The Paraflite lives
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:47 pm
Yup, another old bike is about to return to the streets, the mighty Paraflite 
I know nothing about Paraflite, but there is a sticker that promises a ten year warrantee and which claims it was marketed by Leisure Cycles Australia.
She was bought off ebay for about nothing with the intention of converting her to a track bike. That didn't happen, though she was pulled down to a bare frame before I gave up and bought a track frame for the lad.
This left this old bike, plus all its bits, plus the bits I'd pulled off the Road Chief (which has suffered the track bike fate).
One of my son's mates rides to school periodically and would like to ride more. The trouble is, he's only got a bmx and his ride is just a slightly shorter version of ours ie, he has to go up and down Expressway Hill too
Not fun on a bmx.
So I've built the old Paraflite up for him. Redid all the bearings. Put the best wheels on her (still rusty steel rims with elcrappo hubs), replaced the broken spoke and fitted a new pair of tyres. I then picked the best components out of the two bikes. She's got Shimano gears - unnamed but fairly chunky items that work rather well. Same thing with the shifters. They are very nice shifters to use (friction) despite being mounted where they are - I was expecting a bit of vagueness. A cable here and there, a couple of other odd bits. All up, she owes me $50.
She's a heavy old brute thanks to the steel rims and heavy cassette. The frame is undoubtably plain tubing - it's unbranded.
So how does she ride? Very well actually. She's smooth and seems to have very nice geometry. The gears shift nicely and cleanly, though I suspect the lad is going have fun with friction shifters rather than indexed. Do him good. As a bike to ride around the suburbs on, she'd be great.
Another old girl returns to the streets, the mighty Paraflite
Richard
I know nothing about Paraflite, but there is a sticker that promises a ten year warrantee and which claims it was marketed by Leisure Cycles Australia.
She was bought off ebay for about nothing with the intention of converting her to a track bike. That didn't happen, though she was pulled down to a bare frame before I gave up and bought a track frame for the lad.
This left this old bike, plus all its bits, plus the bits I'd pulled off the Road Chief (which has suffered the track bike fate).
One of my son's mates rides to school periodically and would like to ride more. The trouble is, he's only got a bmx and his ride is just a slightly shorter version of ours ie, he has to go up and down Expressway Hill too
Not fun on a bmx.So I've built the old Paraflite up for him. Redid all the bearings. Put the best wheels on her (still rusty steel rims with elcrappo hubs), replaced the broken spoke and fitted a new pair of tyres. I then picked the best components out of the two bikes. She's got Shimano gears - unnamed but fairly chunky items that work rather well. Same thing with the shifters. They are very nice shifters to use (friction) despite being mounted where they are - I was expecting a bit of vagueness. A cable here and there, a couple of other odd bits. All up, she owes me $50.
She's a heavy old brute thanks to the steel rims and heavy cassette. The frame is undoubtably plain tubing - it's unbranded.
So how does she ride? Very well actually. She's smooth and seems to have very nice geometry. The gears shift nicely and cleanly, though I suspect the lad is going have fun with friction shifters rather than indexed. Do him good. As a bike to ride around the suburbs on, she'd be great.
Another old girl returns to the streets, the mighty Paraflite
Richard
)
