chrissargent
Retro Newbie
Hello All,
I am new here and honestly I'm only a casual rider and a complete noob to vintage bikes! But.... a couple of months ago, by sheer fluke, I acquired a bike for literally less than a round of 2 drinks, that turns out to be a Bontrager Ti Lite and came complete with the original set of Shimano Deore XT gears, brakes etc (M739), with Rock Shox Judy XC forks.
I'm am planning to refurbish it and I think I'd like to keep it as original as possible where I can but I'm also open to advice, since this is not something I know an awful lot about.
Pictures are here: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/im1a6syb4us2 ... dF6C2soRsa
Luckily, the frame is in great condition, it's not bent warped or has any signs of cracking around any of the joints. As you can see, it's not been well-loved for the last few years and since it came from someone's yacht/garage sale and lived it's life near the sea, it's got it's fair share of rust and corrosion.
In addition, the crank arms have both cracked at the bottom bearing, the headset bearings are shot and the saddle needs replacing. Naturally, I'll also change put on new cables / brake pads etc.
So, questions I specifically have are:
The chain rings don't look to be in that great condition to me, what do you think?
Given the condition of the rings, is it worth just changing the crank arms? (I've found someone selling the complete crankset for about €25 but he say's the gear rings are very worn too), Or try to find new chainrings too? Should I really try to stick with finding NOS / good condition original parts or just go for a complete brand new crankset (something like this for example: http://www.probikeshop.fr/shimano-pedal ... GwodenANhQ)?
I have found someone selling a New Old Stock Shimano LX Deore 1" headset (exactly the same as the one it from new) for about €25 too. Should I go for this, or try to find something more more modern?
Whilst they don't show any signs of leaking or damage, I would also like to refurbish the Rock Shox forks specifically to bring up their external condition. It seems fairly straight forward and seal / oil kits seem to be available to do so. Anyone have any particular advice on this?
I have about a £200 budget for it's overhaul.
Cheers and thanks in advance for the advice!
Chris
I am new here and honestly I'm only a casual rider and a complete noob to vintage bikes! But.... a couple of months ago, by sheer fluke, I acquired a bike for literally less than a round of 2 drinks, that turns out to be a Bontrager Ti Lite and came complete with the original set of Shimano Deore XT gears, brakes etc (M739), with Rock Shox Judy XC forks.
I'm am planning to refurbish it and I think I'd like to keep it as original as possible where I can but I'm also open to advice, since this is not something I know an awful lot about.
Pictures are here: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/im1a6syb4us2 ... dF6C2soRsa
Luckily, the frame is in great condition, it's not bent warped or has any signs of cracking around any of the joints. As you can see, it's not been well-loved for the last few years and since it came from someone's yacht/garage sale and lived it's life near the sea, it's got it's fair share of rust and corrosion.
In addition, the crank arms have both cracked at the bottom bearing, the headset bearings are shot and the saddle needs replacing. Naturally, I'll also change put on new cables / brake pads etc.
So, questions I specifically have are:
The chain rings don't look to be in that great condition to me, what do you think?
Given the condition of the rings, is it worth just changing the crank arms? (I've found someone selling the complete crankset for about €25 but he say's the gear rings are very worn too), Or try to find new chainrings too? Should I really try to stick with finding NOS / good condition original parts or just go for a complete brand new crankset (something like this for example: http://www.probikeshop.fr/shimano-pedal ... GwodenANhQ)?
I have found someone selling a New Old Stock Shimano LX Deore 1" headset (exactly the same as the one it from new) for about €25 too. Should I go for this, or try to find something more more modern?
Whilst they don't show any signs of leaking or damage, I would also like to refurbish the Rock Shox forks specifically to bring up their external condition. It seems fairly straight forward and seal / oil kits seem to be available to do so. Anyone have any particular advice on this?
I have about a £200 budget for it's overhaul.
Cheers and thanks in advance for the advice!
Chris
