Posted by MarkB_MI on April 08, 2020 at 04:12:33 from (174.230.14.132):
I bought my Trek bike back in the early eighties, but I haven't used it for awhile. I decided if I'm going to start riding again, either I need a new bike or the Trek needs some upgrades, and I couldn't see spending two grand on a new made-in-China bike when the Trek's made-in-the-USA frame is in good shape.
Bike technology has changed a bunch since the eighties. I've long wanted indexed shifting, and to switch from 27 inch tires to modern 700c tires for which there's a much wider selection. And I've never been happy with the gear range on the Trek; its lowest gears are too high for climbing serious grades. Doing a little research, I found it would be fairly straightforward to switch the six-speed rear to an eight-speed setup. It did require spreading the rear fork by 5 millimeters to fit the wider axle used on newer bikes. In the end, I replaced the tires and wheels, front and rear derailleurs, shifters, rear sprocket cassette, crankarms and chainrings, brake calipers and brake levers. And retaped the handlebars.
The bike is now a joy to ride. The indexed shifters work perfect (no more slipping into high gear at the wrong time), and the 700Cx32 tires are more appropriate for gravel roads than the old 27 inch racing slicks. With the new gearing, the bike climbs like a mountain bike in its lowest gear and the highest gear is just slightly taller than the old high gear. I hope to put a lot of miles on it this summer.
Here's pictures before and after the upgrades. Note how much smaller the chainrings (front sprockets) are now. Also, the brake cables are no longer sticking up from the brake levers.
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Today's Featured Article - The Day Mom Drove the 8N - by Brian Browning. My Dad was wanting to put in a garden but couldn't operate the 8N and handle the old horse drawn plow he had found and rigged up to use with the tractor. Well, he decided to go get Mom out of the house and have her drive the tractor while he walked behind the plow. You got to understand that while my Mom is a hard worker who will always help whenever she can... she had never operated farm machinery before that day. Dad got her out there, explained how the clutch was the same as in our o
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