where to buy second hand bikes in canberra?

[cludence]

Are you in Canberra itself or on the outskirts? I have a friend in Queenbeyan who is good with bikes if it is any help.

Karen.

[james06]

I'm in Canberra, but where I live is quite far from Qbn Thanks though!

My plan is to buy all the tools & tyre tomorrow and give it ago myself. Like you say, the kit will probably come with some instructions. If not, I've found some good 'how to' articles on changing bike tyres on the net too.


by the way, why is it that 27" tyres are no longer used with new bikes? Is there some problem with them?

[europa]

Nothing wrong with 27". Back in the eighties and earlier, the Brits used wheels in 1" increments. For some obscure reason, the Europeans used wheels in metric increments. All that's happened is instead of 'the british 27" racing wheel vs the European 700C wheel', we all use the 700C wheel now. Give it ten years and they'll find some other new standard so you'll have to buy different sized tyres again

Richard
resident cynic

[531db]

700C (ETRO 622) is also an ISO (International Standards Organisation) standard so we are no likely to see a change in size.
Incidently the old British 27" (ETRO 630) was a late 1930's approximation of the older established continental 700C, which did not come into common use in the UK or Australia until post WWII. Prior to that in Great Britain 26x1.1/4 was the 'sporting' tyre size and 28x1.1/2 the 'roadster' tyre size. In Australia, 28x 1.1/2 was more prevalant for all applications.

[mikesbytes]

Theres less selection of tyres for 27" and it will only get less in the future as its a discontinued size.

[cludence]

Speaking of 27inch tyres. I was at a gentleman's house yesterday who repairs bikes to send overseas. More often than not a great number have 27inch tyres. Most have the usual cracks on the sidewalls from being flat and unused for several years. He was going crazy trying to think of a way around having to throw these tires. In desperation he grabbed some Bond Crete and painted it around the edges of the tyres. I thought he was mad until I had a look. As absurd as it sounds, it actually works really well! Obviously not something you would paint on a high quality tyre of course but for tires that have good tread but cracked walls, it works very well. He has given me some and I have a road bike here with tyres like that so I am going to paint them and start riding this bike to see how long it actually lasts.

[james06]

the deed is done i'm glad that i took those photos because i dislodged the chain when i managed to get the rear wheel free and wasn't 100% sure how to put it back

the tyre that you describe sounds like my front tyre. good tread but flaky walls. someone at a bike shop said they're still ok to use as they are..

[cludence]

So did you go for a ride? Surely you didnt put it away before a test spin? I have always changed the tyres when they are flakey but have heard they are ok still to use. I have never been game as I am scared it will come apart on me one day and I will have a long walk home with my bike.

[MJF]

I rolled into OnyaBike in Belc. the other day to replace the tube and rim strip on the new bike (wrong size strip from new, two punctures in two days and six cuts in the tube), and they were stunned that I was going to change the parts on the spot myself. They told me they get lots of people coming in with punctures, even people who use bikes for commuting. It must be the mobile phone mentality of "come and pick me up"....

Michael. (why doesn't my sig attach?)

[TriggerFish]

Hehe...I've made the "come pick me up" call in the past, but not for a puncture. If I did get a puncture, I would make the call then fix it at home. Not quite ready to do it on the road methinks. Maybe with some practice it might be different . More power to you though!

[MJF]

Practice? Easy.

Go out to your shed/garage/carport/dungeon and remove the front wheel. Deflate the tyre (I carry a valve stem remover, but the end of a key or pen works just as well). Once the tyre is deflated, remove the tyre & tube using tyre levers, then reassembly is the reverse order of disassembly - except you use a pump to put the air back in, and you should avoid using a tyre lever when refitting the tyre as you may pinch the tube (partially inflate first). It should take you less than ten minutes to do the whole job. Fifteen if you have to wait for glue to tack Just wait until you get to use your chain breaker in the middle of nowhere to remove a damaged link...

Michael.

[james06]

hey guys,

I'm thinking of changing some parts due to excessive wear. How much can I expect to pay for a rear derailleur? I imagine that such parts would have to be ordered in..

[cludence]

James is it just the rear derailleur you need? I actually picked up the exact same bike as yours on the weekend. Same colour and all. I have not had a great look at it as yet. But I can check and if the parts are better than yours, you are welcome to them.

Karen.

[LuckyPierre]

If Karen's bits don't work out, let me know. I've got some suitable stuff too.