hhk25

Thanks for the contributions everyone. My daughter is 3000 kms away and I'm sending this bike to her. She'll maintain it at a co-op and she's quite mechanically minded but she has limited space and no specialized tools. She'll also have to build the bike out of the box.

I have plenty of both (tools, space) and experience but I always replace and service on an as-needed basis. For instance, I've never opened up the headset or the bottom bracket on my 90s mountain bike that I use as my daily commuter but I've overhauled the hubs numerous times. I've frequently wondered if I was neglecting routine maintenance but like most of us, I have a million things on my plate and don't want to spend an hour doing unneeded service on my bike. I'd rather ride (or wash dishes).

However, this is my first rescue bike and I think I got pretty lucky with it. It's old but the important bits are in fine shape. I'm replacing all the cables and soft parts including tires and tubes. She wants to avoid flats so I'll be going with Schwalbe Marathons. I will leave the drivetrain (other than adjustment and cleaning) since it runs quite well right now. I'm having a new appreciation for 90s era Deore.