Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

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imk123
Posts: 13
Joined: 28 May 2022, 10:48am

Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by imk123 »

Hello,
I have recently acquired an As New 15 year old ridden four times Dahon Vitesse 7005 Alloy 20" folder.
The bike still has un-cracked Dahon branded tires with molding pips, hence i think this little bike is genuine unused.

Question is how much of a service to i need to do on it:
Will a spot or two of oil here n there be ok or do i need to replace wheel hub/head stock grease etc.

I have ridden it for a half mile of so and it feels like new.

Many thanks imk
Stradageek
Posts: 1657
Joined: 17 Jan 2011, 1:07pm

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by Stradageek »

I fettle many bikes of this age and many have similar tiny mileages. Unfortunately newness doesn't mean well built, it depends on the skill of and care taken by the original assembler.

I commonly find:

Over-tight bearings
Uneven spoke tension
Mis-aligned brakes
Perished tyres
Solidified grease
Mis-aligned gears

Brake alignment and perished tyres are the main safety issues. Over-tight bearings and to a lesser extent solidified grease are most likely to cause permanent damage.

So I'd check everything and seriously consider disassembling, checking and/or greasing/re-setting the wheel, BB and headset bearings. However I might be considered a bit picky :)
mattsccm
Posts: 5101
Joined: 28 Nov 2009, 9:44pm

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by mattsccm »

Look at it then ride it. You'll see if the tyres are knackered and feel any dodgy bearings. Slam the brakes on where it doesn't matter if they fail. After this you'll know what wants doing.
pwa
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Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by pwa »

I'd work on the assumption that the old lube may well be solidified or not as fluid as it once was, so get some new stuff in there. And adjust any bearings while you are at it. Fettle brake cables as necessary. And see how it goes.
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foxyrider
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Joined: 29 Aug 2011, 10:25am
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by foxyrider »

i'd be doing a full service on that so i knew it was all aok
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
Mike Sales
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Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by Mike Sales »

Few new bikes are assembled with much care.
Whether a little used or not at all, I would give any new bike a good going over, greasing threads and bearings and lubricating throughout.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Bonzo Banana
Posts: 416
Joined: 5 Feb 2017, 11:58am

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by Bonzo Banana »

I'm not a fan of Dahons I feel they are grossly overpriced for what they are and many of their so called innovations are a bit crap like that stupid wire they have on some of their current models. However they are mainly sold through smaller dealers and so typically get a good check over at the retailer before being sold. This in in contrast to many internet purchased bikes or Argos for example where they basically come with rough assembly at the factory and then get boxed up and the next person to open the box is likely the end customer.

I would certainly want to refresh grease if very old though.
peetee
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Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by peetee »

Stradageek wrote: 28 May 2022, 5:04pm I fettle many bikes of this age and many have similar tiny mileages. Unfortunately newness doesn't mean well built, it depends on the skill of and care taken by the original assembler.

I commonly find:

Over-tight bearings
Uneven spoke tension
Mis-aligned brakes
Perished tyres
Solidified grease
Mis-aligned gears

Brake alignment and perished tyres are the main safety issues. Over-tight bearings and to a lesser extent solidified grease are most likely to cause permanent damage.

So I'd check everything and seriously consider disassembling, checking and/or greasing/re-setting the wheel, BB and headset bearings. However I might be considered a bit picky :)
Not picky at all. This certainly echoes my experiences in the trade.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by Jamesh »

Also loose pedals!

I have a couple if clients with folding bikes one with a £1k tern and the other with a £300 carrera I cannot tell the difference apart from assembly quality.... Carrara pedal fell off a month into ownership and stripped the thread.

Halfords fixed it though FOC.....
Bonzo Banana
Posts: 416
Joined: 5 Feb 2017, 11:58am

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by Bonzo Banana »

Jamesh wrote: 29 May 2022, 10:42am Also loose pedals!

I have a couple if clients with folding bikes one with a £1k tern and the other with a £300 carrera I cannot tell the difference apart from assembly quality.... Carrara pedal fell off a month into ownership and stripped the thread.

Halfords fixed it though FOC.....
Pedals falling off is the classic sign of someone not knowing what they are doing. Argos sell bikes straight from the factory in boxes that the end customers have to assemble and you see all sorts of complaints in the reviews of their bikes. Walmart I think even give special instruction sheets wrapped around the supplied pedals so you have to read the warning before you can get to the pedals. Typically someone starts installing the pedal on the wrong side damages the thread before then presumably removing it and then fitting it to the correct side but now with damaged threads and of course it keeps working loose and falling off as the threads on the crank arms or pedals are toast. Its especially bad with aluminium crank arms as those threads are very weak anyway and the steel threads of the pedals will just chew through them easily with not much resistance.

Reminds me of this video. I can see nothing wrong with the bikes if assembled properly by mechanically minded individuals but this shows how the general population assemble bikes. Nowadays all flat pack bikes have the instructions have the bike assembled and checked by a bike mechanic but that rarely happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeAVosPXFTw
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Audax67
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Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by Audax67 »

I bought one for madame in 2013. She rode it once and said "never again" so it went under a bench in the workshop. I got it out maybe 5 years later and had to unfold it by putting a foot on one bit of frame and pulling up on the other with both hands. What the instructions called "the handlepost" needed similar tough love.

It's been sitting in the workshop ever since and nobody wants to touch it. I ICBA servicing it to sell it for the 3½d it would bring.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by Jdsk »

Bonzo Banana wrote: 2 Jun 2022, 9:08amPedals falling off is the classic sign of someone not knowing what they are doing. Argos sell bikes straight from the factory in boxes that the end customers have to assemble and you see all sorts of complaints in the reviews of their bikes.
If anyone has family or friends or colleagues in this situation please remind them that many mobile bike mechanics will assemble and adjust bikes bought online or elsewhere.

Jonathan
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squeaker
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Location: Sussex

Re: Amount of Service required for As New Old Bike

Post by squeaker »

Audax67 wrote: 2 Jun 2022, 9:19am I bought one for madame in 2013. She rode it once and said "never again" so it went under a bench in the workshop. I got it out maybe 5 years later and had to unfold it by putting a foot on one bit of frame and pulling up on the other with both hands. What the instructions called "the handlepost" needed similar tough love.

It's been sitting in the workshop ever since and nobody wants to touch it. I ICBA servicing it to sell it for the 3½d it would bring.
Were you considerably closer geographically then I'd offer to take it off your hands (f.o.c.). My 2007 Vitesse D5 has been a useful companion on several train trips and other more local adventures. It too lives under my garage bench when not in use, but it is a dry garage ;) Not something for longer rides, but it's happily done what was asked of it.
"42"
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