Hi folks,
Here's the bike that my parents bought me in 1997 (I was 15) and that I still ride. It started out its life as an off the shelf Trek 850 (rigid fork) and after 2 or 3 years I decided that I didn't like the paint job so stripped it down and got my dad (who has a car body shop) to paint it black. Unfortunately the only decals I could get at the time were those for a Trek 8500 which needed trimmed to fit the skinny steel tubes, so they were fitted and then lacquered over.
The bike had various upgrades, including a Marzocchi Bomber Z5 fork and v-brakes. I haven't used the bike much over the past few years, favouring road biking instead, but I fancied get back into mountain biking so I dusted off the Trek and headed off road. The fork was knackered - oil change didn't fix it and I didn't want to spend money on it - so I bought a new Rockshox Dart 2 which seems ok but heavy (bike weighs about 31lbs).
Believe it or not, this is the only mountain bike I've ridden since I got it 14 years ago, so I've no idea whether or not it's actually any good. Is it worth spending money to keep it going? I quite fancy getting the frame powdercoated orange like some of those nice looking Konas and possibly putting a better, lighter fork on when funds allow but part of me says it's not worth it and I should just put the money towards a new bike.
Rough specs:
Deore rear mech
LX front mech
LX chainset
Deore v-brakes
STX-RC shifters and brake levers
7 speed shimano cassette and a SRAM chain
XT rear hub/DRC MT19 rim
Suntour XC Pro front hub/Rigida Sputnik rim
Specialized Phenom saddle (new to me but seems good so far)
Not a true retro bike but I'm happy with modern stuff to keep the bike useable.
Picture in following post.
Here's the bike that my parents bought me in 1997 (I was 15) and that I still ride. It started out its life as an off the shelf Trek 850 (rigid fork) and after 2 or 3 years I decided that I didn't like the paint job so stripped it down and got my dad (who has a car body shop) to paint it black. Unfortunately the only decals I could get at the time were those for a Trek 8500 which needed trimmed to fit the skinny steel tubes, so they were fitted and then lacquered over.
The bike had various upgrades, including a Marzocchi Bomber Z5 fork and v-brakes. I haven't used the bike much over the past few years, favouring road biking instead, but I fancied get back into mountain biking so I dusted off the Trek and headed off road. The fork was knackered - oil change didn't fix it and I didn't want to spend money on it - so I bought a new Rockshox Dart 2 which seems ok but heavy (bike weighs about 31lbs).
Believe it or not, this is the only mountain bike I've ridden since I got it 14 years ago, so I've no idea whether or not it's actually any good. Is it worth spending money to keep it going? I quite fancy getting the frame powdercoated orange like some of those nice looking Konas and possibly putting a better, lighter fork on when funds allow but part of me says it's not worth it and I should just put the money towards a new bike.
Rough specs:
Deore rear mech
LX front mech
LX chainset
Deore v-brakes
STX-RC shifters and brake levers
7 speed shimano cassette and a SRAM chain
XT rear hub/DRC MT19 rim
Suntour XC Pro front hub/Rigida Sputnik rim
Specialized Phenom saddle (new to me but seems good so far)
Not a true retro bike but I'm happy with modern stuff to keep the bike useable.
Picture in following post.
