If you are trying to determine the genealogy of your bicycle by it's features, go to our Vintage Bicycle Price Guide
which details bicycle features, wheel sizes, brake types, etc., as well as showing a price estimate for your old bicycle.
If you are trying to determine the make and model of your bicycle, go to our Vintage Bicycle Picture Database
which details bicycle features, wheel sizes, etc., as well as showing a price estimate for your vintage bicycle.
| Hi, I own a 1956 Bauer Presidents bicycle. It needs to be re-habed, but I have an interesting qusetion. There are some dents in the front and rear fenders. How do I get these out.....? I'll be much obliged if someone could help me. |
| Drew,some bike shops "roll" fenders.That is they have the machine to repress your fenders.try checking with the shops in your area. |
| i have western wheel works girls youth bicycle. looking for list of parts which were nickle, paint color. seat cover and grips. bike is solid and straight with 20 inch solid tires, front hand break. most parts which have nickle left(not much) is easy but want to make sure. also looking for pictures. thank you brian |
| Any info on how I can date this bike and resto tips, ie. decals and paint. I believe its 70s vintage?? |
| Ken,what do you have to work with?Is the original paint good,how does the decals look,and what would you like the bike to look like when finished?Most collectors want a bike that is original(nuttin new)but if the bike is toast-then maybe a costom paint job would be the way to go. |
| Thanx fer responding Sam. The paint is ok I guess. The lettering on the crossbar where it says Super Grand Prix is barely legible. Looks like a silk screen not a decal. The bike also has a golden bird emblem on the frame where the handle bar stem is. Can't seem to find any serial #s either. Are there any? |
| Ken,go to the english roadester group and place a post there.I,m not sure your bike fits there style but I bet Christopher Robin can answer any question you have on raliegh bikes.The bird emblem is the raliegh trade mark.(and I,m sure if C.R. reads this he will tell me it's a haron)Hay,when you know it you know it and trust me C.R. knows Ralieghs! |
| I have recently put together what you might call a "custom cruiser." I found this bike at a antique store and picked it up for $10 (all I wanted was the carrier but the sales person told me to take the whole thing. The frame is most likely a spaceliner, but nothing else on the bike was original, including paint...so I put it back together with misc. parts and fresh paint and it looks pretty good. My problem is that I am incountering a "popping" sound when I pedal the bike hard. I have looked everywhere for this "popping" sound but have had no luck locating it. Any suggestions as to what might be causing this noise. Thanks, Ben |
| Have you cleaned and greased the bottom bracket?If you have trouble getting the crank out,I don't remove the pedals,just unscrew it to get to the bearing. Also a stiff link in the chain can make noise. |
| Check your rear sprocket, if its not the right one or loose it will pp when pedaled hard. |
| Hi I'm new to this thing. and want to redo a small bike from my childhood. it was cheep one probalby form wal mart or truevalue. it was made by murray. and wondered if I could get the old decals and parts too for it anywhere. also how do you go about repainting a bike. thanks to anyone who can help. |
| Tim,it cost the same to paint a $2000.00 bike as it does a $20.00 bike.You can hang it up from a tree and use a spray can for $3.00 or you can take it to an auto paint shop starting at around $500.00.The question on decals-most reproduction decals are made for higher priced bikes like the schwinn stingrays or krates(or balloon tire bikes) I did paint a $10.00 bike with a spray can to see how well it would come out,I feel I did a nice job but it cost me $50. so now the bike is worth maybe $15.00--we all learn from doing--just try not to get to much in a cheap bike. |
| should I and how do I get rid of the old paint without enhancing the chances of more rusting? and what should I use to get rust off of chrome? thanks for your help |
| Tim,try fine steel wool to remove rust on chrome,some say use brass wool.Wet it with water and use A-jax cleaner.Dry it then past wax(car wax)the chrome to keep the rust from reforming.As for the paint-well that depends on you.How much you can spend and what condition the bike is in now.I have a schwinn american I plan to just touch up the paint on because the decals are imposable to get and the americans are a low value bikes but I think the bike great! |
| I actually wondered whether I should remove the paint before I repaint it myself. I'm gonig to follow through with your suggestion of painting it myself hagning it from a tree. But I'm wondering how i would go about it and whether i should remove the old paint and how i would do it with out enhancing the little rust it has. alos when i finish painting it is there some type of clear coat that i should apply afterwards? thanks for all your help. I'm gald i found someone so knowledgeable. Tim |
| Want to restore a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed 1972-1974 vintage. Would like to know where to find a source for origional paint and decals. |
| Tom, I'm not one of those guys who think Varsitys are only worth ten bucks because they're common. However, the fact that there are so many of them around means that you can probably find a really clean one for a lot less than the cost of restoring one. Of course, if this particular Varsity has sentimental value to you, go ahead. The Schwinn Collector's Forum is the best place to locate NOS parts and paint for it. Of course, they'll rag on you for bothering to restore a Varsity. I have a beautiful Schwinn Continental I found at the Salvation Army for $40. according to the Schwinn gang, it's also a $10 bike; but I wouldn't sell it for $50, especially now that I've got NOS color-matched bar tape for it. |
| Tom , I saw varsity decals on ebay lately. |
| have a alban girl's bike all i can tell you is it's old and has on it perrys or parrys made in england on it would like to have it restored !! and valued |
| Any scoop on Schwinn Manta Rays'? Were they an adult version of the String Ray? And what years of production? Any details most grateful! |
| Your best bet is to ask your question under the "Musclebike" topic because the Manta-Ray is a musclebike. I guess you could call them an adult version of the Sting-Ray. They were made with 24 x 1 3/8 wheels which enabled a larger frame and better riding performance. I think they were made from about 1970 to 1974. Again, your best bet is to ask under the musclebike topic. |
| No doubt many of you will be gnashing your teeth after you read this, but here goes.... Just bought a decent 66 Fastback to use as a daily rider. Everything seems to be in order, but the fenders are missing. I have no intention of restoring this bike to its original splendor (I have neither the time nor the disposable income). I *would* appreciate not getting a mud stripe up my back everytime I ride through a puddle though. Checked around for parts and I definitely do NOT want to spend $95 to keep my butt dry. Any suggestions of similar fenders I could cobble together with a minimum of effort? Not too dorky looking a plus. Thanks. |
| Fastbacks have a not-too-common tire size (20 x 1 3/8), so it might be tough to find any fenders for it, unless you want to purchase someone's rusted fenders. In that case you will get them chaeply. And maybe you can spray paint them black or something! A Raleigh Rodeo's fenders will also fit. |
| Hello all, my projects are near complete - but tires! can any one help me out looking for tubeless tires to fit teens 28" wheels (boht steel clad and wooden types) Would prefer white rubber - but can not be too fussy! Any help would be appreciated |
| Jon-Paul,those tires can be ordered new but they cost $175 each!A frend had to order two for a Pope bike he restored for a movie.I would try e-bay. |
| harper machine in dunbar west virginia sells 28 inch single tube tires at a very reasonable cost about half of what coker wants !!!# 304 768 1147 does anyone know of 26 inch singletube tires for sale? |
| Looking for a part for an old Dutch bkie (turn of last century?), don't know the brand. Since I'm not an expert in bike mechanics (certainly not in English), I may be wrong in the name of the part, but I'm looking for a 60 mm 'pedal axle' (literal translation from the Dutch 'trap-as'; anyway, it's the axle that sits in the hub and connects the cranks (and fits in the beearings). Any tips welcome... |
| Since no one's responded to this question yet, I'll stick my oar in. Rather than looking all over for a replacement part, you might consider having a machine shop make a new one. This type of part does not require a lot of time to make, therefore, it would be fairly cheap. It would help a lot if you still have the old shaft, otherwise you have to supply a dimensioned drawing. |
| Hello to everyone again... Thanks to everyone who responded to my last posting. I have since learned alot about the different types of paint...ranging from PPG enamel to Basecoat/Clearcoat. I have been in contact with a couple guys who are willing to help me finish and restore my Western Flyer. Dave and Jason have been helpful and shared their knowledge and opinions with me. Are there any other enthusiasts out there who would share their opinions of paint types? Which is better and more durable...and is there a huge benefit to "baked on" paint? Is it MUCH more durable or marginally better? I have alot of confidence in the 2 guys who have been communicating with me about the paint issue...but i was just wondering about other opinions on the subject. I realize that each probably have their own distinct advantages...but which has more? My bike is 2 tone metallic green with red pinstripe detailing. Also, I have another bike which is essentially the same bike as my "Super", but was distributed at Montgomery Wards instead of Western Auto. It is pretty much identical to my Super but is Black and red...and has white pinstriping on it. And fenders are ribbed at the bottom and chromed. Anyone have a reference pic of this bike? I might restore this as well but have not been able to locate original ads for this bike, like I have for my Western Flyer. Thanks for any and all input!! Brad (bdt91@excite.com) |
| I want to build custom wheelsets for various bike projects by choosing the hubs and wheels from the vast selection in my garage or whatever I find at sales etc. Can someone provide me with or tell me where to buy a cheap and simple software that gives me the mathematical formula for choosing the correct spoke lengths? My local shop is not very cooperative, saying they pay $150.oo a month for updated info on all current hubs and wheels and the info is not free. This does not apply to what I do because I often have no name, outdated, and antique wheels and hubs which won't show on their charts anyway. I need one that is a formula determined by hub width, hub drill diameter, wheel diameter, spoke count etc. Please help so I can finish a few customs I am trying to complete this summer. Thank You. |
| Here are some Spoke Lenght Calculators: 1) a free one written in basic: http://www.roble.net/marquis/spokelen11.bas 2) a free one written in Microsoft Excel: http://www.seattleu.edu/student/clubs/Cycling/spoke.htm 3) a free web-based one you can run from your web browser: http://www.dimensional.com/'manthey/spoke.htm |
| Patrick: All you will ever need to know about wheelbuilding can be found in Sheldon Brown's page on the subject. Go to; "http;//www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html" and scroll down to the topics table and click on the spoke calculation cell. I started there a few years ago and have built a dozen or so wheels. There are several spoke calculation programs to pick from. Good luck |
| Also, you need to get a new bike shop! If they're paying $150/month for this info, introduce me. I have bridges for sale! |
| We need 2x18 inch tires and tubes and nobody has them. It is a 1965, 65cc harley. It is in good condition. If you have any or know where to get them contact me. It would be very helpful. |
| Try Coker tire. They are on the web too. |
| Me and my dad recently bought a 1954 firestone bike from a guy it has all the original parts and everything but he painted it green with house paint!!! underneath the green is a lighter green with pin stripes what is the best way to get to or through the house paint? |
| Your best bet is by taking the bike apart and having it media blast. If you don't want to restore the bike, what you can do. Get a scrapper and slow scrap the house paint off. |
| Ouch! I've done that before. if you are inexperienced, you might scrape off the original piant! So, try something by Savogran called Kwikeeze-it's great at removing house paint, that is if it has'nt been sitting too long. Good luck, and take your time to get it right. |