[Sportsandrec] Help with fixing up an old Tandem

[Keith Christian]

Hi,

The discussions on peddles and gears made me want to go out and look at
my bike.  I am wondering if it is possible or desirable to consider up
grading.

My bike is about 20 years old.  It is a heavy duty mountain bike style
but It reminds me of my old beach cruiser when I was a kid.  It is a
man's bike in the front and a woman's bike in the rear.  It is an off
brand name.  It is a Fiore.
 
It is a five speed bike.  The gears are Shimano with a moveable lever.
The twisting style of gear changer seems like it would work better, but
I really don't know.  It may only need adjusting.  How much would it
cost to upgrade the gears?

The peddles say VP767 on them and they look like a special shoe could
lock into them.  I never noticed that.  I just thought that they were a
little spiky to grip my shoes.  How can I find out if there are special
shoes that clip or lock into these peddles?  

There is some rust on my rims.  What is a good way to clean them?  I
remember as a kid using steel wool on the spokes but I don't remember if
I used it on the rims.  My bikes were ridden so much that they never had
rust on the rims.  All that was needed was some polish and a t-shirt to
make them real nice and shiny.  Those were the days when I could see
shiny rims!


I am enjoying the discussions.  It is motivating me to get back on my
bike.  Keep up the good work.

Thank you,

Keith