SchwinnBikeForum

Bad Mechanics Files

Started by rickpaulos, Nov 11, 2024, 02:22 PM

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rickpaulos

collection of needed or bad repairs.

Lets Go Fishin

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rickpaulos

#1
Seat post too small?  No problem, just nail it in.



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Yumm.
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Bikes42

Thanks Rick! I always love these.

Good to see you back!

Tad
Several Schwinn bikes including: Paramount, Prelude (2), Super Sport (6), Premis, Sports Tourer
Other favorites:
Merckx: Corsa Extra, Sallanches 64, Liege 75, Titanium EX
Lemond: Buenos Aires, Zurich
Serotta: Colorado LT
Raleigh: Competition
Redline: Conquest

JeffC

Rick always comes through. He nailed it. ;D

rickpaulos

Front wheel retention devices were mandated by the Consumer Product Protection Act signed in to law by Richard Nixon in 1972.  It took until 1975 before the first regulations from the new CPSC went in to effect. Many companies already had their own designs for front wheel retention for years before.  This is the sort that could nominate someone for a Darwin Award.  Tightening the front nuts with pliers is a step towards that.

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rickpaulos

Fred Flintstone training wheels.
They were grinding down pretty quick and weren't holding the bike up.
Maybe next time use solid wood, not plywood and spray them with flex seal?  uck.

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rickpaulos

#6
I stopped by the local bike coop that I manage today to take some photos.  Two guys see the door is open.  First guy rides up on a 24" bso full suspension bike.  The rear triangle pivot bolt fell out or broke off.  The owner kept riding it anyhow.  Stuffed a bit of stick in the hole to try to hold it together. The right side part of the pivot bolt was in full on battle with the small chain ring. The pivot bolt lost its flange, the small chainring lost it's teeth.  Grrrrrrrr.
I've scrapped out 100+ of these low end bsos so i have a supply of the special pivot bolts and "shocks".  I pulled the crank and installed a bolt.  I noticed the front der cage was ground clear through but that wasn't an issue. The owner (Felix) was asking about getting better tires for it but was in a hurry to get to work.  Felix took it upon himself to fire up a translator app on his phone so we could talk to the other guy who walked up.

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OldBaldie

I really missed the Bad Mechanics Files. Thanks for sharing and keep them coming
1970 Schwinn Twinn Deluxe Sky Blue
1973 Schwinn Suburban Opaque Blue Men's 5sp
1973 Schwinn Suburban Opaque Blue Woman's 10 sp
1973 Schwinn Continental Opaque Blue Men's 10sp
1980's Schwinn World Tourist Sky Blue Men's 3 sp (Mfg by Giant)
1972 Peugeot UO-8 Green Men's 10sp

rickpaulos

Thanks.  They just keep showing up.  I'll keep posting as I see them.




rickpaulos

#9
An oldie but a goodie.

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rickpaulos

This what those bolts look like.


rickpaulos

This was brought in this week.
A new Huffy Rockit.  One of their "EZ Build" bikes.  IMO, now the worst bikes made. A clear front runner in that category.*  I've scraped out a dozen of these bikes as they are just so wobbly no kid could ever learn to ride on them. They aren't made to repair so they get scrapped out.

The "No tools needed for asssembly" bikes started in about 2019.  The plug in handle bar stem means very wobbly steering. After seeing dozens of these I see they are modifying the design. This one has an extra cross pin in the steering tube about 2" down from the top. Their is a plastic plug inserted in to the bottom of the stem that is supposed to clip over that pin.  This particular bike would not snap in to place, even with some vigorous pounding with a shot mallet.  Okay scrap it.

A new sticker on the underside "Assembled in the USA" by National Assemblers Inc dot net.  A Florida company that puts stuff together.  Looks like an attempt to bypass Trumps tariff increase from 10% to 25% on bikes from his previous term.  I'm sure there is some fine print in the tarifs laws regarding percentages of effort there & here that defines what is made in China. The standard 16" kids bike with training wheels went for $39.95 5 years ago to $99.99 last winter to $109.99 at wallyworld now.  Anyone who has gone in to a local bike shop usually gets sticker shock there too.

Back to the junk.

 






little push buttons hold the stem in the fork and thus the fork in the frame.



the new pin addition to the left




Another feature of the EZ Build bikes.  Pedals are pre-installed.  After you unbox the mail order bike you twist the pedals outward and the cranks snap in to place.  There is no way to service the bb bearings as the plastic cover over the crank arm joint is larger than the bb thread sizes.




Rear axle cross threaded. Surely using some power tools at the assembly factory.


On most bikes, the paint gets chewed up by the axle nuts. On this model axle nuts also hold sheet metal training wheel brackets in place so the axle nuts aren't turning on the paint.

BTW, many of these cheap kids bikes have thinner axles.  5/16" instead of 3/8".  No compatibility with 3/8" parts like axle nuts, cones, bearings.





Check them out for yourself.



*
I've had discussions with many about how bad bikes can be.  15 years ago I was thinking the Chinese Roadmasters were the worst. Then I started at the local coop and have worked on thousands of cheap Chinese bikes.  I discovered Roadmasters, once one the best selling models, were being made in 2 factories. One was really bad, the other only as bad as the rest.  So many candidates for worst bike but most have proven to be pretty equally bad.  Now the Huffy EZ Build is running away with the status.
My local coop has taken in over 6000 bike in the past 12 years.  Many are the old USA made department store bikes from Huffy, AMF, Murray, Ross and Columbia.  Most of those are pretty bad bikes.  Many aren't even good enough to use as yard art.  I guess that's what the Chinese learned to replace but for less cost.  Before you get stuck on the idea that Chinese is all junk, well it's not.  Cheap  is bad everywhere.  You get what you pay for applies to Chinese stuff too.  There are some decent bikes coming from China. Check out your local Trek Store and you will see "made in china" nearly every model. 

The USA Commerce Department tracks all production and imports.  Last time I checked, it was 92% from China and 6% from Taiwan for bikes sold in the USA. That leaves about 2% from all the other countries and within the USA combined.  The point of tariffs is to protect domestic production and jobs.  They are used in nearly every country that produces anything. That ship has sailed on so many USA industries. That means tariffs only effect is to raise more tax money.  I've seen that most politicians think the more of our money they spend, the more important they think they are.









rickpaulos

White tires are the worst.I've said it many times. Countless Disney Princess and other character bikes have them.  Even 4 year old girls can shred them in a single summer. They don't last for long when exposed to air.  Many look to have nylon threads instead of cotton or hemp. The white doesn't stay stuck to the threads. They get very punky.  With new tires costing about $20 each, plan on an extra $40 for any kids bike with them.

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JeffC

The UV rays from the sun play havoc on white plastic and nylon. It's why we had to use black zip ties on wire tie downs on the roof of locomotives. I'm not a big fan of the other color tires that they sell for adult bikes either.

You hear all the hoopla about recycle this and recycle that but when push comes to shove and you try and take bike, motorcycle, lawn tractor and small trailer tires in to be recycled they tell you we don't accept those so get lost.

rickpaulos

#14
Iowa has a law banning disposing of "tires" in landfills among other toxic items.  No distinction made for bicycle tires, car tires, truck tires, etc.  The state allows car & truck tire sellers and landfills to charge a disposal fee.  Last year I had a garden project for few car tires and it only took a short drive on the outskirts of town to get plenty from the ditches.  My city requires garbage to be bagged before putting it in the residential trash bins that are picked up with grab arms (not people).  Like turning a blind eye to whats in the garbage when you use black trash bags.  Oil cans, bike tires, paints, lead, etc.

I've never heard of anyone recycling bicycle tires. 

In 2012, the new Iowa City landfill caught fire.  It was designed to be a modern landfill, a clay base with drains, then lined with shredded tires to protect the clay from the bulldozers that pushed the trash around.  But they put a 3 to 5 foot thick layer of shredded tires, far too much, and it spontaneously caught fire.  They tried to blame residents for throwing out charcoal briquettes but this was before it officially opened for business.  They bulldozed layers and layers of dirt over it to try to smoother what was effectively a tire fire.  All that did was contain some of the smoke. The tires melted and with the new clay liner and drains, they collected a few hundred thousand gallons of oil that melted out of the tires. The fun part was the insurance company denied the claim stating the landfill wasn't covered yet as it was new and had not passed it's final inspection prior to opening. Many news reports were so contrary to each other.  Some the quoted experts were completely wrong. 

So why ban tires from landfills if they start by putting shredded tires in there.  In this part of the world, buried tires will eventually pop out of the ground.  Just 1 more item that won't stay buried.  The latest uptick in fires is being blamed on consumer batteries.

I just bought a bunch of new tires & tubes.  The labels state they have a "low lead" content.  And years ago California replaced the "bacteria laden" wood chips in all the play grounds with rubber mulch.  Hum.  Pick your poison.

I watched some how its made tv show that visited a California cement factory that was using millions of tires tossed into the furnace to reduce the gas used. They claim the fire was so hot there were no emissions. Sure.



On May 26, 2012, a fire broke out at Iowa City's municipal landfill. While more than 8,000 landfill fires occur annually in the United States, the Iowa City fire was unusual in that the ignition involved the landfill's lining system, a three-foot layer of shredded tires designed to protect underlying soil and water.

Over the next 18 days, while fire fighters and contractors worked to extinguish the blaze, a column of black smoke was visible for miles as an estimated 1.3 million tires burned.


IOWA CITY - Fire damage at the Iowa City Landfill is still being assessed, but city officials say things are looking worse than originally expected.

"It's not good news," said Dan Scott, a project engineer assigned to the landfill rebuilding. "The fire did more damage than we actually thought."

He estimated the total damage costs at $5 million. The fire broke out over Memorial Day weekend and smoldered until late August. It's believed to have been sparked when someone dropped off hot waste, though the exact cause has never been determined.

We lost about 14 acres of our new cell," Scott said. "We're trying to figure out how much was destroyed by the fire, and how much is still here that maybe we can repair."

Crews on Wednesday used a remote-controlled camera to inspect underground piping. At least one 600-foot pipe will likely need to be replaced rather than repaired, Scott said.

The city plans to begin repairing the damaged cell next year. Much of the project will involve removing a large clay liner, which heat turned to brick during the blaze.

It's still not clear if the city's insurance policy will cover any of the damage, Scott said.