nick_ander

Hello. And brand new to this forum and this is my first post. I picked up a trek 900 last night. I plan on building it out for weekend camping and the occasional one to two week trips.

The first thing that it needs is new tires. Currently it has 26 x 1.5 tires. This doesn't seem to be a very good size. There isn't a lot of availability as far as I can tell. Is there a better tire size I can fit on the same wheel?

I am also wanting to immediately replace the handlebars. I would like to put tracking bars on this bike. I would also like a better stem. Can someone give me a good idea of the stem size and handlebar diameter? Thanks.

bikemig 

There are lots and lots of good choices for 26 inch touring tires. I'd check out schwalbe, continental, and vittoria tires. You may find 26 x 1.75 a better width and yes they will fit your rims.

Trekking bars are a good choice for touring.

What do you mean by a better stem? Is it the wrong length?

A picture or 2 of your bike especially from the drive side would be helpful.

Great bike to convert to touring duty.

nick_ander

Here is a photo.

mstateglfr 

As mentioned, there are a lot of great 26" tires. Cost can be anything from $10-60 per tire and you can get slicks, some tread, or large lugged tread. Panaracer is another great tire company making a lot of tire styles and widths for 26" wheels.

trekking bars are great- i used some a few years ago on a summer bike. really solid. the trekking bars i used and have seen are all set up as 25.4mm clamp area.
Get a stem that you like with a 25.4mm bar clamp size.

nick_ander

I am really ignorant to bike part sizes. What size stem would typically fit in a bike like a trek 900? Is the 900 similar to other bikes in the trek line? There isn't a lot of data on the 900. I bought it because I thought it was comfortable to ride, it looked to me like it would make a nice bike packing bike, and that yellow on blue looks pretty cool in my eyes. Thanks.

jefnvk

You could have done far worse!

There are only two common stem sizes for that style, 1" and 1-1/8". It is probably a 1". Before buying a new one, you need to determine what type of bars you want, as that will influence the angle and reach and clamp size you need. Also, you can buy a threaded to threadless adapter for about $15, and use any modern stem. Both methods work equally well. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/handsup.html for info on stems.

This is the combo I used on my MTB conversion
Bars: Nashbar Trekking Mountain Bike Handlebar
Threadless adapter: Nashbar Stem Adaptor
Stem: Nashbar Mountain Bike Stem

nick_ander

That is some really good info. Thanks.


I spent today looking for appropriate tires. Holy wow, those things are not cheap. A matter of fact, nothing about cycling is cheap. Any recommendations on cheaper tires? I am not riding across the country at this point.

HTupolev

What doesn't seem good about the size?

As far as fitting different sizes on the wheel... the wheel will accept just about anything whose size is specified as 26 x (decimal number). That format refers to a bead seat diameter of 559mm. But, if you're thinking about going wider, make sure that there's clearance for the tires on the rest of the bike. Seat stays, chain stays, fork, brakes.

What price ranges are you looking at?

bikemig 

No it could easy be 1 and an 1/8. I have a 93 Trek 950 and it is 1 1/8 with a 73 mm BB.

Tires need not be expensive. This nashbar kevlar belted city tire 26 x 1.5 runs $18, less on a sale. I have a set on a bike; they're not bad.

Ideally I like them a little wider. This continental country tire is 26 x 1.9. It is pretty good and runs $28. Nashbar is having a 27% sale. That's about $40 for a pair. That's a great price. You can also buy your trekking bar from Nashbar, Nashbar - Trekking Handlebars - Category

I'd take advantage of that 27% sale with free shipping.

Happy Feet

According to this discussion the 900 was only made in 1988.

https://www.bikeforums.net/hybrid-bic...cent-bike.html

If in doubt about the stem size, take it off and bring it to the store with you (or of course, just take the whole bike).
Be prepared for the sales staff to convince you you need a new bike.. which you don't.

For me, touring on the road, 26 x 1.75 seems to be a good size. You can buy some <$25 tires but you usually get what you pay for in terms of fast wearing. The $50 mark seems to be a good spot for quality vs value. That's in CAD of course. I bought 1.75 Schwalbe Marathons that are bullet proof but heavy at $55 and 1.75 Panaracer Paselas which are faster and lighter but a little more flat prone for $35.

Arvadaman

For my conversions, I like to use Dimension or Velo Orange quill stem adapters if it is a 1" stem.

If it is 1-1/8", I use Sunlite 2-bolt quill stems with removable faceplates.

I also like Origin8 2-bolt seatposts. They are 400mm long and have a continuous range of adjustment.

For trekking handlebars, I like XLC from Amazon followed by Nashbar.

mstateglfr 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00UCMM47S/ref=mp_s_a_1_73?ie=UTF8&qid=1503453497&sr=1-73&refinements=p_n_feature_six_browse-bin%3A6404041011&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=26"+tire&dpPl=1&dpID=51yLZef0NpL&ref=plSrch
$15.
You get what you pay for with tires. Really. Higher priced road quality 26" tires are lighter, arent as hard, and have good puncture resistance.
But you dont need $50 tires.

These are 540g per tire, made for pavement ridong, and $21.
Product: WTB Slick Comp 26" City Tire


You can spend little and end up with a great converted do it all tourer. But 'little' is relative. $15 for a butterfly/trekking bar from Nashbar isnt much in my mind as what would one honestly expect something new like that to cost? I cant see is selling in a new condition for less than $15. Thats a steal, really.

Its all perspective, but unless you can find what you want in good condition at used prices, you will need to shell out $75-200 to get the bike set up.


Curious- what is expensive so far in your mind? $15 for a bar, $20 for a tire, $12-25 for a new stem setup...im not seeing the expensive stuff here.

nick_ander

Thanks for all of the responses. I plan to post photos as I go and updates on the stuff I get.

A couple have asked what I found expensive. I find $50 a tire pretty expensive. Worth it? Most likely, but being new to this, as well as not having a lot of spare cash, it is hard to throw down a hundred + bucks. I hunted craigslist and found this bike for $85. That might give you an idea about me being thrifty. I am also in experienced enough not to know if I over paid. I have done some more research since my last response and have found some stuff that is better in price but I am not sure of the quality. My biggest sticker shock was the seat. I am not sure what a Brooks feels like on the old rear end, but at those prices it had better do some peddling. The bars and stem, plus the adapter add up, but that still isn't bad. I need new shifters (old ones are kind of beat up and tough to work) and I see them set up with brake lever/shifter combos. If you add the bar tape and all that the price has really climbed. I plan to do all of that unless someone wants to share a photo with shifter and brakes separate on a trekking bar. Now comes the bags and I have read some different opinions on that, but the "get what you pay for" can mean a lot of things. I am willing to pay for what I need and what does the job. Again, I am not trekking Alaska to Argentina. The last several posts have offered me a lot of insight about tires. I didn't think that the 1.5s were good because I can find a whole lot of them. It didn't seem to be a common size. Maybe it is and I just haven't seen it yet. Some things I have read say wider is better and they are more stable and carry larger loads better. I am a 240# guy. Now comes the question of street tires on gravel and limestone, speed of wear and puncture resistance are an issue. There is a lot of info out there and I am trying to sort through it all with the mind of the hive. Honestly, I may do a few 300 milers a year and a number of 150 mile weekends. I may take off for 10 days at some point, but who knows. I am putting together a trekking/bikepacking bike, so I can have a great experience and maybe even feel like I am doing more than just a weekend. Thanks to everyone for the advice and keep it coming. It is helping and giving me ideas. Some people get irritated with opinions, but I value them. I hope that gives you an idea of where I am coming from and answers your questions.

jefnvk

Yeah, I should have mentioned more clearly that link includes directions on how to determine which one it is.

B. Carfree

If you keep riding, there will come a time when you won't believe you ever settled for cheap tires. The difference in the quality of the ride between cheap, stiff tires and (ridiculously expensive) supple tires is like adding a motor to the bike and having all the roads repaved.

For now, why not just wear out what's on the bike and worry about what to replace it with when that needs to be done?

Arvadaman

Yep. Budget is always a factor for me.

Take your time and spread the purchases out over time.

Handlebar wrap is expensive so I do not use it on my trekking handlebars.
I go to Home Depot and wrap my trekkers with closed cell foam pipe insulation that I wrap with
Athletic trainers tape or hockey stick tape. About $6 total. I change it out about once a year or so.

It is a little "trailer parkish" but I do not mind.

jefnvk

I have never spent more than $10 for a roll of bar tape. You can buy this right in their stores, for a whole ninety cents more than your $6, plus hockey tape destroys my cycling gloves: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bell-Hand...-Tape/23756683

mstateglfr 

Creative and all, but Cinelli gel tape is usually about $12 and Planet Bike gel tape(my new fav) is $8-12 depending on where you buy, color, and time of year.

It lasts a season or two depending on use. Doesnt seem excessive.

mstateglfr 

Completely understand the sticker shock when it comes to bags/accessories. That stuff isnt cheap. Brooks saddles can be expensive, sure, but its 1 of 3 contact points you have with the bike and comfort is atop my list for importance. Whether its a Brooks or a $15 generic Velo brand saddle, whatever is comfortable is worth it.

Bag costs were tough for me to accept, definitely. A lot to pay for something thats used so rarely.

jefnvk

No worries. I am also thrifty!

As far as tires, I had these on my MTB for a couple years, think I got them on sale for like $12 each. They handled gravel just fine. Before that I had some slick Kendas that were damaged in a non-cycling related incident. When I rebuilt it into a touring machine, I put a nicer set of Contis Travel Contacts I found on sale for $23ish on it, but to be honest I don't notice much of a difference once the bags are on.

Forté Gotham ST Road and Mountain Tires - 700x32, 700x35, 26x1.75

The reason you don't see many 1.5" tires is that generally, 26" was used for mountain biking, where a wider tire was more favorable. The 1.5" tires available tend to be slicks for a city/commuting conversion, but there is nothing wrong with them. IN the sizes 26" tires come in, width has little to do with stability, until you are truly offroading.

I have combined brake/shifters EF51s on my trekking bars, but that is strictly because I got a really good deal on them from a Craigslist seller who was liquidating a bike shop's inventory. The original plan was to keep the separate brakes and grip shifters, there is absolutely no reason you can't have separated units. If your brake levers are in good shape and just want new shifters, friction options that will work on anything like these can be had for around the $10 mark, and Shimano indexed ones just a couple bucks more (if the rear cassette allows that): https://www.niagaracycle.com/categor...on-shifter-set
https://www.niagaracycle.com/categor...unt-thumb-pair

Saddles, as others have mentioned, are personal, What works for you works for you, while they aren't that common, you can easily dig up "Brooks aren't for me" threads here. My absolute favorite was a cheap plastic deal that came on my MTB, until it finally hit the end of its serviceable life. My new favorites are out of production, so I just snag them on eBay or trade shows when I can. I always advocate trying what you already have, though, it may work just fine for you.

Bags are one area I have learned to buy quality. I had a set of cheaper ones from Nashbar, that worked minus a finnicky attachment system, but if you are planning on multiple trips right off the bat it would pay to just buy quality the first time. If you are considering Ortliebs, you can often find them on sale, for example Tree Fort has the back rollers for $125 and front for $112 a pair right now: Ortlieb Back-Roller City Rear Pannier: Pair in Tree Fort Bikes Panniers
Ortlieb Front-Roller City Front Pannier: Pair in Tree Fort Bikes Panniers

nick_ander

Well, my project isn't going as planned. Went for a little cruise with the junk tires on. As I was riding I felt a clunk then my pedals turned without spinning the wheel. Looks like I will be spending a little more money. Trying to figure out if I should just get a new wheel set.

jefnvk

What specifically do you think is broken? Did the chain just fall off, or what?

nick_ander

No, pedals, chain, and sprockets turn, but the wheel does not. After a bit, it will catch and work again for awhile.

jrbz

The grease in those old freewheels can dry out and get hard, not allowing the ratchet cogs to engage. Years ago I heated such a one with a torch and got some life out of it, Some of the guys in the Bicycle Mechanics thread might have some better advice. Freewheels are not expensive but you need a special tool to remove them. If the wheels are otherwise good I would just replace the freewheel.

Arvadaman

Before you get a new wheel, try putting some lube into the rear hub. Sounds like the prawls in the hub may be sticking or are gummed up. Lube the hub and see if they begin to work again. The grease may have dried up or is funky. Try that before getting a new wheel.