# The Summer of Odd Bikes



## Shockley (May 26, 2008)

Hello, 

I've just joined, and for one purpose: to chronicle and find tips on my summer bike restoration projects. I'm back at my parents' house after my freshman year in college at the University of Minnesota. This might be the last time in a while I have access to a garage, so I'd really like to finish this stuff by the time I'm back at school in the fall. 

So... here's what I've got. Two bikes, as you may notice. I got these both from an old lady who was moving out of her house to live in an assisted living development. She didn't really know or remember anything about them so it's all a mystery to me, really. they haven't been used in over 10 years, but I'm not sure how much wear and tear they had before that.






The blue 10-speed in the background is a Monarch "Star" (made in Japan). It has Suntour shifters and a Weinmann brake system. I've got a lot to do with this guy. 








Here's the plan:

1. Take it apart, clean it.






2. Replace the tires (25"), and any/all nuts and bolts that are rusty or unusable.

3. Fix the brakes, and make sure the shifting system works cleanly.

4. I'd like to re-paint it. This isn't absolutely necessary, as the current paint is fairly intact, but I'd like to make this into a sort of art bike. I'd match the grips with the paint job, and add a new seat as well.




The crazy yellow 3-wheel is the one I'm really excited about. From what I've gathered from the bike itself, it's from Montgomery Ward, and part of the "Open Road" series they had. To be frank, I don't really care. I would like to make this bike work well, and if the authenticity of the restoration is questionable, so be it. I just think it would be rockin' to have an adult-sized tricycle.





Problems to solve here:

1. Clean the cog gear system. It's going to be a chore just to take it apart, and 30 years of grime don't make for a quick clean. We'll see how that goes. Also I need to figure out whether or not this baby is a 3-speed, as it claims to be, and how that works and whatnot. I would not, at all, mind making this a one-speed and scrapping the shifter system.









2. Find new tires. Shouldn't be too hard. 22".

3. Fix the speedometer. It sounds absurd for a bike like this, or really any bike, to have a speedometer, and that's basically the reason I want to keep it. The display reads "Capri" and says it has 739.5 miles.





4. There's light rust and general gunk all over the place. I'll need to clean all that. I don't want to re-paint, but I might want to at least touch up the spots that have chips and rust pockets.


So... I know that's a lot to spit out there, but there is a lot I need to do for these guys. I'll be checking this site often during the process and posting more as I progress. ANY tips or suggestions or comments or anything would be way appreciated. Thanks everyone.

-J Shocks


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