Help diagnosing problem with old bike - probably silly newbie question...

[xeney]

What kind of bike is it? A Free Spirit, maybe? Most of those bikes don't have deraillieurs -- they are either single-speeds or they have internal shifters.

Either way, skinny-tired bikes are not really meant for bouncing off of high curbs. You probably don't want to do that with that bike.

[Looeez]

Yes, I think it is a Free Spirit - I can't check right now but that sounds familiar.

It's a 10 speed and the gears are changed by using 2 levers that are in the centre of the handlebars (I've not seen that kind before but I'm from the UK and I'd never heard of coaster brakes before either - although this bike has regular hand brakes).

I just asked a friend about it and he agreed that I shouldn't go off high curbs or similar with that kind of bike.

[xeney]

I love those Free Spirit bikes; that was one of the makesI was looking for when I was shopping for a townie. I think that was a Sears brand, but that was back in the days when department stores sold some perfectly good bikes. I haven't seen many of them with derailleurs but the bikes seem to last forever. Have fun with it but stay off those curbs! Heh.

[emily_in_nc]

Neat - I had a Free Spirit 10-speed when I was in high school! It had 10 speeds, downtube shifters, and was a very patriotic red/white/blue. And yes, it was from Sears.

Agree with the others - no riding skinny-tired bikes off curbs. That's what mountain bikes are for.

Emily