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  Last week I posted the first part
of a story about two 1980s-vintage bicycles I bought from a guy off craigslist.
That was the complete teardown and restoration of Melanie's
Columbia
Commuter III, 3-speed women's model. This page has photos from doing the
same thing to my Huffy 3 Timberline, 3-speed men's bicycle. Rather than repeat all
the textual description from Melanie's bike, please click on the above hyperlink
to read it; it's not very long.
Note: both the Huffy and Columbia have been sold.
 One important aspect worth repeating is the
use of
Krud Kutter for removing all the oil and grease. The stuff is
amazing. Krud Kutter claims " Easily removes glue and adhesive, grease and oil,
marker and crayon, paint overspray, pet stains, tape residue, tree sap, wax, and
much more. A proprietary blend of biodegradable surfactants, detergents, and emulsifiers,
in a water-based solution. Water-based, biodegradable, non-flammable, non-toxic
and non-abrasive. No petroleum solvents, bleach or ammonia." I soaked all the parts
overnight that would fit in a bucket filled with a gallon of it. Upon removing even
the grimiest and greasiest components like the gearbox, bearings, and the chain,
I discovered they were squeaky clean. A toothbrush removed any vestige of oil, grease,
or dirt from the nooks and crannies. Compressed air was used to blow everything
dry. Gears, bearings, and the chain were then immersed in a pot of motor oil to
thoroughly coat the surfaces and keep them from the air until reassembly.
All the painted surfaces were waxed and buffed twice, bearings and gears were
packed with grease, and the chain and cables (gear shifter and brakes) were lubricated
with 3-in-1 oil. Interestingly, one of the ball bearing assemblies in the rear hub
was missing one of the 1/4" steel balls. It was nowhere within the hub, so it had
to have been missing when assembled at the factory - weird, non? Fortunately, the
balls are easy to get and are inexpensive, so I was able to pop a new one in place.
The Before and After photos below speak for themselves, so I won't bore you with
lengthy description. It is worth mentioning that all of the original ball bearing
and gear grease on both bicycles was hard and would have provided no protection
from wear had I not cleaned off and replaced it all. Lots of photos were taken during
disassembly to make sure I could get it all back together later.
Posted December 2, 2017
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