I'm Not Kidding Around!

Kids Bike: Strip them down and rebuild project

For quite a while, I've been rebuilding kids bikes and giving them away to hopeful youths.  I would pick up a discarded bike on the street, in the ditch or in a dumpster and wheel it home or one-hand it as I rode my bike.


Most of the bikes were rusted, trashed, hopeless pieces of crap. I guess that's why the kids or BMX'ers chucked them. Several were left beside condo/apartment dumpsters when families moved out and on to greater things in their lives.

Finished Up: Bearings are smooth rolling now.

I always hated to see these "disposable bikes" thrown away like the garbage. They once offered so much fun and hope for the kids that rode them. Maybe I felt good if I could fix them up for a new life again OR maybe I could scrap away the rusty scratches and I would feel like a kid again? Life's weird sometimes.


A few years back there was a church guy who would pick up the refirb bikes and ahaul them down to Mexico to a Mission. From there the Mission would give them to kids there. That dried up. Local rider Mike Tull (OFR rider) had some connection in Baja also and I thought perhaps he could find a outlet, but that never developed. So now local kids around San Marcos can get a fresh experience if desired.

Kids Bike: This one didn't make it

Most of the junk was Chinese welded heavy-slag quality with a Mongoose BMX or GT 20" thrown in for good measure. I'd take them all. Strip 'em down and help them to another ride. Usually the seats were ripped, pedals broken and of course the wheel and BB bearings were dry with pitted races.


Many had "safety brakes" and I'd have to take the rear axle apart , clean/grease and then figure out how to put everything back together again. Some had cheapo caliper brakes with rock-hard pads and frayed cables. Tires were usually worn & flat, with multiple puncture wounds to the tubes. Some tubes were patched with duct tape, which isn't easy to get off.

Nice Mongoose BMX bike

After a while, I made a list on the back of a cardboard box what would be needed to bring a bike back to life... tubes, new tires, pedals, seat, etc. I went scouring the internet for super deals... $50-80 per bike. Sorry, that didn't work.


Next up was 2 fer 1. Use 2 bikes to make one ride-able one! That works better. As my collection of used kiddie-parts grew, it was easier to meet the new goal of "no out of pocket expenses". Monster Tape for some seat tears, swapped tires so they matched well and patch, patch, patch those tubes. I also thought about painting them up with some exotic designs, but that soon gave way to a wipe down and a quick coat of Pledge instead.

These bikes are ready to go to a new home

One day, a couple down the street ask if they could "find a home" for their tired Nishiki MTB. The seat post was stuck. Sure, I'll check it out and find a home for it. Well, after many weeks of trying various ways to pull out fused seatpost: spray catalyst, slide hammer, pipe wrench, Coke a Cola and finally Caustic Soda, I bagged it... stripped it down and chucked the frame.

Sometimes neighbors would need help on real bikes

My neighbor Big John, brought over 3 BMX bikes, all Mongoose brand. They looked good from a distance, but needed the usual help including bearing grease, cables, full brake rebuild and other stuff. Around 8 hours per bike.


After enjoying the kids rebuild for many years, I figured it was about time to turn in a different
direction. Time to clean out the garage and move on to another hobby.

- randorides