Bicycle Mechanics - upgrading from a double to a triple

I have a Trek 300 road bike, circa 1992? I want to upgrade from a double to triple crank. I have all the parts but am contemplating doing the work myself. Is this a mistake? Is there a website out there that can give me some step-by-step? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

TR

Doing it yourself can be fun and rewarding. However there are a few specialty tools that you will absolutely need. A Bottom bracket tool and crank puller are two that come immediately to mind. Many local bike shops carry such tools, and can help with other tools you might need. There are also some great (and not so great) books out there on bike repair. You might want to check those out. Online, Damon Rainard (spelling?) has a site with loads of mechanical help. However, I do not remember the URL off-hand. Hope that helps.

You have to make sure your spindle arm is long enough to accomodate the new triple chainring. Make sure the chainstay has enough clearance for the new triple.

Probably a good idea to take the frame with spindles loaded and try out the new triple for fit before you buy it.

This is a pretty good site:
bike repair and maintenance (http://members.aol.com/biketune/index.htm)
as is the Park Tool site:
park tools (http://www.parktool.com/index.shtml)
(click repair help on the navigation bar)
Marty

If you have mechanical aptitude and are able to purchase or to borrow the proper tools, by all means go ahead with the project. You will definitely need a longer BB spindle; this is a good excuse to upgrade to a sealed BB.