Originally Posted by peachpossumpie
My apologies if any of this is obvious, but I have not biked since I was a teenager (35 now).
I am considering biking the 17 miles to work each day instead of driving. I've got an old Trek 830 Antelope someone gave me, and I stripped it down totally because the components were old/rusty/dried up/etc. Looks like I need to replace the chainring, bottom bracket, chain, rear sprockets (is that "cassette"?), possibly the rear hub itself, and all the bearings throughout. Probably the brakes too, though I'm thinking of putting only the front brake back on. Basically, I'm keeping the frame, handlebars, cranks, wheels, and seat.
As someone who has taken apart, modified, rebuilt, upgraded and wasted too much money on bikes, I can tell you that refurbing a bike can be one of the most rewarding and frustrating activites you can participate in. Only raising teenagers competes with it.
Several questions:
Is this too outdated to pursue, and would I be better off buying another used bike somewhere?
Is there some way to identify what year bike this is?
How can I tell which new components will fit it? Are some of the components standard-sized?
Am I crazy to try to commute 17 miles through Cobb County in Atlanta?
Thanks for any help and advice...very much appreciated.
You might be able to find a year for this bike at
Vintage Trek. The 830 was never a great bike. It basically a low entry level without too many bells and whistles. If you happen to have all of the parts sitting around from some other bike, I'd say make a Frankenstein bike out of it and go on your merry way. Or if you can salvage some of the old parts and make it work for a while by just replacing the chain and maybe repacking bearings, again, I'd say sally forth. But I think you're going to have to replace more than you think since you might have to replace the shifters and levers, wheels, tires, saddle, grips and several other things I haven't listed. Add to that the fact that many of the new parts may be different dimensions and the task could be come expensive indeed!
Unless this bike has some significance to you, I'd say look around for a good used bike or even a good new one. You could easily spend the amount of a low level hybrid or mountain bike and still not have a bike that performs as well. I'd suggest looking for a Trek, Specialized, or Giant. You should easily be able to find something in the $300-$500 range.
As for being crazy, all of us bicycling commuters are a bit touched. But therein lies the charm. Try talking to a local bike club or go to a bike shop, you may find more commuters than you think and most of them will be helpful. One word of advice on riding to work: Don't think with a car brain. You don't have to ride on the same streets you would drive your car on. There are usually plenty of streets paralleling your route that are quiet and go to the same spot.
Good luck,
Stuart Black