Hi All,
I hope that this is the right place for my request. If it’s not, my apologies and please point me in the right direction.
I have a late 80s Cannondale road bike that has served me very well for years but it’s gotten to the point where it no longer suits my needs. I did a little shopping around for a hybrid commuter (I live and work in the Boston area) but wasn’t thrilled by the options and price points that I found for non-electric bikes. I’m hoping that instead I’ll be able to breathe new life into this guy as a flat-bar commuter for less money and to preserve my emotional connection to this one.
My problem is I truly don’t know where to start. I put some new tires on it a few years ago, but otherwise I think it needs a pretty thorough overhaul. My dream is to convert it to a 1x drivetrain (I’m more of a mountain biker and like the simplicity—I always end up cross-chaining this thing) with flat bars to be a bit more comfortable around town. Where do I start? I looked at some Microshift parts but couldn’t figure out what I needed or what to pair them with. I’m open to doing the work myself as I’m pretty handy, but I also am not too proud to just take it to my LBS with a box of parts and let them have at it.
Can anyone help me come up with a parts list to give my bike the new life that it deserves? For the time being, I probably won’t bother touching the saddle or wheels, but pretty much everything else is on the table if I can do it for less than $400 in parts. Any more than that and unfortunately I’ll probably just look for something new or on Craigslist.
Thanks so much for any guidance that you can offer!
by spaceyams