Bike Project Update - Schwinn Aerostar

A new bike! I picked it up on ebay for $10. I did some research before bidding and found that this is one of Schwinn's best 20" kids bikes. It sells for almost $200 new. The listing on eBay was very sparse and I don't think anyone else noticed that it was such a good little bike.

It doesn't need much work, mostly just cleaning and adjustments. The handlebars were crooked. The reflectors were crooked. The rear wheel was crooked. All easy fixes. The chain guard was bent out. That was also an easy fix, but there are some paint chips and bare spots. It may be hard to match the paint. The only tricky bit is the brake cable. It was bare in a few places and much too long. Also the gaskets where the cable goes through the frame are both loose and will need gluing.

Now comes the fun part. I have no little kids, and I would feel like a Grinch making money off little kids, so I decided to donate it to some charity. You'd think that would be simple enough. It's not. None of the community bike shops will take it because it's not up their standards. It actually is up to their standards but because it's a Schwinn they assume that it's a piece of junk from some big box store. So then I looked at other, non-bike-oriented, charities. They all want new. Used is no good to them.

So if you know some kid who wants/needs a free cool little bike covered with space stickers let me know. I still have some cleanup to do, but it will ready to go this weekend.