expensive and they are both easy to use. Unless you have a cracked frame you will be able to eliminate those creaks with some careful maintenance.

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Leviathan replied to Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Bedfordshire Clanger wrote:

All you need is a crank puller for a cartridge BB or a BB tool for a hollowtech one on that old frame.

You might as well have said 'The engines cannee take it Captain,' for all the technobable you just said. The BB on the J does now sound like a South American Rain stick whenever it rains. This may be an upgrade for the spring.

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Bedfordshire Clanger replied to Leviathan | 11 years ago
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bikeboy76 wrote:
Bedfordshire Clanger wrote:

All you need is a crank puller for a cartridge BB or a BB tool for a hollowtech one on that old frame.

You might as well have said 'The engines cannee take it Captain,' for all the technobable you just said. The BB on the J does now sound like a South American Rain stick whenever it rains. This may be an upgrade for the spring.

OK I get it, you don't want to know. I'm not sure if you want my advice but here it is anyway. If you learn to maintain your bike properly you will save a lot of time and money in the long run. You can find out how to change a bottom bracket within ten minutes of reading this post if you search for the right video on youtube. It's not difficult and it's nothing to be afraid of. If I were you, I would take that sound of your bottom bracket on your good bike as a cue to do some maintenance right now. Bottom brackets are one of the cheapest components on your bike and running a knackered one will only slow you down and may ultimately end in you having to push your bike home. Find out how to change it, order a new one and fit it. The whole thing won't take you more than an hour to do. Otherwise, take it down the bike shop. Running you your bike into the ground is a false economy, a little bit of preventive maintenance saves you hassle, time off the road and putting your pride and joy into the hands of someone who cares about it a whole lot less than you do to pay a premium for something you could easily do yourself.

Apologies for the rant. You might as well get rid of that old frame, wherever you can find a good home for it. Good luck in saving up for the Canyon, they are brilliant bikes by all accounts. Look after it well.

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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Beds, I think you are getting the wrong end of the stick. I have done about 20,000km on my Jamis. I don't need to build up any skills or confidence on it, or worry about breaking it. I would be concerned about crashing it or someone smashing it up or nicking it. I am in no way eyeing a mountain bike; my point was it would be cheaper to buy a new low end bike than rebuild the Carrera from where it is now if I had to in an emergency.
I aspire to a Canyon but don't know how far away that would be, if I upgraded, the Jamis would be the commuter bike. It is 4 years old now and chipped paintwork and creaking noises can never be totally cured.
So I don't have any issues leaving it town for a couple of hours or riding it winter, I have never had the luxury of two bikes so I've never become sensitive about it.

Which brings me back to the Carrera. I have no idea how to change a BB or what tools I would need. Allen keys just won't be enough. I could be sending good money after bad. I would rather be spending money on my No 1.

I have found http://www.bespokemanchester.com/
seems to be a mile and a half away, I might pop it down to them.

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PJ McNally replied to Leviathan | 11 years ago
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bikeboy76 wrote:

it would be cheaper to buy a new low end bike than rebuild the Carrera from where it is now

Yes, but then you would be the proud owner of a new low end bike. Carreras are good bikes, my training road bike is a carrera and has seen many thousands of happy miles.

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Turn it into a winter bike. Doing your own maintenance is surprisingly easy and very rewarding. The tools pay for themselves quickly and the sense of achievement and confidence gained makes it all worthwhile. Surely you would rather have that bike as a spare for use in an emergency or to lock up outside the pub or railway station than have to buy a cheap MTB from Halfords (shudder!). You can learn on that bike and then transfer your skills onto your Jamis once you feel confident that you aren't going to break anything. Get yourself a decent bike manual or just look up how to do it on youtube. You'll save stacks of money in the long run. Changing a chain, bottom bracket, chainset cassette or derailleur is child's play if you have the tools and would be cheaper than that dodgy MTB that you have been eyeing up. If you stick to the same number of sprockets and groupset manufacturer you'll have readily interchangeable spares too.

I have a crappy cheap racer as a spare bike that I'm not at all proud or fond of but it's bailed me out a number if times when I've needed something to ride and I can leave it chained up outside safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't be gutted or badly out of pocket if it got stolen.

Why not spend that Halfords MTB contingency money you have on some tools and bits to get that frame back on the road? It might get you out in winter when you don't fancy a ride on your best bike. It can get dirty and if you end up in a spill on the ice or on a muddy slick you won't have to worry about trashing your carbon pride and joy.

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giff77 | 11 years ago
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I was going to say something much the same. Local charity that reconditions bikes and sell them on. Make the effort in finding one and getting it to them. Either that or rebuild as a winter bike either geared or fixed.

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Al__S | 11 years ago
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are there any charity groups near you that do bike rebuilds? There's one near Cambridge called OWL Bikes, there might be something near you? Get rid of it AND get the warm glow of helping a charity.

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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This:

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