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Hi thread, I'm new in here. I haven't been on a mountain bike in 30 years but I recently returned to a locale with actual elevation changes so I kind of felt obligated. I was in no rush but I saw a relic next to a dumpster with a "free" sign stuck to it so I snapped that up to get my feet wet. Put in some new tubes and put some miles on it when I noticed the brakes were rubbing. Dug into it and apparently this particular model of cantilevers were notoriously lovely and only available for a couple years. Fortunately they fail safe, the cracked rings only effect the brake return. But they had other issues because they felt progressively crappy the more I rode and figured it was time for some maintenance. So I ran to the bike store and was convinced parts were nonexistent so got some v-brakes to swap in and now the stopping part feels pretty great.  I find it really comfortable to ride, it fits me about perfect and suits the trails I'm going to be doing so I'm debating what to look out for from here. Obviously no one rides anything like this anymore but I'm not sure I'm invested enough to drop a couple grand on something modern. But I'm also not sure it's worth putting more money into this one either. $100 in new parts on a free bike is worth it, but $200, $300? Not so sure. The front wheel has a slight wobble and the grips could use replacing too. The derailleurs seem fine but the gear selectors are kinda vague feeling, not sure I like it. The cables could certainly benefit from replacement but if I do that I'd consider new shifters. So I guess I'm wondering what y'all would do.
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Sep 18, 2023 19:39
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| # ¿ May 17, 2024 17:05 |
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Thanks everyone.. I've been convinced to keep this bike as is until next spring-ish when I'll re-evaluate. Or something breaks. The v-brake solution is already in place, and I've done rides with them. There's a fairly steep slope on my return loop and they seem to work fine, I can actually lock the tires up now if I want to. New brakes, new cables, new levers. If that's all I spend on it over the next 9 months that's $100 well spent because stopping seems important. mashed posted:I don't know what the trails are like that you are planning on riding Just some chill gravel loops around the south side of Denver, it takes me too long to heal to do gnarly stuff. But some of the climbs up to the butte are pretty rocky and washed out and I wouldn't feel comfortable taking my hybrid up there. Mostly because of the tires and I don't feel like swapping in more rugged options. monsterzero posted:180mm+ of squish at both ends
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Sep 18, 2023 22:11
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I make sure to run the same loop every week as my benchmark. Then copy the time into a text file so I can marvel at my increasing toughness. But you do need a phone on a bike ride, no other way to get a humblebrag photo of some grand vista while your bike just so happens to be perfectly positioned in frame.
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Sep 27, 2023 20:18
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Just buy a 2 million dollar home in Lone Tree, access to the bluffs trail out your front door!
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Nov 21, 2023 18:02
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A cheap bike is going to have lower grade components bolted on, the component manufacturers all have tiers of their stuff to choose from. The cheap stuff may work fine but over time will reveal durability or performance problems. Part availability or repairability may suffer as well.
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Apr 4, 2024 12:53
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