jpaschall

I acquired this bike with the idea of having a bike I could feel comfortable locking up at school, so the build up will be as budget friendly as possible. I know next to nothing about quality MTB gear from this (or any) vintage, and this is my first experience with an indexed drive train.

The bike is equipped with a Shimano Exage Trail groupset. I'm planning to replace the plastic brake levers, and the shifters are integrated into the brake levers, so those will be replaced also (pretty gunked up anyway). I'm basically just going to replace the perishables and the levers/shifters and ride.

Questions:

(1) Shifters: I know I have to find something compatible. I'm not opposed to going straight fritction, but would like to try out indexed. What are my options for a comptible replacement? Wanting to go the flatbar/thumbies route.

(2) Grips: Anyone have any suggestions for grips? I haven't owned a flatbarred bike since I was a kid.

I'll upload some better pics tomorrow when it's daylight.

panasonic

jpaschall

Going to bump with a few more pictures here.

panasonic5

panasonic4

panasonic3

panasonic2

panasonic1

Trick fall

I just put some Oury grips on a Trek 930 and I like em.

lasauge 

Neat, I have one of those Panasonic MC2500s myself - the wheelbase is a bit too long for really technical mountain biking, but they're fun bikes for clunker-style mountain biking or just cruising around.

As to your questions, if you want the full indexed experience, what I would do is pick up a modern 7-speed freewheel that has the ramped teeth that make indexing really smooth (Shimano or Sunrace), a 7-8 speed chain (brand not important) and a pair of 7-speed Shimano shifters (either vintage indexed thumbies, or modern trigger shifters if you can't find the vintage parts), and don't forget to replace your cable housing while you're at it. You have the derailers needed already, but for indexing to work completely right you really need all the matching parts.

For grips, I'm pretty agnostic about brands/models, but most importantly I would suggest spending the few extra dollars for lock-on style grips - these are much easier to install, remove, and move around on your bars as desired. If you're going to be experimenting with your shifter and handlebar setup you'll definitely appreciate having them versus standard grips which require a little more effort to install/remove and can be damaged if you have to pry them off your bars.

jpaschall

So this derailer will shift a 7 speed freewheel?

Prowler 

If you really want "budget friendly" then just clean out what cha got and ride it for a while - see what you think. I've had very good luck with gummed up indexed shifters. I open them up as much as possible (don't loose those tiny screws, work over an empty egg carton) and expose the 'clock works'. Spray the clock works out with brake cleaner, working the mechanism over a sheet of newspaper. Work it good and it will clean out nicely. Let dry in the sun then relube with light oil like Finish Line. Put it back together and go. You may find that there is nothing wrong with the plastic brake levers either. Go get real world experience then decide how much to drain the exchequer.

Those current brake levers/shifters may draw no interest from sticky fingers on campus either.

jpaschall

That was the plan originally, but the shifters are actually a bit busted up/cracked as well. Deore 6/7 speed shifters are reasonable on eBay, so I may just go that route.

lasauge 

Yes. You could even go to an 8- or 9-speed cassette with that derailer if you were so inclined.

I suggested a 7-speed freewheel and setup to match because that's probably the least expensive and easiest-to-find cheap option. Going for a budget build the first thing I would do is look for cheap wheels at a local co-op or ask around your local craigslisters, basic wheels with freehubs and 7-speed cassettes have been the default on basic hybrids and mountain bikes for decades now, so they're pretty common and generally undervalued, you can probably get a whole wheel and good condition cassette or freewheel to match for less than the price of ordering a new Sunrace freewheel.

DiegoFrogs

It looks like you're missing the front brake caliper, too. At this point, you may wish to switch to V-brakes instead of the cantilever brakes.

I recently put an extremely cheap aluminum V-brake lever and caliper on my city bike which came with a cheap plastic lever and cantilever brake from roughly the same time period. I'm not sure that the braking is any better, but I sure feel more confident knowing that I don't wager my life on cheap, 20 year old, brittle, sun faded plastic.

jpaschall

I have wheels so I will just order a freewheel. Frame spacing won't be an issue going from 6-7 speed will it?

jpaschall

Actually I have the canti's, the bolts are just missing, so I have to source those out. Are those bolts just standard?

The Golden Boy 

You really should. The Deore MT-60/62 stuff is great stuff. That's with no consideration of the price. If you consider the price, it's REALLY great stuff.

I'd just get some Deore 7 speed shifters and some decent brake levers and call it a day. There was recently someone in the "for sale" forum that had some of the old DiaCompe 4 finger levers as well as some used M700 levers for less than $20.


How's that 720 treating you?

jpaschall

The 720 is great, but I will be honest it is a bit of a garage queen. The 613 is my daily rider.

The Golden Boy 

In either case, they're great riders. For the last few weeks, I've been riding my 1986 Trek 400 more than I've been riding either my 620 or 720.

jpaschall

Serendipitously, I came across a donor for a few parts today for a mere $20. This is a Scott MTB that someone has just ruined with some rattlecan. It is very light, has internal cable routing, and is equipped with a Deore group, so I assume there is something nice hiding underneath this paint.

The frame is too small for me, but I'm intrigued. Any thoughts (I know ID'ing will be difficult)?

scott mtb3

scott mtb4

scott mtb6

scott mtb5

scott mtb1

I've never come across one of these:

scott mtb2

The Golden Boy 

MT-62 for the win!

Is that an MT-62 U-brake? Never seen one- but cleaned up it might be nifty.

Problem there is they probably won't work on your bike- as I'm aware, the bosses for U-brakes are the same as roller cams and need to be higher than for cantis.

Overall- that's a hell of a score for $20.

jpaschall

The brake is Scott SE Pederson branded. I believe it is one of the self-energizing brakes that Scott made. I wasn't planning to use it, hope it can help ID the frame though.

I also picked up a wheel in that $20 package. Deore hub, 7-sp hyperglide cassette on it. Was hoping to use the wheel as a whole, but something funky is going on with the axle. Should there be this many spacers on this side of the hub?:

wheel3

Not sure if the OLD (thinking it's 135, frame is 130) is right for the frame, but it was basically free, so no big deal if it isn't.

wheel1

wheel2

jpaschall

So I've decided to keep this bike a 6-speed. Just picked up some MT-60 thumbies, and now I'm looking to replace the freewheel. Modern ramped and pinned has been suggested, any thoughts on this freewheel? It's awfully cheap.

Shimano TZ20 6 Speed Freewheel > Components > Drivetrain, Brakes and Pedals > Freewheels | Jenson USA

ish

For grips, nothing compares to the basic kraton rubber Ritchey True Grips. They can be found for $5-7 for a pair, are comfortable, and last forever. Ignore the other variants of True Grips.

If I were in your shoes, I'd spread the frame 5mm to run 7-speed so I could run full 7 speed Deore on the bike.

Nice pick up on the the Scott. It might be a Boulder or Wind River, 2-3 models below the top of the line. Tange Infinity tubing or the like.

The Golden Boy 

I think 6 speed is fine- then again, most of my bikes are 6 speed...

I've used that FW for a few thousand miles and it's still fine. Use a black magic marker to cover up the Shimano branding.

bikemig 

I love old mountain bikes as commuters and just general cruisers. I just picked up a specialized rockhopper for my daughter that I'm fixing up. They're cheap, they work well, and parts are easy to find.

I'll bet that Scott MTB has a pretty nice frame given the parts group. Someone will want that frame.

jpaschall

I think it is likely a nice frame also. The paint is really throwing me for a loop though. Looking at some chips in the paint, I'm thinking it may have been a wild fuschia color originally. Gonna try some acetone next week and see if I can get some of this spray paint off.

scott paint1

scott paint2

The Golden Boy 

I've got a set of the Pederson SE cantilevers- I'm almost afraid to use them- that self energizing thing is nifty, but most nifty things that are useful kind of get traction and get used. The SE brakes are just from around that "around 1990" timeframe and then disappear.

But they were hot **** at the time...


By the way, I just realized no one has made mention of the Mountain Cat and Big Black Cat battling it out for Cat supremacy of the hallway.

jpaschall

Alright, headset and bb are cleaned up and it's time to start collecting the rest of the pieces I need to finish this up. Need some suggestions for tires. The roads I will be traveling most frequently on this bike are pretty rough: prone to glass and other debris, plenty of rough patches, etc. 26x1.75's were on the bike when I got it, but it looks like I could go up to a 1.9 no problem, maybe even bigger. This is an area where I'm willing to invest a little more money to get a quality tire. Open to all suggestions.

dr1445

i have been running nashbar streetwise 26x1.5, an older version that will take 60psi, the latest is 40psi. nashbar does offer a similar kevlar tire. i have used the nashbar tire with no headaches on my foul weather/beater bike for 2 yrs.