General Cycling Discussion - Tune up or Trade in?

Hi,

I'm getting back into biking and have a 1994 Trek 720 that has been sitting in a (dry) shed for the last 9 years.
It still seems to ride okay, so is it worth tuning up for $60 - $100 or am I better off getting a new Trek 7200 for $400?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Go here (http://www.parktool.com) and fix it for free.

+100

Hi,

I'm getting back into biking and have a 1994 Trek 720 that has been sitting in a (dry) shed for the last 9 years.
It still seems to ride okay, so is it worth tuning up for $60 - $100 or am I better off getting a new Trek 7200 for $400?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

To get you back into riding- Any bike you have will do. Pointless spending money on something you may not be able or want to do in a couple of months time.
On your current 720- the only thing I would worry about is the wheels- get them retued and checked at your LBS and check and lube the rest of the bike yourself.
Then in a couple of months- If you want to stay riding- look around at the the type of riding you want to do- Offroad- road- trail and then look at the bikes that will do the job.

A 12 year old that is in good condition is still not a bad bike. Bit heavy maybe- but it has pedals, gears and brakes that worked 12 year ago and will still work today. May not have the Kudos of a modern bike but will do the job just aswell.

Bikes don't deteriorate or obsolesce the way cars do. There is no point in trading in an old bike for a new one unless you are looking for a particular feature.

Tune up and new tires I say.

If it rides ok, then why would you tune it up?

Definately tires, tubes and slime. Might not be a bad idea to check spoke tension & wheels for trueness. bk

If it rides ok, then why would you tune it up?

After this long some spoke tensioning, tires, and a breakdown and relube is smart. better to do it just in case.

Wouldn't want some bearings giving out at the wrong time when it could have been avoided.

Tune it up. Lube it , and replace the tires. Bike technology hasn't advanced much in twelve years. We still have hubs, brakes, deraileurs, handlebars, two wheels, rubber tires..... You could get a new bike that weighs less, but not necessarily. Cheaper to lose the extra grams from your own body.