Worth it to repair bicycle?

Question

I've been given a mountain bike, it's not in great shape, but I thought it was "serviceable", now I'm not so sure. The tires need to be replaced, it needs a new chain, and a new braking system (the one that's on now has a broken cable). The big issue is the "gear system", the cables are also broken on it, and it won't switch gears. What are some options, I'm getting a bike just for cruising around, but I live in a rural area with not many paved roads, so the mountain bike seemed like the best idea. I just need to know if I'm better off buying a new bicycle, or if it's going to be cost effective to repair this one.

Answer 1

cables and tires are kind of maintenance items on a bike.  a set of cables for either brake or derailers is only about $10.  you can spend much more, but a basic set is fairly inexpensive.  same with tires.  even paying labor you should come up far ahead of a new bike.

Answer 2

Absolutely worth it. The issues you've mentioned may seem bad but they're actually pretty straightforward and inexpensive to fix. Take a trip to your local bike shop and they'll be able to advise you and help you find the parts needed. most bike shops have a repair service to and even if you pay them to do it for you it'll still be much cheaper than buying a new bike.

Good Luck and happy cycling

Answer 3

Depending on the tires you buy, you may spend up to $30.00-40.00 each.  

Brake and derailleur cables are about $5.00 each.  Cable housings cost about $1.00/foot.  Its a good idea to replace cable housings when you replace cables.  

While you are at it, you should put on new brake shoes.  These will run about $20.00 for a set.

You can get a lunch bucket chain for around $20.00.

I expect you'll spend around $50.00-$100.00 for labor.

Hopefully, these are all quite generous estimates.  Even if not, this should be much less than a decent quality new bike.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Go to Walmart and get a new chain for $6 a brake/gear cable pack for $5 and see what you can do. Get help from a friend and look at a few web sites for help.  If you had a few pics it would help.  Here are a few sites to help out.

http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html

http://bicycletutor.com/

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

If you can get the bike to shift and brake then get a set of tires.