jerm_v

I hope this is the right forum for this post!

I've been looking to buy a bike for a while, and I stumbled across this one at Goodwill for $20. It looked like the type of bike I was looking for, it seemed to be the right size for me, and it had words written on it than I have seen mentioned in a positive light on this forum.



Here's what I know about it:
it's 21 speed
Frame says Trek (possibly 800--it's hard to read) and it's Chromoly.
Shifters say shimano unishift
pedals say shimano deore lx
front derailler says suntour x-1
rear derailler says suntour xc pro accushift plus
front gear says shimano sg c-43
it's really dirty

I took it home, pumped up the tires and rode it around my neighborhood for a while. Everything seems to work and it's comfortable (except for the seat which is a little hard!) so I'm happy with it.

My questions:

Did I get the bargain I hoped for? Are these parts upgrades from previous owner, or stock?

What's the best way to clean it up? I'll probably take it into a local bike shop for a tune up and to check out the tires, but I at least want to get some of the grime off and give it a good once over.

I'm excited about learning how to maintain and eventually upgrade my own bike, and I hope this is a good one to start with.

jaxgtr

Take it in to the LBS and get it a good check. For $20, you can't go wrong.

ShadowGray

It's $20... a complete, functioning bike is worth way more than $20.

Go spend $50 on a tune-up and maybe other parts, and you have a winner right there.

Although I don't know how good suntour drivetrains are... aren't they a bit on the low end?

cb400bill

It looks like your bike's front fork is bent back a little. Could just be the camera angle, though.

envane

Those old rigid MTB's are very solid bikes. This was a midrangish-model. The rack alone is $20.

If you really want to figure out what bike you have:

https://www.vintage-trek.com/index.htm

JanMM

SunTour was a contender when that bike was new. Lots of room between the rear tire and the seat tube, huh?

keiththesnake

Great deal. Have one. Love it. Ride safe.

mlts22 

I wonder if you can upgrade the old Suntour components to a new SR Suntour drivetrain, if that helps using it for long commutes.

wahoonc

Looks like an excellent deal to me

Suntour was good stuff back then. It sounds like a few parts may have been swapped around on it, but all of them are of a reasonable quality. FWIW I have a Giant from around 1990 that has full Suntour XCM on it and it still rides great almost 20 years later.

Aaron

rodrigaj

Looks like a trek 820. Like others have said, take it in for a safety inspection / tune up before riding it long distances. Those tires look like they are really old. The gumwall sides are probably disintegrating, so you will definitely need new tires.

Very nice bike, btw.

Grim

Smoking deal.

Take some time to go through it and check the bearings for grease and things like that. Older bikes are often in a state of neglect.

Especcialy check the bottom bracket. My used bike started to get a click about a month into having it. Some water got down into the frame at some point before I even bought it. The BB was sealed unit so I manage to force some grease in it and it freed up and is smooth now. It was also loose in the frame (and probably the click was not being tight in the frame). Had I not taken the time to pull it down I would have eventually damaged the threads in the frame.

All the bearings in the bike were pretty dried out. Odd since the guy who I bought it from son worked at a bike shop and supposedly it had been recently tuned up. Smooth as glass now after taking a afternoon to go through everything.

Bikes sould be nearly silent. Chain noise is all you should hear. I hear more noise from the tires when my bike is "right". When the bike starts talking to you they need attention.

alanbikehouston

The Trek mountain bikes from the 1985 to 1995 era had well-made frames and good components. There is no reason to update anything or change anything. Just have a really good bike shop true the wheels, and give the bearings some grease, adjust the brakes and shifting, replace the tires if necessary, and enjoy the bike.

For the types of riding that MOST of us do, the 1990ish mountain bikes are superior to the mountain bikes of 2008...which have gotten expensive, complex, and heavy. Simple and reliable is better, and that is exactly what the older Treks provide.

Buglady

A Trek 800/820 for $20??! You nearly stole that thing!!

Um, I mean, it was a terrible deal, but I'll happily take it off your hands for you. Because i'm just nice that way, not at all because I lust after lugged steel Trek frames

jhota

SunTour X-1 and XC Pro was good stuff back in the day. i've got a Trek i bought new in '89, still mostly the original X-1 driveline. works great. 20 bucks looks like a deal.

Velo Dog

I'd snap it up, if it's solid, and you should be able to tell that without going to a shop. If it shifts, the brakes work and it doesn't rattle or creak, lubrication and adjustment should give you a decent everyday bike. I've bought three or four bikes from thrift shops over the years.
Suntour is not necessarily low end. Like Shimano, there were high-end and low-end Suntour groups. I have Suntour on two bikes, one of them ridden hard for more than 10 years, and it's been fine.

2wheeled

That's a nice find. Part tools has great info for maintenance if you didn't already know.
https://www.parktool.com/repair/

rando

great deal, and it already has a rack!! have the LBS check it over and enjoy!

grayloon

Suntour made very good derailleurs, especially the XC line. I"ve an XC I put on my road bike back in 87 after the original played out. It shifts smooth. $20 for a functioning bike is a good deal, even if its a gas pipe Huffy.

mark9950

A bent front fork on a trek?go figure.

TalkingHead

YEs Suntour is good i was talking with my dad about his riding days in the early 80s..i dunno why he gave it up..he would do centurys every other week or so, had pics of his old Raleigh with toe clips with him on it in a tour with marine corps jersey lol..he say's he is pretty sure he had suntour parts, with shimano..and he rode that bike from 76 to 83 and sold it, never broke down on him..ran wd-40 on chains. old school stuff is probably better then todays bikes

jitterymonkey

Check out https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/437438-trek-antelope-commuter.html

bicyclridr4life

Sun Tour = "Poor Man's Campy" When this bike was made, only Campy was higher on the totem pole.

During the eara that bike was made, Shimano was still junk and only found on the cheapest of cheap department store bikes like the low end Wards, Sears, and J.C. Penny bikes. Even the higher end department store bikes had Sun Tour parts.

The deraillures he mentioned were among the first of the indexed shifting design (invented, by the way, by Sun Tour - NOT Shimano) and are of very high quality, and will out last a new Shimano 10 times over - just like it has out lasted a then contemporary Shimano deraillure.