Thoughts on the Trek 850 Antelope

I haven't figured out exactly what I am going to do with the 850 yet, i.e is it a keeper or do I want to flip it for a gain?  Regardless there are things that needed fixing, as I noted before the saddle was slammed all the way forward so I have adjusted it to the middle of the rails.

One other issue I have to deal with is the the Front derailleur, the front shifter wasn't working AND the derailleur itself was poorly positioned.  After trying to work around the bottle cage I decided it was in the way and it needed to go to make my life easier for messing with the FD.

Ahh so much easier to get the Y wrench in there to move the derailleur around.  I am not done with the FD but I can get it to move from the small to middle ring so that is progress from where I started.

Since we had some nice weather yesterday I decided I would take the 850 out, I commented that on the initial test ride the bike felt very bouncy.  Before this ride I made sure both tires were inflated to 50 psi, I did discover the rear tire had been low, and this ride was much better, not bouncy, some buzz but that is to be expected with knobby tires on pavement.  Never underestimate the power of proper inflation.  I still think that city tires will improve the ride even more but this is much better.

I am trying to hold off on putting $$ into this bike while I figure out what I am going to do but I do find myself thinking about what I might do if I was going to keep it.  On this ride I felt like the reach was just a touch far but I have a stem with shorter reach,  so I could swap stems and improve the reach if I decide to keep the bike.   For now the goal is to just get the FD to move to all chain rings.

Ride.Tweak.Smile.Repeat

Holiday Errand

I needed to pickup the French bread I had pre-ordered for Christmas dinner today.  I had to go to the local French bakery, which bike should I take, hmmm....?

Well the French one of course!  I pulled down the Moto_GT, put some air in the tires, threw on a pannier and took off.

I pre-ordered an Epi loaf last week to pick on Christmas eve at 10 am, however when I arrived they were out and wouldn't have more out of the oven for 15 minutes, however they did have regular baguettes fresh out of the oven, they are the same break just a different shape would I like one of those instead...?  Being in the xmas spirit, not wanting to wait around and not wanting to hold up the line, I said sure I can go with a baguette.

Sometimes it pays to be flexible, as a thank you and an apology for not having my pre-order ready at the appointed pick up time they threw in this nice holiday bread, not exactly sure what it is but I think it will probably be tasty and cost many times what I paid for the baguette! .

Happy and Safe Holidays everyone!!

Ride.Smile.Repeat

Trek 850 Antelope review and Sunday odds and ends

Finally got a day where it was just overcast and not raining buckets, we have been caught in A plume of tropical moisture -- known as "atmospheric river" or more colloquially, a "Pineapple Express".  Anyway today was dry so I addressed the 850.

First thing was addressing the flat front tire.  When I first pulled it and then pumped it up it appeared to be fine but by day 2 it was getting flaccid so I went with the underwater test.  That got me in the general vicinity  and then I applied some dish soap to pinpoint the leak.   Since the leak was directly across from the stem I was able to find the likely cause on the tire.  It appears one of the wires that make up the interior of  of the tire rubber had poked through, I put some masking tape over it although in retrospect some duct tape might have been better.  I am not too worried about it as the tires will most likely get replaced and I was just trying to get the bike ride-able.

One thing I noticed when the bike was in the stand was the shifting, the rear shifter was ok, pretty good going from big to small cog but iffy going back up the cog.  A couple of doses of Brakleen fixed that and it shifts fine now.  I will let it dry some and then spray some tri flow in for lubricant.  The front shifter is another matter, its in the small ring and doesn't want to shift up to the middle or big ring.  Initial Brakleen treatment hasn't changed that so I will keep at it.

before

after

Not a big deal but I noticed the brake/shifters were not aligned and that kind of bugged me, so I adjusted the front brake/shifter to be in the same plane as  the rear.

For $20 I was not expecting perfection but its good to go into these "deals" with open eyes.  No complaints, but here is what I have noticed about the 850:

• Flat front tire
• Front shifter not working
• Rear shifter needed help to operate both ways
• Mismatched tires, front stock rear replacement
• Mismatched rims, rear stock, front replacement Araya.

Rear wheel (Stock)

Front wheel - replacement

The front flat and rear shifter I have addressed, the front shifter I have not given up on, the mismatched rims aren't big deal they pass the 10 foot test and the tires I think I will probably replace.  I have sold a few parts lately and may funnel the proceeds to some of these..

I think the Schwable Jet City's will give the 850  a smooth  ride.

I did get in a ride to the market and the ride was on the bouncy side which I attribute to the mismatched knobby tires and a under inflated rear, but the fit is in the ball park.  I don't dislike the grips   I also noticed the seat post QR needed tightening when the saddle slipped down, and that I forgot to adjust the Saddle before setting out.

I had noticed earlier that the saddle was waaay forward but forgot to adjust it before the ride, after my trip I think the nose needs to come up just a bit too.  Looking forward to some more tinkering and then seeing how it works after I fix the tires, shifter and saddle.

While I was dropping off some donations I found out there will be a warehouse sale at bike works next month, I will probably have to check it out.

This year for the Coffeeneuring swag I got not a patch but a cool metal badge.

Suicide Squeeze IPA, Fort George Astoria OR 

H.Bomb Winter ale (Coconut) Fremont, Seattle WA

No Scrubs IPA, Cloudburst Seattle WA

I was at the Market so I did have to stop at the Beer Junction for some tastes.

Ride.  Have a Great Holiday. Smile. Repeat.

1992 Trek 850 Antelope

As found

I spent allot of time over the summer reducing the herd and wasn't really looking to add any but when I came across this Trek MTB for $20 I couldn't pass it up.

Its a 1992 model in Sour Grape (Purple), its too wet for me to do anything outside with it but other than a flat tire it appears to be in good shape and it's mostly stock according to the Vintage Trek site.

The drive train is Shimano Exage 400 LX -7 speed indexed shifting.

The paint and decals seem to be in nice shape for a 27 year old bike.

I also like the fact that the bike has plenty of braze-ons for fenders and racks so it could be built up as as a solid commuter bike.

As with the Miyata purchase, and the Novara,  one of the major appeals was the price, at $20 -I would have to really try to not at least break even and I think, barring any undiscovered issues, that with some TLC and a repaired front tube I should be able to double my money if I sell this bike.  This could also be a great clunker challenge candidate with lots of room for updates within the $100 budget.

I was also interested in riding a 20 inch frame to see how it feels against the 22 inch bikes I have tried in the past.  Hopefully this weekend I can give it a wipe down, fix the tire, give a once over in the stand, maybe adjust the HUGE gap in the front derailleur, and then see how the Antelope runs.

Ride. Smile. Look for Deals.  Repeat.

Trek 520 tear down

I have been intending to get the 520 in the workstand for a while but hadn't gotten to it.  So today during the Hawks game I got it into the stand and broke out the wrenches.

Off to a good start, wheels off, cockpit off.

I had already intended to reuse the mega range 6 speed FW and since the chain is a quick link I will clean it up and reuse it too.  I have always heard you should replace the chain and FW/Cassette together so I will keep whats there and use the new chain I have in the parts bin for the Allez project.

Getting there down to the crankset ..

... and now a box of parts.

Not bad for a lazy Sunday afternoon.  The headset top cap was being stubborn and I didn't feel like doing the bb yet so here is sits mostly torn down.   I have most of what I need for the refresh, just need to get a couple shift cables and I am set.

Ride. Tear it down. Smile. Repeat.

Happy Holidays.

Prepping the 1987 Miyata 112

On Sunday I did some safety checks and then did a shakedown ride to the farmers market.  I discovered my rear wheel wasn't as secure as it should have been and the pedals needed to go, more on that later. Otherwise it seemed fine on the short ride.

Of course being at the market I had to stop for a beer, in this case Listen to the night (nitro) by best of Hands brewhouse. coffee stout.

Once I got back from the market I started cleaning up the bike with an eye toward it being destined to spend some time outside in the wet winter, under a covered porch but not fully protected.  I started with the rusty QR.

goo before

Goo Gone

I also noticed some marks on the seat tube like a second bottle cage and been added and left a sticky residue.  Some goo gone took care of that,

I had checked for stuck seat post and stem when I inspected the bike but decided to remove the post to check further and was glad I did.  I also added grease to the stem when I adjusted it.

On my test ride the rear wheel slipped and I noticed when tightening the rear QR that the drop out had a spacer but only on one side so I removed it to make centering the wheel easier.

I read on bike forums of someone using pledge to wax a frame and I figured it was a quick and dirty means to giving the frame a bit more protection for its stay outside on the trainer.

On my test ride the drive side pedal make such a noisy clacking sound I thought maybe the plastic pedal was broken and I hadn't noticed but when I got to the market and checked I could see no crack.  I had planned to use my dual sided pedal for the trainer bike anyway but the pedals were very reluctant to come off the bike.  I ended up spraying liquid wrench on both sides of the spindle and using my big lever bar - Archimedes- to finally get them off, I had to jury rig something to hold the pedal arm while I levered against it.  Pedal straps for the win!

When I got the old pedals off I could see why the drive side sounded like the bearings had been replaced by glass shards...

It was satisfying to remove the crusty 30 year old foam grips.  Thank you box cutter,

I have some glacier blue cork tape picked out for the rebuild but in the interim I though I would use some cloth tape that has been in my parts bin for at least 5 years.  Not my best ever wrap job but it will suffice for winter trainer duty.

I sprayed the chain with some tri flow and wiped off the excess.

The ride to nowhere is a thirsty one so I picked up a silver water bottle cage to play off the head tube color.

Now all I have to do is ride the thing, not sure about the saddle but I have others I can use if the Bell comfort saddle doesn't work out.

Ride. Spin in place. Smile.Repeat.