So my new job at RealEstate.com means a slightly more arduous commute requiring two trains and then a 2.1km walk to the office. All up time 60 minutes of which 20-25 minutes is walking. I like walking, the trees, the mountains, the odd bird but Richmond is mainly traffic and houses.
To shorten the commute I tried my trusty longboard. I can’t actually skateboard and the rutted streets and pavements of East Richmond meant it was just an accident waiting to happen.
And then I saw a guy on the train with a BMX.
And fate struck. I found a BMX on the local Oval. Sad looking with front tyre off, tube out, no chain, no lubrication on a single bearing… she deserved better. I looked around cautiously then dragged her sorry ass home to the garage.
After an hour or so I had the wheels, crank and head bearings all bathed in a fresh coat of grease, the front tyre fixed and pumped and after a nip to Bluecross cycles a new chain. Total spend $14. Monday arrived, 6 minutes Train to Office.
Win
For a while I basked in the joy of a shitty bike that was perfect for its new role; crap enough not to get stolen, rough enough not to care.
Of course it couldn’t last
Within a month I was on ebay searching for upgrades. Wheels, cranks, brakes, tyres… what I needed was a donor bike. Not for me the expense of new parts, not for me the 18 month plus build time of Project Fixed.
This time efficiency of build and lowness of cost. A couple of weeks of searching got me this 2002 Mongoose Menace resplendent with classic 1980’s OGK mags. I viewed this as a serious score.
After picking it up I was so eager to get moving I neglected to take a photo before it was in bits!
First up those classic OGKs which looked a bit dull and worn from 20 years of abuse.
Google.
Restoring BMX Skyway Mags.
The result sounded pretty easy.
- Remove/clean wheels.
- Wait for the Mrs to got out for the day.
- Put wheels on 70 degree wash in dishwasher.
- While dishwasher is on, remove recycling from bin and jetwash bin.
- Dishwasher finishes and wheels are lovely, clean and nice and warm.
- Boil up some water / turn up thermostat and fill recycling bin with hot water.
- Add fabric dye.
- Add salt.
- Add some more salt.
- Stir.
- Retrieve wheels from dishwasher
- Remind self to never tell Mrs about dishwasher part of this process.
- Add wheels to recycling bin and shut lid.
- Every ten minutes go and give wheels a bit of a stir.
- After 40 minutes fish out the wheels and leave to dry.
- Dispose of water in responsible manner.
- Once dry treat wheels to a layer of WD40 and leave to dry.
- Et Voila. A pretty decent finish.
For anyone wanting to refresh a pair of old school BMX wheels I can recommend this method, even after a few months riding they are still looking pretty decent.
So once the wheels were completed it was time to check out the frame. To be honest neither frame really took my fancy but cost meant I simply had to use one or the other. After some thought I went with the Mongoose forks with the original frame. The mongoose frame was just ugly but the forks looked better and had brakes.
The original frame wasn’t really that much to look at either so I drilled some graduated holes in it to give it something a bit different then sanded the whole lot down. Once clean and grease free it was time for a paint job. Powdercoat was out due to expense. So rattle cans it was.
Having used various rattle cans in the past the nicest ones to use from a paint flow perspective seem to be those sold for ‘art’ or as its better known graffiti. So I ordered a couple of cans of baby blue from an online store.
This graf paint was a bit odd, really powdery, I needed to sweep up in the garage afterwards. Once dry the finish was rough to the touch. I got some fine wire wool and lightly sanded to remove the top and produce a nice smooth matt finish which I was pretty happy with.
Then it was simply a task of cheery picking the best bits to make up the thing. I allowed myself to purchase new bearings for the bottom bracket, re-greased the wheels, got nicer chain, brake cables, bar ends and finally some 1.60 Tioga Powerblock tyres. This was going to be a sweet ride.
I guess the result isn’t worth much dollar wise but it looks pretty good and its had plenty of workmates wanting to have a ride. With all the bearings greased and the new tyres she rolls really well and even though I’ve now moved work and no longer need to use her, in many ways I miss my morning 2km ride to work. The best thing though, I really enjoyed making it.
