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| Mirage |
I got some good news at the end of this week, I got offered a new contract gig that should set me up for the next 8 months or so, which after months of looking was a relief. Before I found that out I was looking for deals on bikes in need of some TLC that I could make some money on. I found this MB on Craigslist for about $30 which IMHO is a good starting point for a profitable turn around.
I placed this bike in the early 70s due to the simplex drive train and cottered crank. I chuckled seeing the front derailleur was SunTour and mounted over a strip of bar tape. Likely the original simplex plastic front derailleur failed as they are wont to do and since the French tubes are too skinny for a Japanese component the bar tape allows enough thickness to mount it to the MB frame.
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| not original equipment |
The bike is complete, paint is in decent shape and it even has fenders and a rack and a non-working sidewall generator and lights. I will probably strip all the lighting stuff off but I will save the generator and see if I can make it work, I've always wanted to try one.
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| sidewall generator |
The bike also has some vestigial front speedometer wiring as well and since there is no speedo attached I don't see much point in keeping all that either.
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| somethings missing |
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| lots of useless plastic |
The plan for now is to clean this bike up replace the consumable that need to be replaced and turn it around quickly, but I have a few other projects in the queue to finish up first.
As always Ride.Smile.Repeat.
Edit after further research my best guess is 1973 based on components
Nice. You have such a good eye for these bikes Ryan. Did you get some work finished on the Raliegh Mixte yet? I am thinking that one will be a quick seller for you
ReplyDeleteHey Jim - thanks for the kind words. The Raleigh Mixte is close but no closer that I was 2 weeks ago LOL I have been stopped by two things 1) the new grips are a bear to get on all the way and I let that slow me down on getting it finished and 2) as of 10/1 I am working two jobs one full time M-F 9-5 and one part time -half shifts a couple times a week including on the weekend. So I went from having lots of time to having no time but I am planning to finish the Mixte and get it out there soon and since it has fenders its still a good rain bike.
DeleteHow do you find bikes like this? They do look to be in good shape! With only a few tweaks and cleaning here and there, it seems it will be as good as new. Can't wait to see how it'll be like after you're done with it.
ReplyDeleteRecreation Space
Hi Lisa - thanks for stopping by. This bike I found on Craigslist. I do a search for bikes in a certain price range, usually <$50 and see what comes up. I also buy project bikes from my local bike co-op. This bike does look good in that the paint and decals are in good shape and all the parts are there, but with a 40 year old bike you want to avoid thinking that it will be ok with just a few tweaks. You don't really know the last time its been serviced and I certainly don't want to trust my well being to 40 year-old cables, rubber, brake pads and lube ;-) So I usually take the bike down to the frame and build back up. I was going to take a quicker route with this bike but now I think I will stick to the old formula of a frame up rehab.
DeleteRyan