killacard

A few years ago, I got a Trek 610 from my uncle. It was my first road bike, and I call it "Old Blue".
Until recently, I wasn't aware of how much maintenance a bike needs. Short of filling up the tires, I haven't done any routine maintenance for the 2 years I've been riding it.
I'm looking to fix up Old Blue. As far as I know, it's got the same stock parts from 1984. I'm not looking to completely overhaul and change out all the parts, but I'm wondering where my money would be best spent to get the bike into shape. A family friend runs the LBS and I have access to his workshop and tools if need be.
In short, old bike, bad shape, where do I start?


Old Blue

enigmagic

Looks like a fine bike.

If you're not sure of what it needs specifically, ask someone who can take a look at it and go over the parts that may need to be replaced or tuned.

Though, in short:

Check the tires for dry-rot, they'll feel brittle and perhaps flaky, compare the feeling of pressing your thumbnail into fresh rubber to the sidewalls of those tires. If it feels significantly dryer or, like I said, cracks or flakes or similar you'd want to replace them. Check the tubes if you do replace the tires, though usually the tubes are in a better environment to resist that sort of wear, for whatever reason.

Run through the gears and check to see that everything shifts fine and there is little hesitation or rough feeling in the cable travel through the housing or the guides. Generally bikes that have been sitting for a while in a somewhat damp area will have corrosion on the cables, best to replace those. You can usually get away without replacing the housing, if you lubricate it well and the corrosion wasn't terrible. A cheap thing to swap, if you do have to.


Oh, and take that lock clamp off if you don't have something to stick in there.

The brake cables and brake pads tend to go the same way, and are probably the most important thing to make sure is working. You can test the pads for dry rot in the same way as the tires, and they're dead simple to swap out and cheap besides.

All in all, from what I can tell from the photo it looks pretty clean and well taken-care-of, you may not have much to do to get it riding pretty.

If you're not comfortable checking things like bearing adjustment harass someone at the shop to assess them for you.

Good luck!

neil0502

I 2nd enigmagic's post.

If it were me, though, I probably would just spend the money and replace:

• tires
• tubes
• cables
• housings
• brake pads
• chain

After that, I'd lube everything that moves. Might have the LBS re-pack hub and headset, while you're at it.

killacard

Thanks. Where's the best place the buy parts, online or in-store?
I find it confusing with all the marketing babble and huge differences in prices for parts. Also, I never know what measurement or size I'm looking for to fit my bike.
Could I handle replacing the tires, cables + housing, brake pads, and chain myself? Would I need any tools besides a chain tool, a pump, and some cable cutters?

Panthers007

Add to the above list: New freewheel/cassette to go with your new chain.

killacard

I also noticed that the orange rubber/plastic grips by the brake levers are quite worn. Is there a term for those? Are they replaceable?

noglider 

Check the seat height and angle. A seat that's tipped down at the nose is usually a sign that it's too high. Try setting it level and then finding a height that suits you.

It's a very nice bike. Enjoy it.

enigmagic

Hoods, and yeah, they're replaceable. Sometimes tricky to find.

I'd buy them in store, you can get the right parts and be sure if you compare them in person, and they might be able to fit you for it if you ask nicely or pay a bit.

Can't say you can do the work yourself or not, replacing those bits is not too much more difficult than adjusting them, have you done that?

If you're unsure, a sandwich and a long sit down with sheldonbrown.com and parktool.com are in order, I'd say.

Bikewer

Likely the wheel bearings and possibly the bottom bracket are getting a bit dodgy by now. If you can do the work yourself, it's dead cheap. Ball bearings and grease.
If not, a shop will charge you a fair bit for the labor. I'd loose that old-style plastic bar tape and replace it with modern synthetic/cork stuff. About 20 bucks.

Panthers007

While your attention is focused on the seat height, this would be an ideal time to work the seatpost and saddle up and out of the frame. Apply some good quality grease to the seatpost, and around in the top of the seat-tube you removed the post from, and then reinsert the seatpost. This is to prevent the seatpost from becoming bonded to the seat-tube - making removal/adjustment difficult in the future.

Myrr21

Do you need the bike to get around on a day-to-day basis?

If not, it sounds like you have access to tools and experienced advice. In which case, it's probably worth your time to strip the entire thing down to the frame and clean, inspect, and grease/replace each component. It sounds daunting, but once you've done it one time you'll be confident in doing anything on your bike from then on (and if you're at all mechanically-inclined, it's really not hard to learn).

killacard

I recently inherited a Trek Pilot 5.0 that will replace this guy as my main bike (inherited by default because my brother seriously can't ride a bike). I'm still planning on using this one to get to and from school/work, so it's going be more of my "commuting" bike. I'm not against striping and rebuilding anything, I've been doing it with PCs for years. If that's the best route, I'm game.

killacard

Also, is there any way to move the shifters from the downtube to the handle bars?
It's a pain having to reach down to shift gears.

wrk101

+1 But if you want stem mounted shifters, just buy a set off ebay. They are cheap, as frankly, most people don't like them, and they tended to come on low end bikes. You will also need to buy a cable stop. Your best bet is to go to a shop or co-op and get some advice in this regard.

+1 Give it time and you will probably like the down tube shifters. And don't pitch the parts if you make the switch, as anyone who buys that bike from you in the future will like those original parts.

Widsith

My first road bike had stem shifters and that's all I used for many years. When I finally switched to a bike with downtube shifters they seemed a little strange and awkward at first. But after a bit of practice I came to love them and would never go back to stem shifters (or any other kind of shifter) now.

noglider 

I started cycling seriously in 1975, and of course, from then until STI came out, downtube shifters were for serious cyclists and stem shifters were for doofuses. Well, that's what I learned to believe.

Looking back now, I see nothing wrong with stem shifters. In theory, they're not as precise as downtube shifters, but in practice, there's not much of a difference.

Bikewer

The main complaint with stem shifters was having to raise up from a proper riding position to use them. Downtube mounted shifters just naturally fall to hand from a good "on the hoods" position.

Likely not a concern for more casual riders who prefer a more upright position anyway.

noglider 

Bikewer, is that really it? I don't have to sit up to reach the stem.

One of my bikes is a 21" frame, and the distance between the top tube and the down tube is small, near the head tube. So I can fairly easily feel for the downtube shifters by putting my hand on the top tube and shifting with my fingertips. I have very long hands. I can't do this easily on a bigger frame.

ak08820

I wish Amazon.com sold bike parts, so you can get reasonable prices and no shipping if it is over $25, but they don't, usually you end up paying hefty shipping at the storefronts selling bike parts. Buying from Ebay with local pickup works sometimes.

How much to replace, besides the parts that get aged, i.e. all rubber and non-metallic stuff, depends on how much use/abuse the bike has seen. If the bike did not see more than occasional weekend rides of 10-20 miles, you may not need to replace any of the major parts. I bought an old bike that was not used much and have not replaced anything on it. And whether you can do it on your own or not depends on how handy you are and how much time you have Vs. money for the LBS. There are very good videos on youtube for minor repairs. If you get a lot of things done and get new parts, you may end up spending more than buying a new bike of equivalent utility.

demoncyclist

You can handle the overhaul of this bike- work slowly and carefully. As for purchasing parts- if you are using a friend's shop for tools and space, the least you can do is have him get your parts.

garage sale GT

I have used a few old bikes without replacing cables or housings. Replace only if there's something wrong with them. The brake pads may have hardened but if they stop fine, I would leave them.

The brake hoods are available from rivbike.com or veloorange.com.

Grease can solidify over time so it may be worth it to repack bottom bracket, hubs, and headset but it doesn't always harden especially if the bike has seen occasional use.

I think they've made strides in saddle comfort since your bike was made (unless you're talking about a Brooks but that's not the case here.)

Widsith

If you check with your local bike shops you may find one that still stocks older parts. Bike shops often have used but still perfectly good parts left over after servicing older bikes, and some still have NOS (New Old Stock, i.e. old but unused) parts on their shelves. My favorite LBS has an "old parts box" where they keep odds and ends that their customers with new bikes don't need or want, but which are useful for those of us who maintain and repair older bikes. On more than one occasion they've dug up things for me that other shops said were no longer available. Their prices are typically low for the old stuff, too (like 50 cents for a pair of dust caps for my square taper cranks).

If you can't find vintage parts and tools locally, you can order some things online from Harris Cyclery, from Icycles, from Velo Orange, and many others. You can find good deals on eBay sometimes too, though prices for some items seem to vary wildly from one auction to another. But I prefer to support local shops when I can and only order online when I can't find what I need locally.

MrPhil

Nobody has mentioned Helicomatic yet. I'm pretty sure 1984 Trek 610's came with a Maillard Helicomatic rear hub/freewheel combo. It's an obsolete proprietary system that is incompatible with all other hubs and freewheels. As long as it runs you are good. When it finally wears out you will need to replace the rear hub. At that point you can go with a threaded hub/freewheel or free hub/cassette set up.

FWIW, I really liked the 610's. Overall a good quality bike with a smooth ride. Good luck with your project.

killacard

Thanks for all the suggestions/advice.
This has the makings of becoming another obsession of mine (Computers being the first).
The PC obsession started the same way, going on forums and reading other peoples stories
and looking at pictures of their creations.
My dad passed away this summer and it's really a shame I'm getting into this too late
because he was really into bikes.
We'll see how this project goes. You'll be hearing from me when I'm in over my head.