Someone's trash, my treasure, maybe?



cotty

cotty

New Member
Jun 16, 2003
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Hello all. Hoping someone can help me out. I was taking out the trash this morning and found this bike. It is a univega Grand Rally. It also has a Shimano 600 group set. It needs some work but I should be able to make it road worthy. Anyone know anything about this bike, I am a MB guy and I know nothing about road bikes. The only thing that I know it that it is lighter than my Cdale F400.

Thanks in advance.
Cotty
 
Originally posted by cotty
Hello all. Hoping someone can help me out. I was taking out the trash this morning and found this bike. It is a univega Grand Rally. It also has a Shimano 600 group set. It needs some work but I should be able to make it road worthy. Anyone know anything about this bike, I am a MB guy and I know nothing about road bikes. The only thing that I know it that it is lighter than my Cdale F400.

Thanks in advance.
Cotty
Click to expand...
If the shimao 600 is original it could indicate a higher level of bike as 600 was below DA in the lineup, and better stuff usually went on better frames. It could also be very old 600 and wore out,and the frame could be damaged. If the shifting is index,at least that part is dated as 1985 or later. Some of the old Univegas, Panasonics, Fujis and others of that were decent bikes,although they all also made bottom of the barrel junkue. Univega is also a name that has survived into the present,and it could be something newer. Downtube shifting and 6 or 7 speeds n the rear is indicative of older stuff.
 
if the frame is sound, it would make a great fixed gear project...
talk about a light bike!
 
I second the d'oh. This is probably, what -- a 24lbs bike? Could be worse, obviously, but only the very most high-tech rigs of this approached the 20lbs mark, correct?

The elderly among us, confirm?
 
I am not sure about the weight of it, but converting to a fixed gear is a thought that went through my mind. Now the question is how is that done? Anyone.....
 
Originally posted by lokstah
I second the d'oh. This is probably, what -- a 24lbs bike? Could be worse, obviously, but only the very most high-tech rigs of this approached the 20lbs mark, correct?

The elderly among us, confirm?
Click to expand...

I have a 19 year old Bianchi 12-speed w/ 600 components & downtube shifters and yeah, it is about 25 lbs. I am using it on the trainer, which is working out very well, but I have been toying with putting it back on the road in some altered configuration. I hadn't thought about making it a single speed...

Also, I bought the bike new, so I know the history of the ike - no crashes, etc. The 600 stuff is really in pretty amazing shape, though I didn't really put a lot of miles on it, maybe 5,000 - 7,000, total.
 
Originally posted by buffedupboy
... no one just throws a bike away for no reason.

Regards,
Sean
Click to expand...
People throw old junkque(and some not so junkquey) bikes away all the time.It might not even fetch $10 at a garage sale around here,and not worth the hallsle ot driving it to a thrift store. What else? Yard art maybe?
 
Get a new saddle if you keep it. Old bikes are not like old cars. There is little nostaglia or artistic value to them. Of course there are some exceptions. But I really do not see any practical or economic reason for keeping the bike. But - Hey - if it rides good -what the heck!
 
Get a new saddle if you keep it. Old bikes are not like old cars. There is little nostaglia or artistic value to them. Of course there are some exceptions. But I really do not see any practical or economic reason for keeping the bike. But - Hey - if it rides good -what the heck!
 
Pump up the tires and try riding it! If it rides, great, ride it. Yes, there are lighter road bikes, better road bikes, but you've never riden any of those, so what the heck would you care. Free is good

If you don't want it, put a *for free* sign on it and leave it on the sidewalk in some working class neighborhood-- somebody is likely to ride it. I see several old bikes I left at the park being ridden around-- but this a poorer neighborhood where some people can't afford cars, or cars that don't beak down-- so bikes aren't really a sport, but rather low rent transportation.
 
Originally posted by BaCardi
Just found the bike?
Click to expand...

Yes, it was sitting in the "trash house"; ready to go out with the next load. Had a chance to look at it better last night and it has a few problems. The frame looks good in my eye, no cracks and it looks straight. I think is sat outside for a while, the seat is trashed, and the chain is rusted (wonder what it looks like inside the tubes?) The rear derailleur is in need of some major cleaning and probably new cables all around, and probably a whole lot more. I think it might become the new trainer bike. Thanks for all of your replies.

Later
Cotty
 
Could be an awesome 'round town bike, Cotty. It would probably be worth it (assuming the frame can be confirmed to have life in it) to replace the drivetrain completely.

I hope it turns out to be cost-effective; hate to see a thing like that go to waste! Good luck.
 
Originally posted by cotty
Hello all. Hoping someone can help me out. I was taking out the trash this morning and found this bike. It is a univega Grand Rally. It also has a Shimano 600 group set. It needs some work but I should be able to make it road worthy. Anyone know anything about this bike, I am a MB guy and I know nothing about road bikes. The only thing that I know it that it is lighter than my Cdale F400.

Thanks in advance.
Cotty
Click to expand...

Looks like a good commuter project to me. With a set of fenders and a Rr mudflap, it would look like a ton of winter bikes on the trails `round here during the week. An older 600 group should be sufficient for getting back and forth to the Cubicle Farm. Even my own roadbike has downtube shifters that work well enough to leave alone. In Seattle, that bike would get about $30 in store credit at Recycled Cycles. In my garage, it would get ridden despite the "excess weight." Since I weigh over 200 pounds, 20lbs vs. 24lbs doesn't make much difference. It's not like some of us are in a race to arrive at work anyway :D.

If commuting on a roadbike isn't your thing, maybe consider donating it to a local Gospel Mission or homeless shelter. People who get assistance from places like that sometimes need transportation too. An older roadbike is perfect to fill that need. A plus with this scenario is that you'll get a tax-deductible receipt out of it!
 
Here's the deal as I see it. I have seen this about a dozen times at the LBS. Someone brings in an old bike like that and wants it tuned up so they can ride it again. The shop guy starts looking at it and says you need new tubes and tires a new saddle replace the brake hoods, true up the wheels, clean and adjust the drive train and the list grows and grows. At the end they are usually looking at a bill of several hundred dollars or more. The bike owner will generally say something like it was a good bike when I got is it worth that. The shop guy will then walk him or her over to a shiny new bike a hundred dollars more than his bill and wax poetic about the advantages of this more modern machine. Nine times out of ten they will sell the new bike and the old one gets set on the curb because it is thought to be worthless. I no longer go to this bike shop by the way. I could see the owners resentment everytime I showed up cruising my 20 year old Raleigh Grand Course. I do all my own maintenance so and old bike like that suits me fine for a commuter or a beater.
 
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