I’m looking for a commuter bike for a new job I am starting. I know very little about bikes, more than nothing but certainly a beginner. I stumbled upon this Trek bike that looked to be in good shape, and what looked like a good price, $250, at my local pawn shop. However, what I quickly realized is that the entire rear braking system is missing. No cable, calipers, nothing. Very strange I thought. I told staff and they said they’d do $200. So what I am wondering, is
1) is this a good deal
2) could someone with decent knowledge of bikes (I tried to fix one of the bikes I had as a teen so I learned the basics) fix this themselves
3) and what would I need and how much would I expect to pay?
Any help on this would be much appreciated. I included photos of the whole bike, the front system, and then the (non-existent) rear system
by MatisseThybulle22
5 Comments
Very fixable, get a rear flat mount brake for it, a brake wire, housing and ferrules. It’ll be a $40-45 fix, get a cheap one from Nutt or Tektro and take it to an LBS
I mean, it’s not that hard if it’s the one with external brake routing, can’t see it from non drive side. What you have already is the brake lever and the disk, so check your local prices on a new mechanical brake caliper, hose and cable, and probably resin brake pads as well.
Watch videos on internal routing if that’s what you have and setting up mechanical brakes as well and see for yourself if it’s worth the hassle or not.
Bad deal. Worth $100 at that point. Pawn shops are not bike shops and they don’t know anything. Probably other things wrong with the bike too that neither of you know about. They just take things for collateral, they don’t know how to evaluate anything.
Do you not have a Craigslist or an LBS near you?
Pass. Way too much for an incomplete machine. If you had the tools and skills it might be worth $100 max. Keep looking.
Could get hydraulic mt200s on AliExpress for $32.