What do I have?
 

Hello,
Please bear with me because I am not that good with bike terminology / bikes in general.

I bought a carbon fiber giant bike, for $200. I had no idea what it was, i just needed a nice bike.

It says GIANT, MCM2, Carbon Fiber, and Kevlar wrapped on the frame. It has a sticker that says size 18.

I looked up the front shocks, they were made around 1995-1996.

Most of the parts say Shimano, Most are Shimano Deore LX. Including: The brakes, brake handles, derailleurs, hubs, cranks/gears, etc.
The pedals are Specialized.

I need to replace the crankset (I think that's what the front gear thing is called, the 3 large gears?) It's a 24 speed bike, 3x8.

How can I find which one I need? I have it in my garage so if I need to count anything, measure, etc let me know.

The bike computer was also made in the 1995-1996 timeframe, so I'm assuming the bike is from then. The shocks have been replaced, they are definitely not original.

If you need, I can post pictures, etc. The chain snapped last night, I am ordering a new one off of ebay. The front crankset says use Shimano IG Chain only, so I am ordering one from ebay.

I've had a few people check it out, they say it was a prototype bike, but I honestly have no idea.

Please let me know what you need to help me find this out, e.g. pictures, how many teeth in each gear, or anything else a noob like me can figure out. The model numbers are long worn off, it's likely a 20 year old bike with 20 year old parts.. The chain looked original too, and a friend told me it was hand crafted, tempered steel. This is the chain I am buying tonight: Shimano IG 70 3 32" Bicycle Chain 7 1mm 7 8 Speed 116L Silver Grey | eBay My old chain had 116 links and was around 7mm wide.


EDIT: Added pictures. Yes, the bike is dirty. I don't know how to clean it without getting it all rusty.


Thank you all in advance!!!!

-1998golfer

Here are some images... (part 1)

MCM 2 Logo
http://i.imgur.com/q54dtRD.jpg

Crank
http://i.imgur.com/t5LOH2p.jpg

Size 18 Sticker
http://i.imgur.com/bAAwrKE.jpg

Back brake overview
http://i.imgur.com/y0YT1oj.jpg

Back brake up close
http://i.imgur.com/kOmbwRp.jpg

Front brake overview
http://i.imgur.com/gUaz1Id.jpg

Shocks (they say Quadra 21R)
http://i.imgur.com/nJ0yk6u.jpg

Other side of crank
http://i.imgur.com/nfHYsWT.jpg




Thanks!

Here are the rest...
Front derailleur
http://i.imgur.com/KyMBLvz.jpg

Rear derailleur
http://i.imgur.com/vl5jCDN.jpg

Hub & rear gears
http://i.imgur.com/MZKUiUv.jpg

Pedal (Specialized brand)
http://i.imgur.com/PAkoRxI.jpg

Overview of bike
http://i.imgur.com/FOCNwo1.jpg

Handlebars
http://i.imgur.com/q5z7kSx.jpg

Kevlar wrapped wording
http://i.imgur.com/yiSU1IK.jpg

Shimano close
http://i.imgur.com/ymDcIc2.jpg

Rad bike. Not a prototype. 1996.
1996 Giant MCM-2 - BikePedia

What's wrong with cranks? If you wanna replace them but not the bb gotta get cranks that go on a 107mm bb. Or just get cranks and BB in one go - Pretty much any 68mm bb with compatible 42 or 44 t big ring cranks.

I'm not a fan of Shimano chain, just run Sram 830 on that drivetrain but run the shimano til it dies or you have to break it for some reason.

I think you need to post more pictures...lol
Nice bike and the cranks look ok to me.

When I wash my mtb I rinse off the bike with a hose, wash it with dawn dish washing liquid and a sponge, then rinse again. (avoid spraying a lot of water in the bottom bracket, head set and wheel bearing area).
I use lemon pledge and a rag and polish the bike which makes it shine and smell good too.
Lube up the chain, and all the pivot points etc.
Wash it like you would a car.

Take it out and ride, get it muddy, dirty, have fun and repeat the cleaning process.

Why do you need to replace the cranks? They look fine. Be careful changing the crank on an old CF MTB frame. Trek frames of that vintage have been known to have the BB housing break free from the frame. When that happens, the bike may be impossible to repair. If you're not familiar with crank removal, you may want to take it to a bike shop.

by crank I mean the petal plus the front gears thing, whenever I petal hard it slips,idk exactly what happens but it has made me crash. maybe the right word was front sprocket?
If it's not that, what is causing this problem?

Really cool looking bike! If the original chain was still on the bike and the chain snapped I would think the teeth on the cassette cogs might be worn out as well. If it were me I would just plan on replacing the cassette at the same time I replace the chain. I would do that before I mess with the chainrings/crankset, unless there is some other reason you think you need a new crankset?

Edit: I just read your above post. I bet the chain was slipping on the rear cogs, I already said it but I would replace the chain and cassette first. The Deore lx crankset is cool and would be expensive to replace. A cassette should be much cheaper. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but i'm pretty sure any new 8 speed shimano indexed mountain bike cassette would work. For example this one for $10.99:


Shimano Acera HG41 8 Speed MTB Cassette | Chain Reaction Cycles

ok so the gears are the casette. I need to know what cassette to replace it with, and front back or both? im limited on funds, I'm in high school.

Reread the above post I made, I edited with a link

It is confusing, the gears on the front are called chainrings, the entire assembly of chainrings and cranks are called the crankset. The gears on the rear are called cogs. The entire assembly of cogs is a cassette.

Can anyone confirm that I don't need the shimano deore cassette? And where could I find one, if I wanted to go for originality?

Here:

8 Speed 11 32T Mountain Bike Road Bicycle Cassette for Deore Alivio Acera | eBay

Any 8 speed Shimano or Sram mtb cassette will work, as well as most 8sp road cassettes from either maker . I wouldn't worry about sticking with original spec cassette in this case.

Okay. I'll probably get this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DTWZME
Should I get 11-30t, 32t, or 34t?

Also, I was looking more on my bike today, found a sticker that says SRAM on the rear cassette..

Help needed!!!

I am going to replace the rear cassette, but I want to replace the front one at the same time. What do I need to get?? They don't manufacture the 5 bolt shimano deore lx ones anymore, and I can't find any that look remotely similar! Please help!

I think I found the model.. But I can't find it being sold anywhere. Shimano M563 looks right.
EDIT: I think I found it. http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-la...language=en_JP

They haven't made them for about 18 years. Have to go eBay (or Amazon.jp, apparently) for exact match. Could take a little while but not unobtainable.

Yep.. The one I linked above is the correct one, right? Want to make sure. It's equivalent of around 85 USD, including around 20 USD in shipping. It looks just like mine, but without the plastic shield. Am I correct to assume mine had one at some point, just fell off / broke?

I was told by some biking friends that it would be best to replace the whole drivetrain.. What do you think?

Meh. If it were me I'd buy a cheap 8 speed chain and slap it on there, tune things and see how it works. Replacing the whole drive train would be nice but then you are talking a lot of money. Ride it for awhile first and see if you like the bike before throwing a bunch of money at it. Even then I'd probably stick with the crank, teeth look ok to me, and stay 8 speed unless I came across somebody selling good used 9-10 speed stuff cheap.

What Canker said. Replace the chain, and maybe the cassette, but I would hold off on the crank. If it needs replacing, you can always add that later. Try the chain and cassette only, they are the easiest and least expensive to replace. Don't go crazy on the chain. Any SRAM or Shimano 8/7 speed chain will do. I would stay with the brand names though and would not get the cheapo chain at the big box stores. Also, if you replace the cassette, I'd go with SRAM or Shimano, if it were me, I'd buy a new one, probably from an LBS.

Already replaced the chain, didn't help.

is the rear derailleur properly adjusted? Is the new chain the same length (same number of links) as the old? If you don't know how to adjust it, take the bike to your local bike shop or bike co-op and have it adjusted (the co-op will teach you how to do it). Worst case, replace the rear cassette; they wear out faster than the front chain rings. From the photos, the crank set looks fine.