Breakdown of a Salvage: Trek Antelope

As you may recall I purchased an 87 Trek Antelope for $40 last month.

I was really just wanting the bike for the front wheel which matched the rear on the Ibex and the stem which is shorter than the one on the Ibex.  I figured I could recoup some of the price by parting out the bike, so how did I do?  My first lesson was I should have offered below asking to start, the bike was obviously something the seller wanted to move, it needed work and it had been on CL for a week, all indications that an offer of say $35 wouldn't have been out of line.

After cleaning up the bike I realized the paint and decals were in great shape so I threw it CL for $35. And included the; BB, Headset, quick release seat post clamp and the funky roller rear brake cable guide.  It got snapped up for full price by a guy who likes old mixtes, there are debates about what exactly makes a "mixte" but I wasn't going to split hairs with a man with cash.  I also ended up throwing in the seat post.  So at that point I had earned most of the money back and I had my parts for a total of $5.

The Sakae crank I disassembled and ran through the sonic cleaner and reassembled.  I listed it on eBay and made sure to mention that it included the metal dust covers for the crank bolts.  It ended up going for $30! must have been the dust covers.  That brought me to plus $25 over all.

The next to go were the diacompe canti brakes.  They went for $15.50 which I attribute to the cool roller cable hangers,  That brought me to $40 over what I initial paid for the bike.

The stubborn part of the salvage was the Suntour accushift drive train, I relisted it on eBay multiple times.  I finally resorted to changing it to free shipping and adjusting the price to cover that and it finally sold but I only got $7 for an entire drive-train including thumb shifters!!?  I can't ever figure this stuff out.

I am not complaining though for a $40 outlay I got a front wheel and a stem for the Ibex overhaul and $87 in sales for a net of $47 and I even have a few odds and ends to drop off at bike works.

I found the 89 Rock Hopper on Face Book market place and since it met many of the criteria I had seen for the Trek (priced to sell, lingering on the site, needs work) I offered $30 and was accepted.  It was a bit farther out than I usually go but not as far when leaving from work.  We'll see if it has the same success as the Trek in Salvage part Deux.

Ride.Recycle.Reuse.Repeat

1987 Trek Antelope 800 -Salvage

As I mentioned in a previous post I picked up this Trek 800 for $40 locally just to get some parts for the Bianchi Ibex ..aka Barney.

Today I would normally be riding to the farmers market, but it's grey, rainy and cold so its a good day to stay inside, drink tea and strip a bike.  The wheels were the first to go.

With a little time and some Y wrenches I had a box of parts and...

... a mostly bare frame.

I am going to leave the BB, headset, rear cable guide/roller and seat post quick release with the frame-set.

Two years ago I parted out a Gitane to mixed results.  This time is a bit different as I bought this bike for some parts I could use and I am only really looking to offset my outlay for the bike rather making $$.

This bike was also equipped with a SunTour Alpha 3000 accushift drive train.  Its not everyone's cup a tea but I put the set above on Bike Forums where bike nerds like me hang out, failing that I can put them on Ebay.  I also have a Dia-Compe brake canti brake set and an SR triple crankset that may have some value.  I think I can recoup my $40 but we'll see.

The whole point of this exercise was to get a shorter reach stem and a front wheel to match the rear on Barney.  The rims will need some clean up but now the wheel-set will match and I can get rid of the squirely handling of the current skinny front wheel.   I may still need a stem with more height but I will try this one first as it will bring the bars back compared to the current set up,

Speaking of Barney I have this idea to leave him at work for the rest of the month. The parking garage in my building has secure bike parking and since I go in early I am usually ready to go by 4 pm so I can take advantage of daylight till 6 on days its nice enough to ride.  To that end I picked up a rear blinky light and a Lezyne pump which is small enough for a jersey pocket.  I also have a new bottle cage on the way but the broken one will server for now.

Once cool thing I noticed while cleaning up the frame is that the Trek Antelope was sold in my home town of Wenatchee Washington, what are the odds?

Ride.Salvage.Smile.Repeat.

A proper shakedown ride and some misc. tinkering

awaiting the ride

My daughter and I did a quick trip to Portland, basically 24 hours, to visit friends and catch the last Sunday Parkways of the 2018 season.  This was my second year in a row and I hope I can start a nice long streak.  It was also an opportunity to do an extended ride on the Cresta GT.

There was Shakespeare in one park and Opera in another along with lots people and bikes and food.

resting

I think I used every gear on the Cresta, there was a decent hill to start and lots of rolling and I certainly got to practice my low speed handling skills in traffic.  The more I ride this bike the more I love it.

We had a lovely late September day for riding and at almost 10 miles this was my longest ride on the Cresta GT to date.  I am already scheming about how to cram in more rides before the end of October.

Misc.  Tinkering

It may already be too late to sell a bike this year, but I figured I would get the Schwinn Le Tour ready so I could give it shot in October and worst case it will be all ready to go come Spring.  Onto the work stand it went.

I had thought about just doing a wipe down and replacing the brake cables and chain but it didn't come to me exactly clean and being on the porch through a smoky summer didn't help matters any so getting it down to the frame is probably the best way to go.  I am not planning on any bearing work unless it obviously needs it but its easier to clean and wax the frame with all the bits off and the drive train can take a trip through the Sonic bath.

Since finishing the clunker challenge I have been thinking about Barney and the changes I want to make, the first being a front wheel to match the rear and hopefully reduce the slightly squirrely handling of a narrow front rim/tire.  A new front wheel on Amazon is about $40 and one from the Co-Op is $15.  I also wondered about a salvage option...

And I ran across this 1987 Trek Antelope 800 on CL in my neighborhood for $40,  

The front wheel is an exact match to the rear wheel on Barney.

And metal thumb shifters with intact shifter covers and their Suntour like the rest of Barney's drive-train.

I also think there is a good chance that the stem will solve the fit issue I am having with the stock stem on Barney.

The derailleurs I can either clean up and sell or add to my parts bin along with the Dia Compe canti brakes.

And the paint and decals are in nice shape so I might see if I can sell the frame for cheap and recoup some of my outlay but if it doesn't sell I'll donate it and the rear wheel and to bike works.  It would have been perfect if it also had a rack and bottle cage but I am pretty happy with front wheel, thumb shifters and drive train, it also has an SR triple crank, for the money.

Ride. Smile. Repeat.