Been wanting to buy a bike haven’t ridden in a while. My dad has had this bike since the 90s hasn’t ridden it in probably a decade or more, I don’t plan on ever taking it on off road trails, how involved of a process would it be to throw some road tires on it like some continental gators? Do I need wheels? Should I change wheels? Is this bike even worth putting effort into? Should I just buy a bike? Ik barracudas aren’t much now I’ve heard they were nice back in the day. Going to lune up the chain and take it out his weekend but curious what you guys thought. Thanks,
by fontatas
9 Comments
Have you looked at r/xbiking?? You’ll get some real inspiration there.
Barracudas were cool bikes in the 90s. Hard to tell (the photo is of the wrong side of the bike to identify things) but looks like a pretty basic one, but still not junk. If it fits you it’ll make a fine town bike with some slick tires.
Just put some road slicks or cruiser tires on the stock wheels and send it.
Heck, ride it as is until you get the new tires if the old ones aren’t dry rotted. Put in some exercise, see if you like the bike. It looks like it’s in great shape.
I must say for how old that bike is. It’s in incredible condition! I would swap out the seat, grips, tires and ride the heck out of it.
It’s already pretty clean. I’d just change the tires to something faster rolling. It’s a worthwhile bike to keep on the road, so regular maintenance, maybe changing the bars, pedals, etc. but not worth putting a ton of money into.
Does it have the Tree Amigos sticker on the seat tube?
The frame looks really cool with the brake cable routing and also the cantilever brakes are really nice. I would strip down the unnecessary / bulky parts like the grips and the saddle, maybe the rack as well and get a nicer stem but other than that it is in an amazing condition and definitely worth riding.
looks like fun time
A bike like that is great for just getting out and riding.
If it’s been sitting for 10+ years, you’re right to lube the chain. Get the cables too. [See this video for some tips on how to do that.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG3D5fmMyS8)
You’ll want to take a close look at the rubber components. The brake pads are almost certainly hard and have lost stopping power. New pads will stop better. Old tires may be dry rotted. They don’t look too bad from this pic, but you should look for signs of cracking. As long as you get the same diameter and a similar width you should be fine.
Like others have said, we do this stuff all the time over at r/xbiking, but we usually take it a bit further swapping out all sorts of parts. It’s good inspiration, but first just get that bike in tip top shape and ride it!