Old MTB, worth the effort?

[Jean]

Hi,

I'm thinking of buying an old fixed fork MTB (steel or alu, proabably leaning to steel now) which might have been a reasonable bike in it's day, but which is now well past it, though still solid. I want to use it to ride around with the family; drag a trailer or a tag-a-long. Maybe one day it might see a fire trail or something off-road in a low key kind of way.

Anyway, this morning I was offered a couple of old Diamondback MTB frames (one was a Sorrento) which at about $40 might be a good starting point. The frames were mass produced DB welded CroMo (4130?? - should have taken better note), made in China, but seemed to have a pretty fair geometry and looked pretty tough. The better one still had wheels (though they're nothing to write home about), 7-speed cassette, gears (Shimano Acera from its day), a fairly decent looking crank (again Acera) and stem/handlebar (which were alu), but no brakes, chain, cables or gear shifters.

Looking at c r c and what have you, new brakes & levers don't seem too expensive but I'm a roadie (who uses Campag not Shimano) and know sweet FA about MTBs, especially old ones. So a few questions:

1. Will a modern 8-9 speed Shimano RD and FD work with a (new) 7-speed shifter?
2. It looks like it had centrepull cantilever brakes. Will the bosses be OK for V-Brakes?

I don't want to over-egg my bike pudding, but whatever frame I get I'd look at putting some decent lower mid-range gear on so that's its both ridable and pleasant to ride. Powdercoat etc might be on the cards too, and maybe some wheel upgrade along the way.

Anyway, any advice/help would be apprecaited. Feel free to tell me if I'm wasting my time.
Cheers

[familyguy]

1. Will a modern 8-9 speed Shimano RD and FD work with a (new) 7-speed shifter?
2. It looks like it had centrepull cantilever brakes. Will the bosses be OK for V-Brakes?

Short answers, yes to both.
1. The RD travel is controlled by the shifter, so anything that gives you enough range will work. Watch chain widths though.
2. I believe they mount on the same points.

I've got an old set of Shimano v-brake arms you can have cheapo (maybe just postage, I'll check them out first) if you want to try it without spending a lot. No levers though. I had Acera stuff on an Avanti Hurricane I inherited/stole from my dad which was good gear, capable, just dont expect to abuse it and have it last. I sold the bike and still see it riding around, running fine.

Rear spacing should be 135mm still, so you might find that 8 or 9 speed stuff is cheap enough to warrant the upgrade.

Jim

[spirito]

Anyway, any advice/help would be apprecaited. Feel free to tell me if I'm wasting my time.
Cheers

Wasting time and money. A cheap, nothing special, old MTB project is gonna cost you much more than just buying one all complete and in decent condition. If it was a special frame I'd say go for it but as is you're up for hundreds and you know how things get blown out (postage costs, last minute parts, finishing bits etc etc).

I'd just say keep an eye out for classic hardtails with solid forks in good condition or that someone has already sunk the coin into. A) you can ride it and figure out whether it's for you and b) sell it on for about what you paid if it's not getting ridden. Building one from scratch (or close to) often costs twice as much as buying one whole.

otoh ... if you got money to blow come see me I got a Kirk magnesium frame that has never been built or ridden Certainly interesting for it's time and quite unusual even today. Never got around to building it.
http://www.kirk-bicycles.co.uk/Kirk-History.htm

[mikedufty]

I bought a slightly better spec bike - rigid forks, exage running gear for $25 from the local carpark market a couple of years ago. I just wanted the wheels and a shifter, but the bike was really quite good.

[hartleymartin]

Get it up on some wheels, take it for a ride and see if you like it. The important thing is that the frame fits you properly and handles the way you like it.

[Jean]

Thanks for the responses. The economics of rebuilding an old frame certainly require some thought. MTB parts can be pretty cheap (at least to this Campag running roadie), but it does have to stack up. An old higher spec bike would be good, but I've been keeping my eye out for a couple of months and I've yet to stumble across such a beast in Canberra. I admit frustration is creeping in a bit.

Bike fit is another matter and will require due deliberation and try outs.

[Torana68]

..... just keep an eye on the local tips.......

[Mulger bill]

V Brakes will fit no problems.

Adjust the mechs limit screws right and no problem.

Scrounging tip shops and the like should get what you need for a pretty good price.

Shaun