Ive had this bike for a few months now and havent been able to ride it a ton, I love biking and used to roam the streets on an old road bike but lost that bike and ended up finding this at Goodwill for $50! Total score right? I finally get around to taking it out of storage for the summer and gave it a quick wash and scrub. I then take it to a big name shop to have them check it out and maybe give it a tune up and get some more info on what it might need.
As soon as i bring it in they dont like the looks of it, from the get go they told me they didnt want to work on it because it wasnt worth anything and I would be throwing money away into a junk bike. I ask them to just let me know what it needs thinking ill just take care of it myself. They tell me the cranks are shot and the chain is so worn and spaced out they wont replace it, and that if it was what i wanted to do, just lube up the chain and ride it till it breaks down then toss it.
I love the bike and the market value is not whats important to me, its a working vintage bike that i bought for myself, not to resell, so screw what they say! I want this to be my first killer build as I bought another Antelope the very same day for my girlfriend that i also want to build out, sure both need work but i want to learn and keep these 90s rides on the trails/road.
Any recommendations on where to start? Im no bike mechanic but Im handy with tools! Looking for a new cassette, chain, shifters and all accompanying parts for the two bikes. Some fat tires for light trails and city riding, and some new bars for both bikes and a stem to fit em, open to recs of all different styles, let me know what you think, thanks for checking out my hunk of junk bike!
by pazzywoj
40 Comments
lol
That bike shop sucks.
Find one that’s stocked for this great find. Not one that will shun you away at a simple chain swap.
Enjoy the bike, it’s a good find. Just beware the stem size and seatpost size are a little weird.
if youre in/around LA, id be happy to meet with you and figure out what, if anything is needed. from the older pics in your profile, it doesnt look super fucked to me.
Find a new shop, look for a CO-OP. Thing looks mint.
Factually speaking it isn’t “worth it.” The bike shop deals with people all the time who bring in an ancient bike and will be really pissed when told that it will take half a new bike’s worth of parts and labor to make it rideable. They probably haven’t got the shop space or the time to take on a project like that in the middle of summer rush season.
This stuff is really all built on DIY. You gotta do it all yourself to make it remotely reasonable or practical.
That steel trek will last longer than the aluminum entry level bike they have I nthe show room I bet. Try a co op or a freelancer who doesn’t mind the ‘junk bike ‘ jobs.
I’d start by replacing the chain, tubes, and brake pads, and then lubing everything. Check cables and replace if needed. None of that is hard to do by yourself with a few basic tools. If the cranks are shot (whatever that means), replacing them is easy too.
Screw them! This thing has a million miles in it unless it’s cracked. Grab a bike chain from REI and maybe some less knobby tires (unless you hit the dirt or don’t care!) and go riding!
Tbh, I forgot how but you can look up if your headset is wobbly and tighten that fairly easily. If the brakes work, they work. I prefer some mountain bike pedals. I run raceface Chester’s which retail for $40 but I regularly are on sale for $20. Find a new set of grips you like. They’re all good (or bad lol). Maybe a new saddle? Counter intuitive but the soft seats are prone to being more uncomfortable than stiff seats. Lots of folks like leather seats, mine is leather. Oops I called the saddle a seat.
If your shifting and braking and it’s not an issue then rip it!
New shop time. I’d love to work on this instead of some modern carbon and electric bullshit.
Maybe try the independent shop instead of the big name one? Sounds like maybe they do more retail sales and less repair work. We get tons of bikes the Trek store down the road doesn’t need to repair to stay open.
Fuck every bike shop in my area as well. If its not a 2026 model they sold they act so bothered to help find parts
Oh no a chain is to be replaced , better toss the whole bike. /s
Smh to those bike shops.
They think in car terms.
For me, bikes are not cars. If I invest 400€/$/£/¥/₩ ….to make it going again than thats totally worth it. And you usually end up with a more interesting bike than a baseline new one.
more like the stuff it needs is all super cheap and ubiquitous and doesn’t have any margins for them
This was pretty much the same experience as I had when I was building my dads old GT! All the shops would look at me like I was stupid when I asked for parts for it… but I persevered and now I’ve have an amazing bike that rides like a charm!
I ended up finding a community where you pay 20 bucks and then have access to a repair shop with volunteers. My first time there was the first time someone actually looked at my bike and acknowledged it, what a feeling!
wtf, worst bike shop ever. I’d be hyped to work on that!
Working on bikes is fun. Tools and parts are more available than ever. Learn to fix it yourself.
Screw that shop. If you have a set of metric hex wrenches, you can do a whole lot. Park Tool YouTube videos will walk you through anything.
Idk specifics about this bike, but purple pedals/housing, swept bars, and Billy bonkers.
I agree to ride the current freewheel chain and cranks, i am on a schwinn crossfit with the original drivetrain components as well and i decided to ride it until it starts skipping gears. After that i will replace everything which is what i wanted to do from the start, but i have gotten two years out of it so far so…
Anyway, i would recommend getting either a front basket or a rear rack 🙂
Right off you’ll need to deflate the back tire and shift the tire and tube so the valve stem comes out of the rim at a 90 degree angle. Your rim will cut into your valve stem if left like that and leave you with a flat that can’t be patched. The rear tire needs replacing soon so look for a new set of tires. Note the ISO numbers on the tires and check your tire clearance on the chainstays. You might not have a lot of room to go up in tire sizes.
Open up the quick release on the seatpost, pull the seatpost out, check for rust on the seatpost, clean it up with an old rag & mild abrasive like Bon Ami. Rinse, wipe dry with a paper towel & apply some thick mechanics grease to it before putting it back. A lot of old frames are abandoned because of stuck seatposts.
Check out [https://www.sheldonbrown.com/](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/) for all sorts of bicycle repair tips. Also watch the Park Tools repair videos on YouTube.
Edit: see what you can do with that frame: [https://theradavist.com/1989-trek-antelope-850-review](https://theradavist.com/1989-trek-antelope-850-review)
That’s a very stupid bike shop, but they’re clever salesmen! What a crock!
I have something very similar. Mine is a 1996 trek mountain track 830, so pretty much the same exact thing. I got mine for 40.
Here’s what you probably need to do!
Basic: get new inner tubes, 26×1.9” with either presta or schrader valves. Hopefully the wheels are true/not wobbly. Check to see if the brake levers have too much play: if you can squeeze down to the handlebars and the bike brakes won’t engage the rim enough, adjust the barrel adjuster until the squeeze is enough to actuate the brake, and about 1.3-1.8 finger width’s away from the handlebar grip, then lock it with the lock ring. Hopefully the rim brakes work. Make sure the bolts of the head tube, seat post, etc, are tight. Get tri-flow, and get to the chain: scrub it with a dry toilet scrub brush (clean) and gently scrub the chain and cogs. Then mark one cog with a sharpie, and gently lube each axle of the chain, pull the pedals back, lube some more, until you hit the marked chain. Then run the chain with a great towel.
Intermediate: basic + undue the bolts and cable housings, and grease/lube these respectively. Re situate them! Dial in the bike seat: you basically want something that fits your body and won’t cause pain. This is highly subjective and there’s tons of videos on YouTube, literally ride the bike a block, adjust the seat in a small way, ride again, adjust again, over several days, the goal is to feel like you’re the same animal with the bike!
Advanced: take the chain off, replace it with a new one if the same width, use a master link and re lube the chain every so often.
I forgot to mention, and I can’t tell from the photo: your bottom bracket where the cranks go!
There’s two kinds: cup and cone, and the cartridge.
The cup n cone ones are SOLID but if the lube washed away and wore out, the metal races and bearings will be shot. Super easy and cheap to replace ALL of these parts. It’s basically an axle held in place with tension, two asymmetrical arms (VERY IMPORTANT that the longer of the two arms goes to the drive train side) that have a square taper and threaded bolt for the crank arms. You need to open it, clean it, lube it and close it up. It’s intermediate.
The cartridge is a lot easier and you just have to swap out the part and they last even longer but do need to be replaced.
My local bike shop replaced my rusty seized chain for a brain new one for $20 on my (now gone) 2004 Mongoose Blackcomb when I still had it, bought the bike for $30 at a Goodwill too!
Had this same bike with similar experiences at bike shops. Ended up being a fun diy project till I gave it away. Bike was heavy but it was a beast.
I get the feeling they assumed the repairs would cost more than the bike itself, and wanted to possibly push you towards a new bike. That’s a cheap sales tactic. Don’t go to big-box stores like that for service again. Take it to a smaller local shop if there’s one in your area. Support the smaller guys, and chances are they won’t burn your wallet.
Alternatively learn how to fix and tune things as you go. That’s how I started, and I’m 11 years in as a bike mechanic. Try and find a bike co-op in your area that sells used parts. Swap things in and out constantly. You’ll find what you like, and what you don’t at a fraction of the cost. Big easy upgrades are touch points: handlebars, saddles, pedals, and tires go a long way as well.
You did well, friend.
Stay away from the snobs in that shitty ass bike shop. Legit xbikers respect this bike.
Check out Park Tool’s YT channel or similar to learn the basic repairs and maintenance.
That bike has thousands of miles left in it.
Leave the chain on for now, because if any of the drive train gets replaced, all of it has to.
Take the wheels off and unscrew the hubs. Replace the bearings and grease. Replace the pedals. Now you’re 50% of the way there. This is $25 worth of parts and tools.
Then buy a new chain, cassette, bottom bracket and chain rings. The bottom brackets that come with chain rings won’t last but they’re OK for a while. If you only have 7 speeds, you can buy an 8 speed cassette if your wheel has a spacer that can be removed, and just not use the 8th speed until you get a new set of shifters. Then, replace the cassette and chain one weekend and the bottom bracket the next. They all need their own special tools. Parts will be $100, and tools will be $100.
Next, brake pads, tires, cables, cable housings and tubes, about $200 in parts plus $40 in tools.
So you’re into it for about $315 in parts and $150 in tools. Labor if the shop did it would be triple the cost of the tools, so let’s face it, they were right. You weren’t going to spend $765 on this thing.
I rebuilt an old schwinn meridian pretty much just watching YouTube videos. It was more satisfying then just taking it to a shop just get a good bike tool kit I think I paid 35 for mine and it pretty much has everything I needed. Most bikes are pretty much built the same way the only trouble I had was with the name of parts like sprockets, chainring etc.
Did you check what size stem that is before ordering bars? Those older Treks sometimes had weird sizing that’ll make sourcing parts way more annoying than it needs to be.
That bike will last another 25 years if you take care of it. That bike shop needs a major attitude adjustment. If start cut looking Y bike co-ops, any shop that sells primarily used bikes, bins shops that also serve beer, and any shops that sponsor “fun” rides like tracklocross, Single Speed Cyclocross, etc.
That shops reaction is wild. I’m so curious who that was.
A lot of this you could YouTube your way through with basic tools. I saw you mention you’re in SD. If you get to a point you can’t check out Holland’s in Coronado. My family’s been buying bikes there since the 50’s. They’ve been around for over a hundred years and some cool dudes. Staff has some cool ass xbikes
The suggestions to go to your local co-op are right on. The local shop isn’t set up to take care of the bike at a price that most people with a old bike would think is worth it. For example, looking at the service price list of the closest local bike shop to me, it’s $119 for the most basic of tunes, $159 for the next basic tune that includes truing wheels, no parts included (other prices: $239 for road bikes overhaul, $299 for mountain bike overhaul, $499 for mountain bike rebuild including suspension). Newer shops that haven’t been around since the ’80s might even not carry parts for older bikes. How many people who just spent $50 on a bike would be willing to pay $120 for the first service, plus maybe $100-$200 in parts (chain, cassette, maybe chainrings, cables/cable housing) plus additional labor at $100 per hour to install those parts? Your $50 bike just became a $450 bike.
A bike shop has to charge that much at minimum to pay the rent, the mechanic, and make a little for the owner, but it doesn’t make sense for $50 bike owners to pay that much, so DIY and using co-ops to borrow tools you don’t have/learn if you don’t know how is best way to go.
Make it a summer project. And don’t be in a hurry to ride if it needs work. Taking on a similar project on a 1988 mbk Colombus frame. It has Mavic wheels and full deore XT, all the components are the same as when it was sold nearly 40 years ago I am stoked of this find. Transmission, that can be cleaned and tuned, but first I need to check the BB, maybe change it, headset is not smooth at all so it needs opening and checking if the race is not shot. So in my case I need to strip it to the bare frame and redo those components first, check yours in that order. Don’t start by changing the chain if BB, crank and headset need work. Start by checking that, then move on to brakes (clean, change the brake lines, pads) and transmission (change cassette if worn, cranks, then chain).
You will learn how to rebuild it and love it even more when it runs smoothly.
I get the shop, they do not see the worth in it. It would need hours and hours to get it in tip top shape. You’d think they would do it as long as you pay, but sadly those are not the jobs where they make a ton of money. I would avoid them and learn to do it DIY. Good luck.
To add to all the other good comments, and looking at your other photos, please don’t start throwing components away just yet: Suntour XCE is really nice componentry, and it looks in decent condition. The chainrings look fine, even the sprockets look unworn, which wouldn’t make sense if the chain is worn, but do start by measuring the chain wear and going from there.
I’d give it all a light recommission following all the advice here, and only replace what’s necessary. Sheldon is your friend, for learning. And get tools as you need them, rather than is one big kit that won’t have quite what you need but much that you don’t. Lovely bike!
My dad had this bike when I was growing up. Great memories.
We were an all-trek family as my brother worked in a bike shop, and eventually went pro for cross country mountain bike racing. He ended up racing for Trek/VW in the 90s on their original OCLV Y bikes.
My LBS was the complete opposite. When I brought in my 90s Trek because of a rusted seatpost, the guy got all excited about it being 90s 26” MTB. Minutes later, several guys dropped everything they were working on and were trying to get the seatpost out, to the amusement of the boss. At first they couldn’t get it out and the seatpost was totally mangled, but the boss refused to charge me for returning a broken bike to me, and asked to keep it overnight. The guys ended up taking turns with a jigsaw, eventually succeeded, and somehow I only ended up paying 70€. Kept chatting with the guy some more, showing him photos of other builds i have done, and he was telling me about some friend who had some parts for sale that would go well with my project, etc. Overall very pleasant experience and the guys were clearly passionate about bikes. You could tell they were more excited about some xbike project than adjusting shifting or changing brakepads on some off the shelf budget bike.
Love how it looks. Frxk m. Ride it. Ride it hard. Ride it joyful. Ride it with pride.
Fix it or learn how to fix it or find friends or community members to help you fix. Ride it. Ride it hard
Sure there’s a big chance that the drivetrain is so worn and has a proprietary or riveted crankset that it not only needs a new chain, but also a cassette/freewheel and a whole new crankset, and yes that’s going to cost much more than what you paid for the bike.
They could’ve at least given you a rough estimate of what it would cost, my best estimate would be €140-180 (160-210 USD) if I were to do it at a normal bike shop hourly rate (€60/hr in my area, that’s 70 USD) and normal going prices for quality entry level cranks, chain and cassette. If it needs a full set of brake cables and pads, add, I dunno another 50-80 eur / 60-90USD or so?
But you can only get bikes like these for $50 exactly because it takes some cash to get them going again! But when that’s done, you have a great working bike again, and there’s no free shortcut to getting a good working bike for cheap unless you’re an experienced mechanic, but becoming one takes time and money.
That’s has got to be the worst customer service mindset out there.
On top of everything it’s easier to work on your old bike than many of the modern bikes with custom components.
Telling you that you might “waste” money by investing into it is fair, but at the end of the day, you’re the customer.
Find another bike shop or learn how to fix and mod the bike yourself.
You can get most of the tools and instructions on AliExpress & Amazon and how tos are all over YouTube.
I love your bike and I hope you have a lot of fun and joy with it.
It’s always worth learning to fix bikes yourself, the older bikes are pretty simple bits of kit that most people with basic common sense can fix at home with a few tools.
fuck ’em
Was trying to grab this exact frame this past weekend lol. I would start with facebook marketplace for parts and always cross check with some googling and measuring before buying anything. Also try and find a small local bike shop, not anything owned by a big brand. Mom and pop shops typically have good customer service and will take care of you.