robatsu

I commuted on a fully rigid Marin Pine Mountain for a while. I set it up with some riser bars, relatively smooth solid centerline tires, etc. Some aspects of this were great for commuting - the bulletproofness, pretty cushy ride on fat tires, very low top tube for throwing the bike around in an urban environment. Ultimately, though, I couldn't get rid of my need for speed and went back to a road bike for commuting.

But that is just me, MTB's obviously work great for a lot of people for commuting for the reasons listed above and many others.

BikeManDan

My Trek 800


Still have it but it is sad, hung up in the corner of the garage and never gets ridden

Sirrus Rider

The Classic late '80's to mid '90's hard tails MTBs just can't be beat as commuters. Especially in towns with rough/rotten pavement

Dominion

You are so lucky!

My brother has an 830, he rode it as his commuter for more than 5 years now, but the paint is really chipping. It's neon green/yellow with black decals.

I also bought a broken 820 from craigslist for $20 but the frame is too small for me.

jgedwa

I have kind of gotten the hardtail bug.

My main utility rider these days is a Stumpjumper with a modern 1x9 drivetrain. It has HUGE Schwalbe Big Apples on it. My bike can beat up your bike.

Others:

-Rockhopper that I had powdercoated. It has fenders and is set up as a fixed gear. I got it from someone here on BF, but I can't remember who. Gets a lot of use. Very light and nimble city bike.
-Bridgestone MB-1. Complete, but in parts.
-GT Tequesta. complete and stock except narrow slick tires.
-GT Outpost. frameset.
-GT Timberline. frameset
-GT Riccochet. Some idiot spraypainted it and ghetto converted to ss.
-all chrome, very early (before triple triangle) GT. stock.
-Mongoose Switchback. frameset
-Mongoose Alta. frameset
-Miyata 5000 Elevation. fixed. My campus bike
-oddball Cyclpro with a cool bi-plane fork. frameset
-Scott something or other. frameset. Bought this bike to steal the updated drivetrain which is now on my Stumpjumper
-Marin. frameset
-Peugeot Fun Star (!) fixed, fenders. Used to be my winter bike. Now trying to sell
-Slingshot. frameset. Had plans for it, now unsure what to do with it.
-Klein Pinnacle Elite. Fixed with an eno hub
-Haro with elevated chainstays and the ugliest factory paintjob ever. Stock
-Old Cannondale. Can't remember what model. Stock

Plus a handful of others that I have sold recently.

jim

robatsu

Here is my Marin Pine Mountain commuter, or former commuter, since I really don't commute much on it anymore. Tough, bulletproof bike, no doubt.

fender1

Well this thread made me go buy a 1987 Trek "Antelope" 850 of CL for $50. I blame everyone who posted here! It has a broken spring in the rear cantilever brake. Anyone have one to spare?

borgagain

Rejoice! Now you have something to repair! If the brakes are generally beat, maybe you should consider replacing them.

Otherwise, I've had good results bending my own replacement springs from music wire. You can get it at any hobby shop. You'll also need the correct size steel rod to bend it around, a vice and vicegrips. If you try it, take the old spring to the hobby shop to get the correct size wire. Get enough to allow for a learning curve. It's cheap. You can bend it in only one direction. It won't bend back.
_______________

Ok, this is the quickest assimilation I've ever experienced. I haven't ridden any other bike since I started this thread. I've ridden the Antelope to work several times now and took it on a shopping run this morning. It's also served for my daily fitness ride. This used to be split between a Cannondale SR300 and a Ross Eurotour in imperfect weather.

I'm not going to abandon my other bikes just yet, This may just be infatuation but this Taiwanese bike seems to be a perfect fit for my cycling needs, the crappy roads here and the hills that predominate this area. It seems to be true Antelope love for many posters to this thread. Isn't that illegal in most states?

The changes so far. Bear in mind that I'm trying to keep costs down:

New Tires: Kenda Kwest, marketed as Pyramid 26x1.95, K193. These are robust road tires, slick down the center with an inverted outer tread pattern. They stand a full 2" off the rim. Max pressure is 65 lbs. They're a few ounces lighter than the original worn knobby tires. I'll do a full review of these when I update the page. I like 'em.

Old Rack: It's just an old rack...

Grips: A pair of gell grips I had on hand. My hands are still going numb with these bars so bar ends are going to happen soon.

Bag: An old Totes camera bag that I added Velcro straps to. It has a zipper pouch that holds a mini pump, multi tool and a spare tube

Bell: Cheap black alloy bell with a spring clapper. Available anywhere. They're required in my state.

Cassette: I bought a 12-28 cassette (not mega-range as pictured) but haven't installed it yet. I decided to replace the aged brittle cracked dork disk at the same time and don't have a new one yet.

jgedwa

I have a couple of bikes with narrow (1.25") slicks that I like. But I really cannot recommend Big Apples enough. They are heavy enough to notice, but they roll pretty quickly. And, they are so bouncy that you have to ride them like a full suspension bike. I ride around town with my two little boys quite a bit, and I sort of sheppard them along by looping around, going out in front sometimes, and then hanging back others. As a consequence, I am forever hopping curbs, and the Big Apples just mush right over most anything. It has to be ridden to be believed.

jim

Blue Order

I thought the '87 had under-the-chainstay u brakes-- am I mistaken about that?

Blue Order

What color?

jgedwa

Mostly white, but with generous trim colors of bright lime green, orange, and I think yellow. The green is especially noticeable. From about four miles away.

jim

Blue Order

Oh, and I might as well chime in too. I've got a '91 Trek 830 Antelope, the one with the fluorescent yellow/splatter black paint job. It was abandoned at my building, and was confiscated by building management after notice was posted. The building manager gave it to me. I'm goig to mod it a bot into my winter commuter-- my current thinking is internally geared hub and brake on the rear wheel, disk brake on the front wheel, possibly with a dynamo hub. In addition to the qualities mentioned in other posts-- bulletproof, perfect bike for damaged road surfaces, etc.-- I also appreciate the flat bars and rapid fire shifters for slippery winter conditions, and most importantly, that fluorescent yellow paint for hi-viz in bad weather.

That, and it was free.

I'm currently riding an equally bright '91 GT Karakoram, also outfitted with rapidfire shifters. It's great for city streets-- soaks up bumps and potholes with ease. I didn't get this one for free, though. Bought it through craigslist, it had been hanging unused in a suburban garage for the last ten years, in near mint condition. Had to pay $50.



(The attached photos are not of my bikes, but they are the same models)

Blue Order

That makes it great for hi-viz riding.

jitterymonkey

Here she is with the Jandd extreme front and expedition rear racks.
Wasn't sure whether to post it in this thread, the commuter or utility forum.

alicestrong

UPDATE!!!

Look what my favorite Old Guy in the Neighborhood Who Sells Cheap Bikes had for $20....

I feel somewhat vindicated about the theft of my Trek five years ago.

Not sure what I'll do with this one, but I'll start by putting some slicks on it...

RFC

Yes, the old rigid MTBs make great urban/suburban assault vehicles. They will go through anything.

1989 Fisher ProCaliber

cb400bill

Someone in LA should scoop this one up.

TREK 830 Antelope Mountain bike - $45 (Sherman Oaks)

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/bik/968216715.html

Blue Order

That hi-viz paint makes it the perfect commuter.

cb400bill

Here is another one.

Trek Antelope 830 21-Speed Men's Mountain Bike - $75

https://detroit.craigslist.org/bik/980156722.html

delver

heres my 820 on a 2400 mile ride. This is the bike I took because I did not have anything else that was strong enough for a on and off road tour. It was great, up to 120 mile days. I used Serfas drifter tires, not the best flat protection but they held up well, and were pretty good offroad.

I would love to find one in a 54-59 c frame. this one is a bit small but worked well. bombproof bike.

Oh, and I found the frame in a dumpster.

cb400bill

Man that is one loaded bike. Where did you do your 2400 mile ride to and from? And what covered bridge is that?

delver

Mostly on the MRT, mississippi river trail, started on the GIT on the Chicago lakefront , grand illinios trail(where that bridge was, no idea which bridge it was) and ended up in Tallahassee Fl for a reunion, but I jumped over to Springfield MO by way of the Katy trail. Caught a ride back across MO. Lots of backroads and county maps, old overgrown fireroads and as it was winter with lots of flooding I started carrying rope to haul things over and through obstacles. most of that baggage is insulation, as it was pretty cold.

I am now on a KHS Expedition steel MBT, but as it has no braze ons I am looking for somthing else for the rough stuff trips.

borgagain

OP here again. Since this thread got bumped recently, I don't mind giving a timely update. I hate to play favorites but of the 5 bikes I own, that I actually ride, the Antelope has become my favorite and is the one I would keep, if for some reason I could only keep one bike (like my wife would ever make good on that threat...).

When they started salting the roads here, I reluctantly stopped riding the Trek and switched to my old ROSS. It's actually a pretty rugged road bike but with its steel rims, it's not the best for winter conditions and it's not as pleasant to ride as the Antelope. I also hate fixing flats in the winter with no QR.

A couple of days ago another rigid MTB appeared in the local free section of craigslist. I picked it up last night. It's an old Giant Sedona, the same perfect size as my Trek (In recent years the Sedona model has become a "comfort" bike). It too has double butted Cro-Mo tubing, a biopace crankset and is generally similar to the Antelope in many other ways.

It was clearly somebody's beater bike. The headset and crank are loose and the springs in the rear brakes seemed broken or disconnected. I was sure that it had never seen any maintenance until I discovered that the rear brake springs had been switched left to right, rendering them useless. Hopefully, everything else will be that easy to fix.

When I get it tuned, It's likely to become my new winter bike. Life is good

Here's the craigslist pic. I'll give the Giant a web page with better pictures when I get it put back together and post the URL in a new thread.



Edit: 1/20, You can see and read about this bike here. It had some interesting problems.

jgedwa

Yeah right buddy: just another "Winter bike". I have about 10 "Winter bikes".

When you start buying "Fall bikes" you can just go ahead and check yourself into the clinic.

And now I have to return to my van down by the river

jim