free bike from Kitty Hawk NC

[thom]

I spent the last few days in Kitty Hawk NC. The first day there I went to all three bicycle shops listed in the yellow pages of the phone book.The first one was Kitty Hawk Cycles. The gent working there was very friendly. I asked if he had any old three speed or old ten speed bikes . He said yes , he had an old English three speed I could have free if I wanted it. Of course I said yes. He rolled out a 1956 Phillips, mens model.It's pretty rough. Someone has painted it with a brush and painted gold pinstriping on it. The color red they used matches the original on the underside of the fenders pretty closely.It is missing the right side crank-arm, pedal, chain-ring, and chain guard.The chain was included , but not shown in my photos. It appears to have the original tires on it. There is a generator , headlight and taillight on it.It has a kickstand that is adjustable in length.I,m thinking it will be a good wall-hanger, probably not a candidate for restoration.I had to completely dissassemble it to fit it in the trunk of my wife's car along with our luggage for the 6 hour trip home.

 

[scrumblero]

camelback!! sweet!

 

[Lavagasm]

Oh man! Awesome!!! Also, I love Kittyhawk. And the entire Outer Banks for that matter. There's some beautiful beaches out there and some awesome bike trails.

 

[Frank Fencepost]

Very pretty. I'm new to bicycles so out of curiosity, can you tell me why you wouldn't restore it?

 

[thom]

Frank, I can't seem to pass up a chance to bring home an interesting old bike, as you could tell if you were to visit me. However, some are like this Phillips. It has been repainted with a brush and striped , freehand. The fenders are both bent and twisted.The seat is not the correct one. The rear rim , although not bad, has some chrome peeling in spots, the largest about half the size of a dime.The missing parts, crank arm, pedal, and chain guard would cost more than the value of the bike.I personally will not restore a bike that requires repainting as I do not have the equipment or the talent to do a good job.I have not seen a rattle-can paint job that looks nearly as good as the factory paint on even a cheap bike.I have some bikes in my collection that I have spent some time trying to "bring back" what was left of the factory paint.There are a lot of things that can be done , short of painting.I might return the Phillips to rideable condition if I find a real deal in a crank arm, chainwheel , and pedal. It could be ridden without the chain guard, which would be , probably the most difficult part to locate.The reality of a bikes restorability sometimes sets in after I get home with it.

 

[Frank Fencepost]

Right, I guess restoring it to look as it did in its original new condition is out of the question. But what's stopping you from just using the frame/forks/etc to build a rad bike? Or is it just that you have SO MANY bikes already that it's easier to just work with something you have that won't require as much time and money?

Again I want to say I'm just curious about this, I'm trying to learn as much as I can.