Renovation - feasible?

[steveinnorthants]

Hi everyone,

Recently got back into cycling and bought a new Trek hybrid which I love, but in the garage have an old Raleigh Activator MTB (I know it isn't rated highly from other threads on here but I have had it for many years and am sort of attached to it!).
My dilemma is, now I am getting the bug again I would like another bike for rougher tracks and trails than the Trek can cope with.
The Raleigh needs an overhaul - as a minimum it will need new crankset and shifters (as one is seized and the chainrings are battered), new tyres and tubes, new seat and new brake pads....may well strip it down completely and respray after giving it a damn good clean, so might find other bits that need replacing - cables probably, though the brakes do see OK.
Is it worth the cost, or should I have a look for a cheap bike - see many on e bay for probably no more than the cost of the parts I will need, though appreciate they may also need new parts.
I know I won't recover my outlay - just want access to a 2nd bike for bumpier paths etc, and do like tinkering myself!!

What do you all think?

Thanks.

 

[ttcycle]

Hi Steve

Glad to hear you have the bug!

My feelings are if you want to do up the old bike for the love of it and sentimental reasons go ahead - however my reservation is that if the frame etc and original bike is not that great or worth it overall in terms of the quality/longer term lastability of the bike it just might be worth looking at a decent purchase secondhand. I'd be careful with ebay- a whole host of bikes on there are stolen -I've had two of mine stolen and readvertised so ask questions to ensure you're able to get the seller to prove ownership of the bike.

 

[screenman]

Can you still get parts for it easily, I know even buying chainrings and sprockets for my early XTR gear is costly. Mind you it is for my new stuff as well.

 

[Red Light]

You could buy another one pretty cheap off eBay and use it as a donor for the components you need. Will be a lot cheaper than putting new bits on it.

 

[mickle]

Forgive me in advance.

Don't do it. Wheel it down to the canal and sell it to one of the boat owners as an anchor. Raleigh Activators were nasty and cheap when new. Now, after many years yours is old - nasty and cheap. Right now your Raleigh Activator has a resale value of near zero. If you fling a load of parts at it you wont increase its value, it'll just be a near worthless bike with a bunch of new parts on it.

About the least you'll pay for the parts you've mentioned:

Set Brake and gear cables: £20
Brake blocks: £12
Chainset £20
Shifters: £20
And the rest £??

What happens when you've got £100 plus labour into it and you discover that it needs a new chain and cassette? £12/£25. Oh, and the rear wheel bearings are shot - new wheel time. I've seen it happen so many times.

Your affections for this bike are misplaced. Your attachment to it is unhealthy. It's a bit tragic, you could do so much better.

Take the money you were prepared to spend on it, add it to the measly £15 you might get for it if you are able to find someone prepared to buy it and put it all in a jar on which you have stuck a label which reads 'New Bike'.

Over the course of the next few weekends visit a few high quality bike shops. Look at volume selling brands. Trek, Spez, Giant, Kona, Marin etc. Look at the cheapest bike in each range and then establish clearly in your mind how and why the least expensive bike in each line-up differs from the second cheapest. Arrange a few test rides. Have a think about how much better than your Raleigh Vominator each and every one is.

Choose one, and when you've saved up enough money buy it.

And don't look back.

 

[steveinnorthants]

Cheers guys, thanks for your comments (and honesty).

I suspected this would be the view, and maybe just wanted to hear it independently. I am not unduly attached to the bike, but am trying to justify spending on a second bike so soon after my last purchase. Renovating could have been phased over the summer so I wouldn't necessarily have noticed the outlay....labour....thats my time so happy to put it in. Also like tinkering, so an alternative purchase, even if it needs a bit of work does appeal too.

Anyway, I do accept that I could get something nicer/newer/more efficient - part of me is loathe to just dump the old bike (but it isn't rideable so has no resale value at all without some work).

You guys have convinced me that looking elsewhere (accepting the e bay remarks) is the best bet, just need o be careful I don't get carried away and end up spending another £400 on a new(ish) MTB after doing the same on the hybrid......then deciding it would be nice to have a roadie too in a few months

 

[yello]

My feelings are if you want to do up the old bike for the love of it and sentimental reasons go ahead

Agreed. Plus it's valuable fettling experience.

It can be a pain the the backside trying to source compatible bits sometimes, particular for older frames, but not insurmountable. You'll also learn a great deal from that process to.

But, as mickle so expertly points out in detail, it's not always a cost effective exercise.

I revamped my late brother's old Avanti Baracuda hardtail mtb (obviously sentimental reasons) but I changed it's purpose in the process. It's now my 'tourer' / general purpose bike. I did a lof of touring with my brother so it kind of made sense to do that. It took a while; involved a bit of research (and, tbh, mistakes) but it was worth it. Not just to have the bike but in the knowledge I gained in doing it. It's not the 'best' tourer money can buy, nor even the most practical, but it suits my purposes. More to the point, it kind of means my brother still comes with me.... ahhhhhhh