New old bike for my nephew

[MrJamie]

This morning I picked up a cheapy second hand bike (£30) for my nephew, which so far im rather pleased with. Ive been trying to get him more interested in cycling and steer his mum away from dual suspension supermarket bikes etc.

I was wondering what bits I should be checking on it, the seller said its been left unused for over a year after being outgrown, but it seems in pretty good condition. Ive wiped it down, taken the wheels off, reseated the innertubes, pumped up the previously flat tyres after checking them for prickly things. Realigned the brake pads, adjusted the brake tension which had previously been tightened by the screw on the lever rather than barrel adjuster. The chain is bone dry, rear indexing needs adjusting, front limit screws need sorting all of which im confident with. Bottom bracket locknut thingy needed tightening a touch. It looks like the saddle mount is back to front too . Anything else I should be checking?

Also, the front right vbrake arm is a little reluctant to move (both towards and away from the rim), so moves after the other arm rather than the same time, the spring adjuster screws dont seem to affect this, its more like its rubbing. A drop of lube on the brake arm axle bit?

I have to say I really love the bike already and ill probably replace the grips and saddle so it looks more new. I have to confess to riding it down the street like homer on a clown bike

 

[Pauluk]

Saddle mounts are sometimes reversed by bike shops if the bike was a bit big at the time of purchase as it can sometimes reduce the saddle height by about 0.5 to 1".

Looks like a real bargain Mr Jamie, should fix up quite nicely. Well done.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I thought a total bargain at £30!
Lucky blighter

 

[MrJamie]

Thanks

They do seem to go quite cheaply on ebay if theyre listed as collection only. It looked a bit messy when I picked it up - with both tyres totally flat, plenty of dried mud/dirt, torn saddle, split grips and brakes not working etc, broken plastic on gripshift, mangled bell. I figured being Giant the important bits would have lasted Ive sorted the saddle, got the brakes working nicely, gears indexed and limited too, a good dose of finish line lube and put a new bell on.

The only negative really is that the cassette has a bit of wobble when its static and the wheels spinning, not enough to stop indexing and the wheel looks very true. I think the brake cables might need replacing too, they feel a bit spongy and the pads dont retract off the rims very quickly.

Have to admit to being a teeny bit jealous it wasnt a bike for me but hopefully he'll be faster when I take him out