1991 Trek 830 Ressurrection

[StuartW]

Hi,

As mentioned in my intro post I have a 1991 Trek 830 bicycle at the back of the shed and I want to bring it back to a useable state.

Given the cycle has languished in the shed for a considerabe time, I suppose I need some advice on what I should look for when I look over the bicycle.

All being well the things I will be looking to do are:

Change the handlebars
Change the Steering Stem to make it less of a stretch to the bars.
Change various (all?) bearings
Fit a suspension seat post (my backside isnt what it once was lol)
Change the tyres from "mountain bike" tyres to a more road orientated tyre.
Change wheels from 27 inch to 700c (I presume this will assist when choosing tyres?)

These are just my initial thoughts.

Greatful for all assistance and advice on how to do the changes and what to unscrew/unbolt/rebuild

TIA

Stuart

 

[alecstilleyedye]

depends on the shed. if the bike was put away in a tidy condition and the shed is dry, you may not need to do much. certainly check that the brakes haven't seized (if they have, replace the cables), and that the tyres inflate with no cracking of the sidewalls (if not, replace them).

other than that, it's up to you what to upgrade; it can be a lot of fun…

 

[screenman]

Nothing wrong with what you are attempting, but why? Would be my question.

 

[StuartW]

depends on the shed. if the bike was put away in a tidy condition and the shed is dry, you may not need to do much. certainly check that the brakes haven't seized (if they have, replace the cables), and that the tyres inflate with no cracking of the sidewalls (if not, replace them).

other than that, it's up to you what to upgrade; it can be a lot of fun…

Thanks for your reply.

The shed is dry and the bicycle was always looked after when it was used albeit that was a wee while back.

I want to work on it to have a better understanding of how it works as a whole and to learn how individual components work.

 

[StuartW]

Nothing wrong with what you are attempting, but why? Would be my question.

Hi Screenman, Thanks for your reply.

I guess my initial response to you would be, why not? I enjoyed doing up motorbikes so this seemed like a natural progression.

I also want to be able to use the renovated bicycle as a means to keep active and get some exercise.

Thanks again for your message.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi and Stuart.

Best of luck with the project.

My thoughts are that the bearings will probably only want regreasing rather than replacing if the bike is in reasonable condition.

If the bike has mountain bike tyres I'd expect the wheels to be 26" (559mm rims) not 27". I presume they are rim brakes given the age of the bike so it's unlikely that 700C wheels would fit, but replacement 26" wheels are available and there are plenty of road oriented tyres in that size.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Change the tyres from "mountain bike" tyres to a more road orientated tyre.
Change wheels from 27 inch to 700c

The wheels are likely to be 26" wheels (ETRTO 559) and 700c (622) may not fit, but might with much narrower tyres on. Plenty of road tyre options for 26" wheels. If you do swap to 700c, check the brakes can cope (ie can operate closer to the fork crown / seat stay bridge, or add those to your replacement list.

Edit: Grrr! Beaten to it by Phil.

 

[lpretro1]

U will have to stick with 26" wheels (plenty of smoother tyres available for these) or brakes will not fit...if changing bars check what width you need to fit the stem u want to fit - don't bother spending a lot of dosh on it as it is old tech on there - just do the minimum

 

[Hugh Manatee]

Hello! Is it a sort of bright yellow? The 1991 catalogue is showing the 830 as double butted cromoly with LX300 groupset. As Phil says, chances are it is 26 inch wheels. Plenty of slick tyres in 26" flavour.

Those old steel bikes make great tourers. I have a 1990 Saracen Kili Flier Comp I use as my touring and general riding to the shops duty. My main off road Cannock Chase bone shaker is even older; a 1988 Saracen with a rather nice fillet brazed frame. It holds it own a lot better than I do! The only Seatpost I would look at unless you're a whippet of around 10 stone would be the thud buster. I tried a Use one and it wasn't very good.

 

[tfg71]

Hi, I have a n old GT Palomar and was in the same situation. I changed my stem to a longer one but adjustable angle. Fitted lay bars so I could attach more lights Garmin etc, Fitted a new set of schwalbe jets they cost about £8 each from Halfords got the 26 x 1.5 down from the standard knobbly tyres and found the ride a hell of a lot better and faster. Kept my original seat for now but toying with a charge spoon or similar. Got the local bike guy to give it the once over to make sure all was OK.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Go for it :-)
I'm resurrecting a 1985 Raleigh Merlin at the moment. Replaced steering bearings and regreased the rest. Weinman wheels clean up a treat, and plenty of tyres, tubes and rim strips online.
The tinfoil trick works great on chrome.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Working on an old Specialized Expedition, and to speed it up a bit, I decided to remove the suspension forks and go with rigid forks instead. I converted a Schwinn Impact from about the same period, but left the 26" wheels on as I converted it to drop bars and made it into a commuter/utility/ touring bike. Thinner tires and the drop bars made it well more than passable for this job. As for the suspension seat post, that may be a bit of a problem, unless you have one that is reliable. I find them to be not so much so, and I think they soak up pedaling effort.