Upgrade/overall or save for a new bike?
 

Hi,

I recently acquired an old Specialized Epic Comp Road bike from the mid-90's for cheap. I can't ride it right now, it needs an overall...

1. Fork is loose, but headset lock nuts are tight... probably bearings?
2. looks like wheel hubs and Bottom bracket need new bearings (crunching feeling/sound).
3. Frame seems solid, but is not very nice esthetically... lots of scratches.
4. Wheels need aligment and front wheel needs new tire.
5. Needs new saddle and probably new pedals.
6. Other components (Shimano 105) seem solid, but need adjustment.

My question is: am I waisting my time with this bike? Should I just save the money and buy a new road bike like a Trek 1000 or something similar?

I want to bring it to my LBS, but since I know that they make a lot of money on repairs and parts compare to selling a new bike, I don't want them to rip me off...

I know it's hard for you to give comments wothout seeing the bike in person, but anyone have experiences or comments to share?

Thank you for your help!

If you were a do it yourselfer, the specialized might make sense. Might not have depending on condition. A new 1000 or something similar on sale or clearance probably makes more sense.

Sad to say it, but total replacement is probably cheaper than an overhaul with new parts.
Especially as summer draws to a close, and sales start.

Probably not. The tightness of the locknut has nothing to do with the adjustment of the headset. Your LBS can take a look at this for you and determine the state of affairs.



That's fun. This seems like the most serious of your problems, and it's probably not all that bad. Your LBS can service these for you for not a whole lot of money.



I guess the seriousness of this "problem" depends on how nuts you want to get with it. You could just treat any rust and touch up the paint.



If by "alignment" you mean that they need to be shifted in the dropouts, this is an easy and free fix. If you mean that they've gone out of true, they should be taken to the LBS and trued up. New tire is no big deal.



This could cost some money, depending on what you're after. I generally consider the saddles and pedals on new road bikes to be expendable anyway though because these parts are very personal and I want something that fits me. Bike manufacturers understand this attitude and usually equip bikes with cheap saddles and pedals, or no pedals at all.



This fact alone settles the issue for me. You probably don't have to spend much money on new parts here, and only have to get your LBS to give the bike a thorough tuneup.



No, I'd hang on to what you've got. Consider that a new Trek 1000 (or any similar bike in its price range) will somehow magically turn into an old Trek 1000 in a few years, at which point you'll be in the same boat you're in right now. You don't need a total "overhaul with new parts", as briancady413 suggested, but rather just a few select ones. I can't see the repairs we're talking about for your bike costing more than a few hundred dollars at the very most. Save your money, save the bike from the landfill, and treat yourself to a saddle that fits you and pedals that fit your riding style.



IMHO, you'd be getting gouged a lot deeper if you were to spring for a new bike that is not an upgrade over your old one. In any case, it couldn't hurt to shop around for repair/parts estimates at whatever LBSs you have in your area.

If you learn to do it yourself, you could probably overhaul it for 50 bucks.

Everything you need to know is here:

http://www.bookcloseouts.com/images/...71870750-l.jpg

Buy a new bike. You'll be out riding in no time thanking yourself.

I dissagree. If you learn to build and fix your own bike, you'll feel more confident riding it, and if anything goes wrong, you'll have it fixed in a jiffy. And you'll save yourself a ton of money in the long run.

Thanks for all your inputs.

I still haven't decided what I will do, but I'm leaning toward keeping the bike and make it a "do-it-myself" project... only downside is that I can't ride during that time...

Regarding the loose fork... anybody have an idea of what it can be? I think it's the "scariest" thing to address in the list of things to do... I would probably bring the wheels to the LBS to have them trued up and would try to service the hubs/BB myself after buying some tools with money I would save from not sending my bike to the LBS.

Thanks again! This forum is great!

[I would probably bring the wheels to the LBS to have them trued up and would try to service the hubs/BB myself after buying some tools with money I would save from not sending my bike to the LBS.]

You can find a truing stand for less than $50 or true the wheels right on the bike using the brakepads as guides (Ive done this myself with great sucess). a spoke wrench only costs a couple of bucks, and it will be well worth it. methods can be found on the internet from sheldon brown or ehow.com, a quick google search will find the knowledge, there's even instructions on this in this forum. I'm a bit psycotic about truing and do it monthly on my ride, it's quite easy with a bit of practice....it's the last thing to bring the bike to the shop for.

I had a carbon version of your bike. Mine was in pretty good state when I bought it to get back into cycling, and I didn't really need to do anything

I eventually realised it didn't fit me, so I spent a bit more money on a new (for me .. actually 6 month old) bike - which is much more comfortable, handles much better, and is much easier and more fun to ride. Those mid 90's Specialised aren't bad, but I don't know that they're in the same class as my wife's 10 year old Colnago.

If it was me, I perhaps wouldn't be putting too much money into it, but it depends on what your expectations are, and what you want to do with/on it.

er .. hope that helps!

B

from reading that sounds like u need seat, 20 bucks and pedal20 bucks, tire 30 bucks and true wheels, 20 bucks. thats cheaper than buying another bike. the fork thing is an easy fix. read up on adjusting headsets, id say it just need adjusting, thoes old school ones have lock nuts that uve to loosen before u can tighten it up. u can buy a new bike , low end for 600 or so. **** id fix urs for a work horse and then buy another for proper riding. anyways, this is my .002 cents.