Every day I check our local/national/dutch “e-bay”, where consumers try to sell their used products. I’ve got a “free” search as a bookmark. And a few days ago, this thing popped up:
It was free, so I was instantly hyped. No further info about this bicycle was listed at all. But there clearly was an issue with the rear wheel. So I asked the “seller” what kind of wheel size it required, and if I could come and pick it up within 5 minutes.
After those 5 minutes, I was at the location with a spare wheel to get it back home. (I only have a bicycle for transport, so it needed to be able to roll) The “seller” tryed to fix a leaking rear wheel tire, but managed to undo the wrong nuts so the entire axle assembly (with in-hub brakes) fell apart. He said he had all the parts laying on the floor, but that was clearly not the case. But it was free, and looked really interesting with the copper looks.
Got it home without any issues. It rolled really nice. I’ve put it in the garagebox, and started procrastinating. (I AM THE KING OF PROCRASTINATING!!!)
Today I finaly started looking at the bike. The wheel I used to get the bike home, seemed to be of the same internal design as the broken rear wheel. Mine had no sprocket on it anymore, but the bike did come with the sproket. Just not the locking ring, which I fortunately did have myself. So, I replaced everything. And it worked! It did fit! An very old internal axle assembly would fit just fine into this fancy modern wheel. I also had to replace the inner tube of the wheel, because it didn’t come with one. But that old wheel I had, did keep the air inside, so that inner tube would work just fine.
Then I had to buy some things, to finish this bicycle off. So I bought:
-Brown saddle, 6,95 euro.
-Black/brown rubber-ish handle bars, 4,95 euro.
-Cheap lock, 3,99 euro.
Added all those components. But now I noticed there were ALOT of bolts and nuts loose. Some of them snapped when trying to tighten them, and others just needed a washer or 2. But in the end, it all worked. Currently there is a tiny squeek when I’m breaking, but it does stop propperly/feels normal. I asume both used parts just need to get to know each other/wear in.
Final results:
Now I have to make up my mind. This bicycle is the best looking bicycle I’ve got, and it drives very nice and smooth. But it does not have bags to carry stuffs around. And I know there are more bicycles in the netherlands, then there are people. But having 3 is a bit too much. Do I keep it and sell my origional back-up bicycle, which can have bags on the back, do I sell this bicycle, or do I mount an 6,5 hp waterpump engine to this bicycle. (and make this bicycle worthless)
