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Hi, I like bikes. I like other stuff too, and this blog is going to be mostly about bikes and other stuff. Maybe a how-to procedure here and there. Anyway it has been a few years since I fixed up my first bike and I've learned quite a lot of little things like:

- Don't buy an old bike off craigslist unless you're prepared to strip it to a bare frame and regrease/adjust/replace everything.
- That guy who's selling you that vintage road bike for $200 pulled it out of a scrap heap last week and did absolutely nothing but take pictures of it.
- If the bike you're buying has a flat tire, expect to replace that tire, tube and rim strip. The moment you put air in it the tire will rip apart, guaranteed.
- The wheel, headset, bottom bracket, and pedal bearings have 30 year old dried up grease in them, and they'll self destruct after a couple hundred miles without fresh oil or grease.

Anyway I'll try to help you fix those nice old road bikes and keep them in service. With some care they can be just as nice to ride as a new bike, and they have much more character and cost much less. Here are some basic tips for now:

- Oil everything. Anything that moves, rotates, absolutely anything at all. Motor oil dissolves old grease and dirt very well, and can protect the bearings until you repack them with grease later on.
- Inspect the cables. Replace frayed or rusted ones. Dirty cables can usually just be cleaned, oiled, and reinstalled as long as they're intact. The shifting and braking will get much smoother with clean cables.
- Very old tires usually need replacement, especially if they're dry rotted or have bare threads showing.
- Rusty chains tend to snap. Consider replacing if the links are stiff.

These are the simple things to get an old neglected bike running again. There are many things you can do to further improve them, which I can post later. I am always open to requests on how to solve any specific problem.