The good “junk” bike

So I found a junk bike that someone discarded. The chain was completely rusted on it and frozen. It had front and rear lights on it, but the batteries were really old in both and starting to corrode.

I put a lot of chain lube on the chain. It kind of moved a bit. So I moved it and tried to get it to free up. There were quite a few links which were really frozen and I had to use two pairs of pliers to loosen them.

But I eventually got the chain to work. The bike works. There’s nothing wrong with it. The shifters work. The derailleurs work. The frame is lightweight aluminum. It has a nice quality stem on it. The hybrid, wide, road tires are almost like new. The brakes work great. The rims are in excellent condition. The seat is cushy and like new.

The components are “budget” components but they are good. They are Shimano. I notice that even modest-level components on newer bikes seem a lot better than on bikes a long time ago. Over time the quality of bikes has generally increased. Technology has improved a lot. I would definitely recommend if you’re going for a budget bike to look for Shimano.

Someone apparently got this bike and just left it sit outdoors in the rain, for a long time. Hard to believe this kind of thing happens [no tarp? garbage bags?] but it does.

I can either keep it even though I already have a high-end hybrid for city biking – maybe as a bike for guests – or I can sell it. For now I’ll keep it. It’s always fun to have a bike.