Been given an old road bike
- Thread starter pat mustard
- Start date
I remember those old Bianchi bikes very well. Many of my friends would be riding those around back when we were younger kids and they were a hit in the market as well in our area. I rarely see them anymore though sadly.
I like to see old bikes restored to their prior glory. In the case of this one, I'm not sure it's worth the effort. It looks like a decent frame and could certainly be turned into a useful rider. But it's a lot of $$ and time for what appears to be just an OK bike. If it were a Bianchi or similar like Bean's I would say proceed.
I agree, but maybe he wants a practice bike to restore before attempting a better bike project.
To tell you the truth - that is a flat ground bike that is not in good enough condition to waste your time fixing up. It does not appear to be a bad bike and as someone else said it's probably a medium grade frame with straight gauge steel tubing. As you could see from that Bianchi - many of which you can find on Craig's list for less than the cost of the parts needed to restore the Midas - there are much better condition bikes available.
Thanks for the input. to be honest with you, I don't really follow your logic. If its a decent frame and could be a nice bike and provide a fairly decent ride, why is it not worth the time and effort to fix it up? This seems slightly negative and defeatist to me. Tyres, cables, and the other necessary bits wont cost a great deal of money and I enjoy fixing things up and I do want a road bike. I like appreciate retro stuff and to me this is a good quality bike. So I think its well worth it. The running gear might not be top of the line but I'm someone who goes for leisurely rides every once in a blue moon. I hardly think Id get the most out of high end stuff anyway 
. This will be the first road bike Iv had so I'm sure I will be more than pleased with it.
And to be honest, I think the pics make the overall condition of the Bike look worse than it is. There is very little rust and everything moves freely and works as it should. Its just dirty and in need of a bit of an overhaul.
I bet I can get this on the road, looking nice and running well for very little outlay.
I agree it could take up a fair amount of my time though!
Cheers.
. This will be the first road bike Iv had so I'm sure I will be more than pleased with it.And to be honest, I think the pics make the overall condition of the Bike look worse than it is. There is very little rust and everything moves freely and works as it should. Its just dirty and in need of a bit of an overhaul.
I bet I can get this on the road, looking nice and running well for very little outlay.
I agree it could take up a fair amount of my time though!
Cheers.
Like I said before I think the bike would make an interesting first time restore project. Also like I said before if you get stuck riding in the rain with those steel wheels be prepared not to be able to stop.
What makes you think they are steel rims? I can't spot any rust on them in the pictures and almost all of the steel components are well rusted from poor storage conditions. On a bike with Campagnolo components and a mix of other Italian pedigree stuff hanging off it, I would think the manufacturer would have specified aluminum rims.
The insides seem to wear the same silver spray paint that was applied to the obviously rusted spokes so I could be off base on this detail.
The insides seem to wear the same silver spray paint that was applied to the obviously rusted spokes so I could be off base on this detail.
campybob, to my untrained eye only the chain appears to be rusted, and eve then its not that bad 'in the flesh', so to speak. The other components which I can see rust on seem to be just surface rusted. Am I missing something?! You obs have a much more trained eye for these details than I have!
Like you say Bob, its got Campognolo components, its a half decent frame, a nice fork, etc. Maybe to some of the people who have posted, who are clearly well into cycling, think its not worthy of fixing up. But to the average man on the street, I'd say this is a fairly nice bike! Or has the potential to be at least. I disagree that it's not worth the time and effort to fix up. Or that it would cost an exorbitant amount of money to do so.
Like you say Bob, its got Campognolo components, its a half decent frame, a nice fork, etc. Maybe to some of the people who have posted, who are clearly well into cycling, think its not worthy of fixing up. But to the average man on the street, I'd say this is a fairly nice bike! Or has the potential to be at least. I disagree that it's not worth the time and effort to fix up. Or that it would cost an exorbitant amount of money to do so.
P.s. Bob this has been stored in a dry garage for years. I think its just the period of inactivity that has led to its condition :-( . Which I don't think is as bad as the pics suggest anyway....
But yeah, its been in a garage for the past 10 years or so.
Cheers.
But yeah, its been in a garage for the past 10 years or so.
Cheers.
"Rust never sleeps!"
I thoroughly agree that the old Midas is worth the time and effort.
The pictures may make it look worse than what it actually is in real life. It'd difficult to tell as every monitor has some display variations. Still, your pictures do not lie. Every steel and most of the aluminum surfaces have at least some level of oxidation. Even dry garages have air at XX humidity levels in them.
The polishing required WILL be significant. Just go into the project prepared to spend inordinate amounts of time doing finely detailed work (as you already seem to be) and the result will be night & day compared to what we're staring at.
I do not think it's beyond salvaging, as I said. Have at it and post some pictures of the old girl looking better all the time!
I thoroughly agree that the old Midas is worth the time and effort.
The pictures may make it look worse than what it actually is in real life. It'd difficult to tell as every monitor has some display variations. Still, your pictures do not lie. Every steel and most of the aluminum surfaces have at least some level of oxidation. Even dry garages have air at XX humidity levels in them.
The polishing required WILL be significant. Just go into the project prepared to spend inordinate amounts of time doing finely detailed work (as you already seem to be) and the result will be night & day compared to what we're staring at.
I do not think it's beyond salvaging, as I said. Have at it and post some pictures of the old girl looking better all the time!
The only things that I personally think you can still use is the frame, handlebar and some other little parts, you might wanna change the tires, plastic parts, maybe the chain is looking bad, or yo ucan just clean all those parts or paint them with some spray paint, there are many things you can do with it besides riding it, get creative.
Sorry, that was my bad, I was also on a conversation on another forum in regards to a Schwinn bike that the person had steel wheels on and got that mixed up with this one. Just ignore me, I'm very busy lately with being in the process of buying another house and trying to get the one I have now packed and still keep working at my regular job, I hate being 63.
Sorry you're so mad at life, I have a cure for that, stop using your seatbelts when you drive your car. LOL!!Next you will be saying airplane seat belts can save your life in a plane crash.
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