firesfate

I am so ready to ride again. My 1995 Trek mountain track XL decided to have a few issues and then another and another hehehe, the way it goes I guess. First I went to adjust my brakes since the barrel adjusters were all the way out pretty much and the levers went to the bar. So when I went to adjust the rear brakes there is a gray plastic ring on the cantilevers to adjust spring tension, well that snapped right off like it was waiting for me to touch it. The mechanics forums on here have been greatly helpful, they told me it is cheaper and easier to just order new cantilevers. SOOOO I ordered the new canti's and I got the the thought in my head that new grips would be nice so I ordered those. Grips came in and they were a little longer than my previous ones so I went to loosen the brake levers on the handlebars. First as soon as I put the wrench in to that set screw I could tell that it had been rounded ugghhh... thanx bike shop.... so I am holding onto the grip shifter to and using a hex driver with a piece of rubber from a jar opener on it to unscrew the set screw.... the plastic on the grip shifter cracked.....seriously?? so I found Shimano made some neat 7/3 speed trigger shifters & brake levers Shimano ST-EF65...so for $31 I figured why not. I also started to think...hmmm I have always wanted to try clipless pedals so I ordered a pair of Sunlight pedals that are one side clipless and other side for the regular shoe...

So here are the upgrades in progress...still waiting on the shifters:

• New Cantilever Brakes
• New shifter/brake levers
• New Pedals
• New Grips Ergon GP-5

I am ready to get back on the road! I know it isn't really Clyde specific but just venting a bit about my 19yo bike parts falling apart.... hahha

linnefaulk

Sounds like what I just had done on my 1995 Trek 1220. But add in new tires and tubes. I was halfway to the cost of a new bike.

fmt_biker

It's funny ... a few months back I did almost the EXACT same upgrade to my 1992 Trek 970 ... 3X7 ST-EF65's, Ergon Grips, clipless pedals, and in my case new pads (was able to preserve the calipers). The bike has been flawless since! BTW those levers work great.

firesfate

It's nice to see I'm not alone with the upgrades! I am looking forward to getting it all back together and taking to the road. I would have bought new tires if I hadn't just done it a few months or so ago. They are in good shape though. I am ready to start commuting to work as soon as I get my bike up and running.

breadbin

its a neverending story keeping bikes up to speed at least you doing it yourself. something real satisfying about tinkering with a bike!

firesfate

You are certainly right about that! This is my first adventure into the world of do it yourself bike repair. It took some time being a rookie at it but I have everything nicely tuned now and I just had my first successful test ride. I brought my set of allen wrenches with me on the short mile trip. I ended up moving the angle of the brake levers and grips a couple of times along the way. I have the shifters moving everything nice, the front derailleur was more difficult than the rear one was. It took me a couple of times adjusting the limit screw so that the chain wouldn't fall off the smallest gear. I said a few choice words at it but walked away and got it when I returned.

The only thing I may need to adjust is the rear brakes. They are grabbing equally and I have them toed in which I did using the zip tie trick but they just seem kind of weak. Now that may be because my front ones are so strong compared to what they were before because I have them set out very wide. The ones in the rear are set more normal or narrow by comparison. I didn't think about this earlier but I just need to see if my shoe will hit the brakes while clicked in if I open the brakes up some to get a bit more bite out of them.

Anyway it all felt good... I felt like a pro cutting my own cable tubing and cables, crimping ends and toeing in brake pads. Haha... it was a great learning experience.