Have questions or want to discuss cycling? Join Now or Sign In to participate in the BikeRide community.

New: Take Part in the August Giveaway to Win the SAVA Aurora V3.0 Carbon Road Bike


Repair older Trek?
#1
            A co-worker gave me an older Trek mountain bike for my twelve-year-old to use to ride to and from school. Since this will be his first time riding a bike to and from school, I didn't want to invest hundreds of dollars on a new bike (he's tall for his age and has outgrown boy's bikes).

The second-hand Trek was stored outside in my co-worker's backyard and needs the following parts:

New derailleurs
New tires and tubes
New chain
New gear cabling
New seat

I can handle putting the tires and seat on myself (Amazon seems to have those parts at fair prices). I'm looking for thoughts on replacing the derailleurs, chain and gear cabling.

My son is only going to use this to transport himself to and from school. Maybe the occasional short ride with me or his older cousin that lives nearby.

Would you spend the $ on repairs or just purchase an entry-level road bike from Amazon, Target or Walmart?


Attached Files Image(s)
           
  Reply
#2
Hi. No bike waste! Trek 4300 is certainly a nice classic MTB and my personal opinion would be to repair it. Have to appreciate quality bicycles such as Trek; your offspring will enjoy it Smile Are there 7 or 8 gears on the back? Can't confirm clearly from the photo. You should be able to find derailleurs (eg. Alivio groupset) at a good price point also on ebay.
Autobahn
  Reply
#3
Fix it. You need to consider that a lot of those paets are consumables anyway (tyres, chain, tubes, cables, housing). Throw in new housing (both brakes and shifters) as well, plus break pads! A low-ish end shimano rear dérailleur is good enough, though you can get a cheap NOS (new old stock) better one as well. As far as I can recall, from 7 - 9 (mtb: 10) gears in the back, the RDs were interchangeable, so don't worry about the exact model Wink the chain should be gear number specific, though.
  Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread
Author
Replies
Views
Last Post
 
13,027
05-03-2013, 02:36 PM
Last Post: hoss58
 
14,049
08-19-2012, 11:09 PM
Last Post: Bill
 
25,229
07-27-2010, 06:34 PM
Last Post: TonyE
 
10,152
06-14-2010, 06:49 AM
Last Post: cyclerUK
 
9,297
03-25-2009, 11:46 AM
Last Post: cyclerUK

Forum Jump:

[-]
10 Latest Posts
The LAST High-End Rim Brake Bike?
Yesterday 03:21 PM
Which aspects of e-bikes do you think ar...
Yesterday 12:18 AM
Have you learned to fall?
09-12-2024 07:27 PM
Ebikes for big guys
09-12-2024 12:10 PM
Would you use WD-40 for cleaning and/or ...
09-12-2024 07:50 AM
Hey All - Emmanuel Katto Uganda Here
09-12-2024 07:31 AM
What are your best tips for long rides?
09-12-2024 07:28 AM
Failure to stop at stop sign means $500 ...
09-12-2024 07:18 AM
Anybody watch on YouTube Global Mountain...
09-11-2024 01:58 AM
Mavic XM319
09-10-2024 04:54 PM

[-]
Join BikeRide on Strava
Feel free to join if you are on Strava: www.strava.com/clubs/bikeridecom

[-]
Top 5 Posters This Month
no avatar 1. enkei
22 posts
no avatar 2. GirishH
21 posts
no avatar 3. Flowrider
15 posts
no avatar 4. rydabent
15 posts
no avatar 5. meamoantonio
13 posts