Originally Posted by pastorbobnlnh

A few weeks ago I found an '85-'86 Trek 830 Antelope frameset at the town dump. No wheels and a bit of rust on the bars and bits. But no worries, I had plenty gear from other dump finds.

The wheels I had on hand were old school MTB with the wide rims. So I thought, why not a C&V "Fat Tire" bike? A bit of research turned up Maxxis Hook Worm tires at a wide 2.5." More like cruiser tires, but perfect since I've never met a knobby I liked. While the original fork did not have enough clearance, I had a purple fork on hand that would get the job done. This led to using the purple bottle cages @Puchinfinnland had sold me a while back, and the purple Brooks Colt saddle.

Took it out for a nice shakedown ride today in snow flurries. Winter is on the way. Looks as if I can run the tires as low as 10-15 psi. Should be fine on the Rail Trail where the snow mobiles pack the snow. More ride reports in the height of winter.

Originally Posted by Feldman

I'm a mechanic and a road cyclist, haven't owned a mountain bike in twenty years, but believe the hardtail/rigid fork mountain bike to be the US's great indigenous bike design. The UK perfected the 3 speed roadster, the French the sport/randonneur bike, the Italians got road racing bikes dialed in earlier than anybody else, but the Marin and Colorado tinkerers got this one right.

Originally Posted by mechanicmatt

Cool. Klunker with a capital K.

Originally Posted by bikemig

I really, really wish I hadn't seen this post. Now I almost have an excuse to find yet another vintage mtb to mod for winter riding.

Originally Posted by LesterOfPuppets

Nice looking Takara. Pretty sure it pre-dates 1987. I'm not sure if I got my Takara MTB in 87 or 88 but it had this type of decal design:

Originally Posted by tk1971

I got this a few years ago for $40. Typical early 90's RockHopper:



I never really got around to it until just recently (after seeing all the pics of the rigids with drop bars). The midge bars arrived and I'm almost done. Just waiting for the front brake cable hanger. In the meantime, here she is, as is:

Originally Posted by mobilemail

Picture gallery of my late 80s Diamondback Apex. https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=C5295...73790E%2111858
I'm not sure exactly what year, it most resembles '88, but it has seatstay cantis. 7-speed Deore Hyperglide w/ thumbies.

Originally Posted by bconneraz

1989 Schwinn Cimarron. Thirsty?

Originally Posted by ZeRinger

1988 Panasonic MC-7500. Tange MTB Prestige Tubing with Deore XT. I've wanted one since '88 and found one on Craigslist just five miles from my house. Lucky.

Originally Posted by FLJeepGuy

Here's my 1995 Specialized HardRock Ultra in "Black Cherry" paint. It's in near showroom condition and all original. I had to rebuild the shifters as the original grease was hardened up causing them to malfunction. I also need to replace the grips since one of them is tearing. Otherwise, quite a nice riding bike.

Originally Posted by Velocivixen

@FLJeepGuy - That's a gorgeous bike! I've got a 1992 Hardrock Ultra in the hot pink to purple fade. I wanted to let you know that I believe the crankset on your bike is Under Recall by Shimano. See this link:

CPSC, Shimano Announce Recall of Bicycle Components | CPSC.gov

I know this because I recently bought a 1995 Trek 820 with the FC-CT90 crankset and it was under recall, from 1997, and Shimano still honors it. My local bike shop told me, they contacted Shimano and Shimano sent a "Kit" with a new crankset, bottom bracket, chain and front derailleur and paid the bike shop to install everything at no charge to me. I don't mean to alarm you, but there were, according to the recall, 630 reports of cranks breaking. I'm only telling you this to be helpful.

Originally Posted by BluesDaddy

This is true^

But... the replacement parts are absolutely the bottom of the Shimano line, and you can't keep the old BB & FD.

Originally Posted by clubman

It's not done but there's 2 inches of snows so it's hibernating till spring. 88 Alpine series, upgraded from Exage mtn stuff to better stuff, eg. Synchros instead of steel stem, Conti Retro rider rubber XT drivetrain, NOS Esge mudguards,
Can't wait for spring...I live in and around d y k e lands with lots of appropriate paths for big fat smooth tyres.

Originally Posted by FLJeepGuy

First off, thanks @Velocivixen for the information. Sure enough, it's an FC-M290 and is mentioned in that recall.

Now the question is whether or not to replace it. If this bike wasn't near mint condition, I'd do the swap in a heartbeat, but that's not the case. Here's the pic I took of the crank this morning. This is BEFORE cleaning, as it came to me, so as you can see the bike has been hardly ridden and only has a bit of dust collected on it from sitting for nearly 20 years. This bike will never see heavy use, only some recreational rides and beach cruising, so chances of me breaking a crank are pretty slim. To me there is some value in the fact that the bike is all original. That's also why I disassembled the shifters and rebuilt them rather than just replacing them.

Originally Posted by clubman

It's not done but there's 2 inches of snows so it's hibernating till spring. 88 Alpine series, upgraded from Exage mtn stuff to better stuff, eg. Synchros instead of steel stem, Conti Retro rider rubber XT drivetrain, NOS Esge mudguards,
Can't wait for spring...I live in and around d y k e lands with lots of appropriate paths for big fat smooth tyres.