Here we have an adult’s and a child’s bike, not been used for a while. We’re on a budget and just need them safely put back on the road again, nothing more.

On the adult bike, the following were fixed:

• Gear shifters on the handlebars were gummed-up. Disassemble and lubricate
• Front wheel has a bad buckle. Sometimes you’d try to straighten the wheel, but I have quite a few second-hand spares of this size so swapping them is the most cost-effective way out. The old wheel will get stripped of any useful parts then recycled
• Front tyre very badly worn. Replaced with new tyre
• Brake block & bracket missing from one side of front wheel. Replaced with a second-hand part.

On the child’s bike, the following were fixed:

• Seized gear cable. Cut out the old one and replaced with a good quality second-hand one
• Forks/handlebars put round the right way. Can’t think that the bike was very ride-able beforehand!
• Worn tyres (both replaced)
• Bottom bracket very loose, adjusted and tightened
• Brakes both very poor. Realigned the brake pads, restored adhesion, cleaned wheel rims, cables checked and lubricated

For this I charged £53, which included 3 new tyres. As well as the obvious faults I checked some of the areas which are often problematic on old bikes, for example the wheel bearings on both bikes were checked and adjusted where necessary. (but don’t confuse this with what you’d get as part of a full service, which would have seen the bearings being stripped, cleaned, checked, re-greased and adjusted). We also make sure everything is safe and functional; gears, brakes, etc. A test ride is the final stage, luckily I’m not embarrassed riding a child’s bike near the workshop!

Here are some of the things we fixed. Can you spot them all?