Life, Lust, and Silly Puns

So one Black Friday a few years ago, my dad decided to get a $40 bike from Walmart. Luckily, it wasn't a Y-frame. Here's the best picture I could find of it.



I didn't want/forgot to take pics of the bike before I started fixing it up, so the pic above will have to do. It was stored outside, so just imagine random bits of rust in nooks and crannies. The brake pads are terrible and deteriorated (not worn out!), and the brake calipers are plastic, so whenever I brake, the calipers bend. It has no quick-releases whatsoever. The shifters are friction shifters, not index-shifting. Index shifting, you press a lever once, and it shifts 1 gear. Friction shifting is like turning a knob. ~80's technology.

Anyway, what's been done already? First off, I replaced the seat with my old WTB seat, and the disgusting handlebar "grips" with my old ones. I raised the seatpost, too :P. I used my Dremel with a wire brush bit to get off all the rust. I cleaned the chain (link by link!) and lubed it, and also adjusted the front derailleur. I also cleaned the cassette. I spent 30 minutes with Goof Off and got all the (peeling) decals off. The frame looks much better without those lame decals. I'm ordering a new brake kit today (levers, cable housing, cable, calipers, and pads). Hopefully I'll get new tires and tubes, handlebar, and seat post quick release, with the priority in that order. I'll take pics after I get new brakes.

It's a good beater bike, and once I get new tires and tubes (and hopefully flat handlebars), I might bike to school on it occasionally. ;]