LeRun Restoration
Nice restoration. Love the colours. Here are the emails between Theresa, John N and myself.
Hi, My name is Theresa Ness, of Chester Iowa. I picked up this LeRun at a flea market a few weeks ago. I didn’t know what it was, and was told it was a training unicycle. My curiosity and price convinced me to buy it. Through your website, have learned not only what these are, but that they can be restored.
I focused on the front part right away as I don’t know anything about skateboards. A skateboard shop got me on the right track. The bushings were completely worn out (see pics), and the tires were original (says LeRun on them) but were dry hardened. I was able to get all these parts replaced.
Today I took apart the tire, as the rubber was very dry rotted. There was a lot of dirt in the axle, so I took it apart, taking pics of the progress to make it easier to put back together. However, when I took apart the bearings on the inside, it all popped apart, I can’t tell which goes where, and if these pieces that I don’t recognize, can be replaced (see pic).
I do plan to strip the frame down and repaint it, as there are rust spots. I am unsure if it’s worth trying to get a replica brand sticker.
I know VERY basic bike mechanics (I am a touring cyclist), and thought this would be a fun little restoration. But I would greatly appreciate any information and advice on getting this LeRun rolling.
-Theresa N
Theresa
Nice ride. Jon is our LeRun heavy having restored several. The front truck looks great. How much you tighten the screw effects vertical stability. Also depending on your weight a firm spacer helps. I usually run 90+
On the site if you look at the LeRun posts there are many pages of info.
https://skatebike.org/category/garel-lerun-max/lerun/
On Nick’s page is a LeRun template for the logo
The wheel inside is standard coaster brake setup
https://sheldonbrown.com/coaster-brakes.html Sheldon is the wiki of bike repair
https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/repair-help/coaster-hub-overhaul-pedal-brake-hub
Rich Helms
Hi Theresa, that’s a really cool Lerun! I checked out the photos and looks like it’s in good condition. It looks like you’ve got an extra bushing put in the truck set up, there’s no need for the black bushing and metal spacer in there, but if it works for you then stick with it! I use 96a bushings on mine and have the hanger (the axle with skateboard wheels) quite loose but would recommend starting with it quite tight and loosen it when you get more confident on it.
It looks like you’ve got the coaster brake workings in the right order in the photo, the bearings will rest in the wheel hub, screw the driver into the clutch, the brake pads need to be pushed on a little. Basically when you back pedal the clutch will move backwards and push the bake pads against the wheel hub wall to stop the wheel turning. Alternatively you can get a 12 inch wheel off another bike and put that on it, the standard coaster brake Lerun used is pretty twitchy of either nothing or skidding. I have deactivated or change wheel on most of mine and run it without brakes and use my foot instead.
When riding I’d say the main thing to remember is the faster you go the easier it is to balance, like if you were riding a bike with no hands.
I hope the restoration goes well, give me a shout with how you get on with the wheel
Hello again!
I figured I’d send you pics of the completely customization/restoration of my LeRun. It’s already got a few miles on it.
New parts:
- KMC bike chain
- OJ Hot Juice wheels 78a 60mm
- Kris Holm KH double post seat clamp
- Twisted Tangerine PC pedals
- WD 12.5x 2.25″ Black/Neon Green tire.
- Glow in the dark duck valve stem cap
- Painted by myself with Rustoleum neon spray paint and clear coated.
People asked about the seat restoration. See last 5 images in the gallery.
It had a thin plastic barrier between the seat and metal mount, which I had taken off because it was crummy. I put a piece of window barrier plastic, cut to size, in its place. I figure it is an anti rust/corrosion barrier and the window plastic is thicker and hardier. I painted the exposed metal underneat with rust protectant black spray paint. Outside of the plastic barrier and nuts (as I prefer lock nuts), all parts are original to the seat.
The other pictures are for the specific question on Facebook. I put an Australian dollar coin that can be used for scale of part sizes (since it was an Australian who asked).