My new Craigslist buy
 

https://i.imgur.com/dSXg77e.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NiLQvFQ.jpg

Bought this bad boy for $50. My kid has outgrown his old bike and has expressed some interest in learning how to work on bikes, so I'm giving this to him. Together we will work on it and turn it into a light tourer. The bike and components are in great shape, but we'll still work on it so he can learn everything. We'll probably start by stripping, cleaning, and painting it (the paint has lots of chips that were covered up in a mismatched blue nail polish, and this way he can choose the color). Then replace brake pads, convert grip shifts to thumb shifters, different tires, new chain, new headset, and give the rear wheel a quick release skewer.

With all that said, it's still a completely functional bike right now. And for $50, you can't go too far wrong.

I'll post photos and update this thread as we progress.

Sounds like a fun project!

Those make great touring bikes. Good choice!

Nice looking bike and a great way to spend time with your son.

Get them tires dirty!

Nice buy! I love the 90's Trek 800 and 900 series bikes.

https://i.imgur.com/0ibC3Eo.jpg

Today's the day! I haven't done much to it other than adjust the brakes to stop squealing and adjust the derailleurs for smoother shifting. I'll see what he wants to do for paint. If he doesn't want to paint it, we'll start with new brake pads and quick release skewer on rear wheel before we start on the more in-depth stuff. Accompanying gifts: water bottle from local bike shop, tire patch kit, and Park Tool multi-tool.

PS. I ran out of the cool striped paper and had to finish it off with penguins and Avengers paper. Gives it more charm, anyway.

Ha ha, love the wrapping job.

That would be a cool present if he opened it up to find two hoola hoops and a hockey stick.

Having done scores of rattle can paint jobs and exactly one powder coat to date, I can testify that powder coating is a much better way to go. Good luck with the project!

Did he shake the package first to see if it rattles?

If that is a freewheel rear hub, the first chore is to find the correct freewheel remover. You mentioned replacing the headset, but if the only thing that the old one needs is grease, I would keep the old one.

Excellent ! I bought a 91 or 92 Trek 830 originally for mountain biking but ended up adapting it to tour on and it worked quite well.

Grats on the good deal! That's the perfect bike for modding into a tourer. That's what I do on a regular basis!

that's really sweet of you

I could use a couple hockey sticks, even if wrapped up as a bike, right now!

Love the wrapping job though, let us know how the project goes :thumb:

awesome dad you are!

One more thought, my errand bike has a lot of rust showing where the paint chips are. The stem and handlebars were painted steel but now have more rust than paint. That makes the bike a lot more theft resistant.

My point is that if your son repaints it and has a beautiful looking bike, it could be much more theft prone.

I had a bike stolen when I was in high school, I paid for it with about 80 hours of minimum wage income. It can be rather traumatic when you work hard for something and it is suddenly gone.