charles vail

Maybe just a powdercoating in a color of your choice along with a new set of cables, pads, bar tape and saddle will help get that urge to buy new out of your mind and still allow you to personalize your bike and make it ride and fit better. New wheels will make the biggest performance/comfort improvement. As long as your frame fits and is not cracking anywhere I'd keep it. My powdercoater did my bike for $75 and that included the base coat safety yellow and a emerald green metallic clear coat over the top. In sunlight its just beautifull. This alone made my late 70's Centurion worth adding new parts to and something I will ride for years. These old steel frames lend themselves to restoration unlike much of the new stuff that is largely throwaway.

See my bikes on my slide show at https://www.myspace.com/eccentriccyclistcharlie

Emz

I see you have a Trek 850 too!
I will to keep it and not punt and buy a new bike.
But the chain slips from the chosen front ring when I change gears IN BACK! so something's up. PLus stilll trying to dial in the bar position.
But I like it.
I believe in it. I believe in the idea of "ride it don't hide it".
I don't even mind the color! Blue with white letters. Well the pink "trim" behind the white letters, I could live without!
But yeah a nice candy color paint, like bass-boat paint would make it prettier.
Glad to hear you have a good, handy, reasonably priced powdercoater nearby!
here's my bike:

charles vail

I see you have a Trek 850 too!
I will to keep it and not punt and buy a new bike.
But the chain slips from the chosen front ring when I change gears IN BACK! so something's up. PLus stilll trying to dial in the bar position.
But I like it.
I believe in it. I believe in the idea of "ride it don't hide it".
I don't even mind the color! Blue with white letters. Well the pink "trim" behind the white letters, I could live without!
But yeah a nice candy color paint, like bass-boat paint would make it prettier.
Glad to hear you have a good, handy, reasonably priced powdercoater nearby!
here's my bike:
[/QUOTE]

Yea!.......the 850 Trek is a great bike, very sturdy, rides nice and on mine I have the typical MTB gearing 42x32x22 and 11-28 in the back end. I think this gives me about a 18-90 inch range which is perfect for everything except actual road racing. Your bike looks to be in great shape and it appears you have new tires for the road so you are set, I think. I used the Albatross bars available from Rivendell (rivbike.com) and have yet to put on the cork grips. The saddle is a Brooks B67 with springs and is very comfy even though it hasn't been broken in at all.
You might need a new chain and a tune up from your local bike mechanic or if you are like me, just get a couple of good bike repair manuals and some tools and learn to do it yourself. A cycling pal who is experienced may also be a good source for on the spot help. Buying your own tools, while expensive at first, will pay for themselves in a short time, if you ride alot. I replaced the shock fork on my Trek with a solid steel one and installed a new headset. Fenders are a must in the N.W. so I added those and will probably change out the bottom bracket someday. Its my cold weather bike but my wife rides it more than I do. Keeping a older quality steel bike, if it fits, and replacing parts as needed is my normal method and because I do most all my own work I save alot of $ in the process.