Upgrade or trade in?

pakapakita · May 23, 2013

Hello all. I am a very, very clueless bike owner and would love help deciding whether or not to keep my bike. It's a 1987(?) Lotus Challenger Mixte Sport Series and I love its light weight and the general appearance.

However, I've been thinking of painting it due to some frame rusting, buying a new brown saddle and matching handlebar tape (due to be changed anyway), and was thinking of raising the handlebars since bending over hurts my back and I end up using the "suicide" brakes only.

I've attached some photos to show minor rust, current brake condition, and the "max height" setting on the handlebars, which leaves me to believe I can't even raise them if I want...?

I spent $150 on it a few years ago and sadly money is a consideration here. Any tips would be great! It seems painting it myself is doable but may look awful after a few months (?), and professional paint jobs are super pricey.

Oh, and I live in Brooklyn, so all local options will probably be overpriced.

Merlincustom · May 23, 2013

The rust is minor. I wouldn't paint it myself, and the bike itself isn't worth a professional repaint. I'd touch up the rust with some rusty metal primer and spot paint the areas. I'd do the new saddle and tape route. Don't raise the stem above the max height line. The bike is fairly upright now, so I'd get my back assessed if you have that much pain. There's no saddle to bar drop, the position isn't aggresive at all. You might be able to find a stem with a longer insertion to get you upright even more.

kneedrachen · May 23, 2013

I agree with Merlin on all points; there's a ton of bicycle collectives in and around Williamsburg and Red Hook where you can get in-person help with the tasks if you need some help.

kneedrachen · May 23, 2013

Oh and by the way, WELCOME to Two Spoke!

pakapakita · May 23, 2013

Thanks for the replies! How awfully dangerous is it to use the suicide/bar brakes? I use the bike for weekend day trips around NYC at the most.

kneedrachen · May 24, 2013

Before I worry about that, if I'm looking at the picture of your stem, it looks like you're already past the minimum insertion/maximum extension on your stem. . .Might want to lower that so the line above the arrow is in the head tube.

pakapakita · May 25, 2013

Thanks for the advice. I'm now curious about just changing the handlebars (and therefore brake shifters..what else?) to make it into a bike I'll love and be more comfortable riding.

How ambitious/crazy is it to take this on myself? Is a riser handlebar plus new brake shifters a monstrous task to take on?

So far I've determined I have a threaded/quill stem...and extra cable length that MIGHT not require me to mess with that if I switch to a riser handlebar.

What do you guys think?

Merlincustom · May 25, 2013

You have more variety in hand position with drop bars than riser bars. If you just want more height you should investigate a new stem. It looks like your current stem is -17 degrees, which puts it about parallel to the ground with a head tube that is maybe 73 degrees. There are different angled quill out there that might give you some height. This is tough to do on the web. You should have your LBS eyeball you on the bike and make some recommendations.

kneedrachen · May 28, 2013

What Merlin said plus keep the bell at all costs!

wild · May 28, 2013

I find that nail polish makes a good touch up paint, many colors out there

Upgrade or trade in?

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