Neighbor has a late-90s or early 2000s Diamondback Zetec that he doesn't want. Says I can have it for $100. It has STX-RC drivetrain, some low end Avid brakes. Frame is aluminum and a suspension fork. It has a 24 speeds.
Now I'd like to buy this as my beater bike when I don't want to ride my newer, 2009 Marin Muirwoods. I understand that the Diamondback has higher end components that my Muirwoods, but whatever. This one already has scratches all over, but frame looks straight and no dents or dings. I figure I'll just put 1.5-1.75 tires on the bike.
Now what I want to do is make it rigid. Since this is fat tube aluminum bike, is that necessarily a bad idea? I was looking around and the Surly 1x1 80mm correction fork seems like a good value and has good reviews. Will this fork fit the bike? The only thing I'm certain of is that that the bike has threadless heatset. This bike is only trails the bike will hit are things like unpaved multi-use trails, and even then I don't anticipate using such trails for more than 1/2 mi at a time.
The bike definitely needs a new front wheel. Neighbor said the problem is at the rim seam and that 50 miles after getting the wheel trued, the same problem came back. The shop mechanic advised him of this before he went ahead with truing the wheel.
Additionally, I'd like to put one Avid BB7 brake on that fork and keep the rear V-brake. Will that work ok since the bike did not originally have disc brakes? My understanding is that disc brakes exert different forces than V-brakes. I need a new front wheel for that bike anyway. My existing V-brake levers should be ok right?
So here's what I'm looking at:
$100 -- bike
$75 --
Surly 1x1 fork
$60 --
Avid BB7 w/ rotor
$60 --
Cheap wheel from Performance Bike
Alternatively, would I be better off with this wheelset? If I buy the brake, wheels, and some small parts together, then the shipping will be free it looks like.
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Wheelset.aspx
I'm sure I need some new cables and such too, and new tires. So total I'm spending roughly $350-400 since I'm not going to do the labor. Does this sound like a good or bad deal for a bike like this? I have no idea how to replace a fork.