Originally Posted by
steltz02
Alright, it looks like it's unanimous. Thanks for the dose of reality.
The Trek does have eyelets, but not alot of clearance anywhere.
I ride a 58cm or 60cm on a road frame, what would be a good size MTB hardtail for me 20"?
It this in the ballpark? Am I just simply looking for a hardtail setup with eyelets and cantis? Ideally my 48 38 28 Sugino crank I just bought will fit on the MTB.
Hardtail = suspension fork = forget it. Think full rigid frame MTB, the kind made from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s. There are millions of them out there, and the MTB crowd won't touch them, keeping prices low.
Don't waste your time buying just a frameset, buy a complete rigid frame MTB. Even if you don't need all of the parts, you will probably need some of them, and building from a bare frame = money pit. Whatever left overs you end up with, just donate to your favorite co-op, or resell some of the parts you paid money to accumulate but don't need.
My recommendation on vintage mtbs is always the same, aim high! The difference between a low end vintage mtb in the used market and a high end might be all of $50 ($100 vs $150). For that extra $50, you will get a bike that originally retailed for 4X higher than the entry bike: better frame, better components, lighter weight, etc.
So I would either raise your budget, or look aggressively. I picked up my Univega for $40, one Trek for $50, and the other for $25, and the Cimmaron was even less. Those prices are NOT typical!! Its really about the value of your time, spend a lot of time looking or enjoy the convenience of just grabbing one your size. Convenience costs $$. Its your choice what works best for you.
So for example, on Trek mtbs, the 900 series bikes were all really nice. I have two 950s right now. Pretty much all the bike shop brands made good ones. Besides the Treks, I have a nice Univega Alpina Pro (top of the line for them) and a nice Schwinn Cimmaron (top of the line for them).
That Specialized doesn't come with a fork, thats just additional expense and hassle on the build. Think local C/L, avoid the shipping, and avoid the competition from other buyers.
If you want inspiration, we have a 14 page thread on converting MTBs to drop bar bikes, lots of examples of conversions (shameless plug, OK, I started that thread, but several forum members posted a lot nicer versions than mine for sure). I converted the Univega, and plan to convert the Cimmaron next.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ar-Conversions
Old rigid frame MTBs offer tremendous value right now IMHO.