OldsCOOL

I have an ‘89 830 Antelope someone gave me last year and decided to use it for my winter in-town conditioning bike. The indexed Suntour XCE 3x7 still working well but I rather not have the OvalTech chainrings. Otherwise a great little bike for winter night rides in the snow.

Anyone here still riding these?

OldsCOOL

This was before a tune and prep for the winter season.

rosefarts

If you have one of these, you are obligated to add a C. I have fond memories of the Trek Cantelope

TriBiker19 

Yum, cantaloupe. I would totally add a C if I had one.

Nahuel_B58

I saw one in marketplace for about 80 dollars, all original, purple with yellow, i wanted to buy it but a friend of mine said it was garbage because the seatstays were double (i'm uruguayan so maybe seatstays may not be the word for the tubes that end in the dropouts), anyway, are these bikes enjoyable to ride? For me i think they're good as my favourite bike ever is a GT Palomar 1998 and they are vintage mountain bikes no suspension and 3x7 trans

HeadStorms

Yes, we still have a few of these Cantaloupes riding around! I know it's not funny, but that's what we call them. I must add the Cycling Team name is Cantaloupes with their logo of an Antelope with Cantaloupe wheels! HoneyDew is the Owner with Ambroisa the Chairman. If you've got an Antelope, join the Cantaloupes!

They cycle a lot on the Pinellas Trail in Pinellas County, Florida... just look for their Outfits (you cannot help but laugh) ... those Antelopes are wonderful. Meanwhile, My 1997 Trek Lance Armstrong with me on it is a mismatch with this loving hilarious bunch!

And oh, you must own an Antelope in order to become a Cantaloupe!

Wildwood 

You’d think the Antelope Cantaloupes would tolerate a Gazelle.

wrk101

The older per-suspension Trek MTBs are all good. Once they went to suspensions, I see a lot of worn out forks. The old rigid frames could survive a zombie apocalypse!

I don't really like Florida, but I do like the Pinellas Trail! If we could find a decent camp site, we would probably spend part of the winter there. Another benefit is the nearby airport with super cheap non stop flights back home (Allegiance Air).

wrk101

Yes, your term is perfect! The frame tubes that go from the top of the seat tube to the rear dropouts are commonly called seat stays, and the tubes that go from the bottom bracket shell to the rear drop outs are chain stays.

Everyone is welcome to their opinion. I volunteer at a local co-op. We get a ton of old MTB donations. The old pre-suspension fork Treks are pretty much indestructible. In my opinion, your friend was WRONG. But at the same time, it is his opinion, so I support his right to it.

My preference is for the models with thumb shifters. They are more robust than the later shifters used. Friction or indexed, thumb shifters are great! I'm a sucker for the pre-index era bikes, although the two Trek MTBs we have had in our family fleet were newer than that.

I'm also a sucker for interesting colors: purple and yellow = NICE!

I'll do a scan of the pile at any co op: twist grip, twist grip, rapid fire, rapid fire, nope, nope, nope, nope, THUMBIES!!! YES!

ryansu

^^ Thumbies rule, I have a pair waiting for the right project

OldsCOOL

This one has the thumbies. They are a good match for the bike re:indestructible, probably thermonuclear resistant. I hate twisties.

Can’t-alope?? Nah, Cantelope is much better.

Korina

Nice bike!

What's wrong with twisties? My Singletrack and Multitrack have them, and they work fine; stiff enough that I won't shift accidentally, but not enough that I can't shift easily. It looks cleaner too.

OldsCOOL

This is the first I have heard of the adding a C. But then, being a roadie (mostly) I have only seen these bikes and not owned one. Thanx for the grin!

wrk101

I see a ton of broken twisties at the co op, pretty much every day I volunteer. On kids bikes, sometimes they are way too stiff for children to turn. Replacing a cable in one is a major PITA. They use a unique shorty grip and a spacer. Most are not very durable, with plastic bodies that crack easily (we mainly get neglected bikes).

Meanwhile replacing cables on thumbies is easy peasy. You can mount them anywhere on a handlebar, use them on North Road bars for example. I haven't seen a broken one yet (I probably will now I brought it up). I will rescue old thumbies off old decrepit Huffys and reuse them on better bikes.

Mad Honk 

My 830 is a MT TREK, with Suntour 7sp thumbies, and non suspension fork, currently in dry dock to get a complete repaint at my fave powder coaters. The bike has been great and even through some rides other bikes would have failed on. If it weren't so good it wouldn't be on it's way to a repaint. Plan on riding it for years to come. Smiles, MH

SamSpade1941 

My first bike was a 850 Mountain Track , which I believe is the same frames as the Antelope at least they look that way to me.

cooperryder

I enjoyed this blue 850 a few years.
Now I have two 950's.

There's only so much room or I'd probably have a half dozen or more vintage mtbs.

belacqua

These bikes can do anything

MrStroker

I was just contemplating an 86 antelope I found on Facebook..... Hmmm I also want to use it to ride in winter and try to stay in shape. Really got the wheels turning now......

OldsCOOL

Great bike for the purpose. What with knobbies, heavier weight and added winter clothing it makes for a whole different level of workout. The hills are as hard as you want to make them. Great conditioning, no spinner boredom and it gets extra points for riding in a snowstorm. Oh and welcome to the forums!

madpogue 

They are versatile.

'89 800. $25. Needed tires, saddle, and a front shift cable housing.

Kinda low-end Exage Country components; 18 speeds with thumbies. Still a bulletproof workhorse of a bike. I had it out several times last winter.

'87 830. I think I paid $35 for this one. Didn't "need" anything, but I replaced the saddle.

Tigged frame, but I believe it's one of the last USA-built 800 series bikes. Early-ish indexed thumbies, 18-speed. Rocking some 26x1.75 street-tread tires on it at the moment. I love the old-school geometry on this one.

'91 850. Splurged on this one, $50 plus tires. Excuse the NDS photo...

One of my wife's favorites (her size). This one has Suntour "flip flop" trigger shifters. No sticky pawls/ratchets like the Shimanos (AFAIK), but the levers are not-very-rigid plastic, it always feels like if you push too hard you'll snap one off. Now running 26x2.0 streeties, it's dreamy to ride, quick and responsive. I'm a softie for those dark anodized Matrix rims.

All three have period-correct Trek or Blackburn MTN racks, and have hauled everything from cameras to laptops to groceries.

Yet another life for an old 800 -- kids, don't try this at home --

cs1

Never owned a Trek 820 or any other Trek for that matter. But I understand the allure of low to mid range MTB’s. They are heavy and indestructible. I’m a big Rockhopper guy.

Korina

My biggest bike-related regret (so far) is the day I visited our bike co-op and saw an Antelope they'd stripped down to the bare frame put it in the recycle bin, they said because they didn't have the parts to build it up. I was tempted, but it was too small, so I let it go. It kept bugging me, so I called, but it'd already been taken to the recycle. Oh well, c'est la vie.

RobbieTunes

I don't have one, but those things were darn near bullet-proof.

Velo Mule

Between my wife's 830 and my 800's we have 3 Trek 800's in our fleet. What is difference between an 800 single track and an Antelope?