FreeFloat

My early '90's Hard Rock's main triangle is chromoly, while the chainstays and seatstays are high tensile carbon steel.

earlybp

Well, the guys at Crank are going to replace a bent sprocket and the bottom bracket, put on new brake pads and add some basic black fenders and tune it up. It already has nearly new 1.5 slickies on it. Yay! The guys at Crank found all of the components to be in excellent shape. So, after the fit session, I am going to try it with the original handlebars. Will probably switch to drop bars in the spring. Will probably get that rear rack and otherwise, just waiting to see how it goes. My total out of pocket will be about $350, including the cost of the bike. And that includes Crank's labor costs. Life is good. Thank you everyone!

jyl

Cool, post a pic of the bike when it is ready. See you out there.

tgrssn

My .02 --- That Hardrock could be a fun project, but 500 is a good bike budget for a tourer, and I wouldn't be surprised if you could find a decent used LHT for that amount right now. But, if you can't, make sure you're fixing up a bike where the parts are compatible with the LHT later, so you can move all the money you've invested onto the LHT frame when the time comes. If you put 500 into a 87 Hardrock expect to get zero of that money back when it comes time to sell it.

Myosmith

IMHO, fix only what needs fixing on the Hardrock and ride the heck out of it while saving up for your dream LHT. Once you get your dream bike, the Hardrock will still be a solid foul weather, Plan B, etc. bike. I'd only put serious money into upgrades for the Hardrock if it was something I expected to ride for a lot of miles over several years. As mentioned, upgrades to old MTBs have only the value that you can ride out of them. You won't get it back in $$$ when you resell the bike.

SJX426 

This was my set up to commute from Cooper Mtn to Hillsboro. Tires and fenders with backpack. I changed the stem so I wouldn't be stretched out too far and replaced the pedels with SPD;s. Add the bag for a spare tube and mounted a tire pump. Put 750 miles on it like this in 4 months.

z90

I had an old hardrock of that vintage. I loved it as a commuter! When the frame broke I replaced it with an LHT. Sure, the LHT is a step up, but I was surprised how similar the two were. The frame geometry is similar, and with slick "narrow" tires the Hard Rock had a very similar feel in comparison with the LHT. If you get the fit dialed, I think you will really like it.

earlybp

Hey SJX426 I like your bike!
and Z90 thanks for sharing your experience. I feel really good about this direction, and when I'm ready to upgrade, I can donate this one to the Community Cycling Center or something.

LarDasse74

Even better: Keep it as long as the wheels still turn and buy another fancier bike for recreational riding.

Q: Where 'n' is the number of bikes you own, what is the correct number of bikes to own?
A: n + 1

Camilo

Replace all cables and brake pads. Don't replace brakes unless they're obviously defective.

Clean and re-lube and readjust all running parts. This and new cables could very well solve your rear shifting problem.

If not, you might have to investigate more involved solutions for rear shifting, but I would never replace or "upgrade" any functioning part on that bike. Before you do, you should check into what $600 will get you in a brand new bike (your original $100 + the $500 you think you should spend).

The only things I'd actually buy for that bike are fenders, rack, rear rack "trunk" or panniers and 1.25 or 1.5 slick tires (I'd probably go 1.25, unless your roads are exceptionally rough.... 1.25 will work even on gravel and dirt). Any other gear you might need, but not any parts that are actually functioning as-is.

Everything else should just be cleaned, lubed and used as-is with the exception of wear parts (cables, chain, pads, grips, etc.) and then only as needed.

As for the tires - I disagree with the recommendation to keep 1.5 " tires pumped to 100 psi. More like somewhere in the 50-65 range. Unless of course you're very heavy, that is likely grossly over inflated for your use. Look up the proper pressure for that size tire and your weight, I doubt it will be anywhere near 100 psi.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=...8&fr=yfp-t-701

That would only cause you a very harsh ride and won't be as compliant going over rough road surfaces. You'll probably go slower and enjoy much less.

I ride 1.25" tires on my commuter at about 60 psi front and 65 rear. If I was riding 1.5's, I believe I would use 5-10 PSI less. My bike + body weight is about 185-190 pounds (165 pound person)... I ride the bike on very rough gravel, potholes, rough broken pavement and have never had a pinch flat even when I get lazy and let the tires get down in the 50 psi range (they're a little spongy though).

clydeosaur

Like others have said, put the money towards something else newer. I have one of these bikes, and it has served be very well over the years. I refuse to get rid of it at this point. It makes a great commuter / knock around bike. Have I done any upgrades? Yes. A few years ago I ditched the Sram set up and went to 8 speed Shimano trigger shifters & a new cassette. I bought the parts all at a swap meet. Total investment was 60 bucks.

RubeRad

Here are your new tires...

Putting those babies onto an old MTB ($50 from CL) was what launched me back into cycling after not even having a bike for ~15 years since college.

These babies are cheap, and very well reviewed. I still put them on my wife's and my MTBs when we tour, and a friend of mine copied me and bought two pr of these to convert old hardtails into tourers for himself and his wife.

They are skinny (compared to knobbies, but 1.25 is much wider and cushier than any road tire, or even most touring tires), and they are BALD (but sticky, I've never had any issues with traction, and I like to bomb down windy mountain hills); you'll have to decide whether the look is goofy or funky. I think in Portland you could get away with it.

And this will leave a much larger chunk of your $500 budget for all the rest of the stuff you choose, like upgrading components or getting racks/fenders, etc.

Speaking of racks, I once saw a LHT with the coolest rear baskets. They could open to rigid rectangles, or you could push up the hinged bottom and the sides would fold in so the empty basket could be totally flat. Google "folding bicycle basket" suggests there may be a few possibilities, but maybe what I saw was this: https://www.gazellebicycles.com.au/co...ticle/221.html

SJX426 

Thanks for the complement. Now that I have a Trek 610 as a beater, it looks more like this now:

I tried Specialized Fat Boy's after the 2.1's and found them even better. No tread but great performance. Sheldon:

1. "The contoured surface of a tire, used to improve traction in loose or rough surfaces. Knobby or grooved tread designs have no real value for use on hard paved surfaces, and extreme tread patterns increase drag, noise and reduce cornering traction due to squirm. Despite appearances, slick tires perform best on hard paved surfaces."