This may or may not be the right thread for this post.

My brother found a GT Timberline MTB in someone's trash and rescued it. It has Shimano Exage components and looks like it dates anywhere from the late 80s to mid 90s. He asked me if I could get it trailworthy again.

I gave it a rough cleaning, and found a few problems. The chain fitted might be too long, cause the rear derailleur won't tension properly no matter which gear it's in. The front sprockets are out of round, and then I noticed that the tines on the fork weren't lined up when I tried to remount the front tire. So, there's probably a reason that it was in the trash. I'm curious as to what happened.

SInce it was free, it's not like we have anything in it. But we're wondering if it's worth fixing up, and if so, how to go about doing that.

My brother would like to use it as a trail bike, but we've also considered the possibility of turning it into an Xtracycle-type bike. But not if it's not fixable. My brother's an artist and might be able to use it for that purpose as well.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,
-Bill