How much do you trust an old bike

I have a 1995 Giant Rincon hard tail, named by my college roommate in Portland Maine "The Red Rincon Ryder". I have literally put 10's of thousands of miles on the bike. Over the years I have performed regular maintenance, namely cleaning and repacking, adjusting all bearings. keeping the bike relatively clean and storing it in a dry place.
Last winter I decided to give the bike a major going over, I'll keep from calling it a major rebuild. I replaced the front controls with a current Shimano ST-EF500 3 x 7-Speed Brake/Shift Lever Set which was perfect fit, and added a 4pc universal cable set. Finally installed a Greenfield KS2S kickstand w/retro kick, which brings the total investment to $47.50 this decade. I may have replaced the drive chain at some point during it's lifespan. As a former motorcycle racer, I have utmost respect for drive chains and always keep them clean, lightly lubricated and properly adjusted. Small rust spots on the frame were prepared, gray primer and followed up with Rust oleum red gloss spray paint which I was delighted to find matched very well.
This all started when my GF who has a nice stable of road and hybrid bikes tried to shame me into buying a new bike. No way was I prepared to part ways with my old friend.
Granted the frame is rather heavy by 2024 standards, it wasn't a lightweight even in 1995. I am 6'3" tall and was 200lbs at the time so neither am I (down to 170lbs currently). I bought this bike from Quinn's bike shop in Biddeford, ME. The owner interviewed me and concluded I would be happiest with the Rincon, he was 100% spot on. That bike has been my major form of transportation for many times over the years. It has lived in Biddeford, Portland and Boothbay Maine for a decade total. It lived in Johnson City, NY for 2 years while by GF at the time completed her residency at Wilson Memorial. Finally it landed in the Western Philadelphia, PA suburbs where it currently resides. Where I live now has an incredible amount of bike friendly paths along rivers, hills and parks with more being opened every day. Most of the bike's life always had those type of trails available. I did climb Cadillac Mountain in Maine, probably it's most notable trip.
Currently the only feature I may be updating is the handlebars, not exactly sure what direction I want to go, I am in no rush.
The bike has only taken what I would call a major spill, the from when the tire got caught in rather wide exposed seam in a concrete road at the bottom of a hill at a high rate of speed. I high sided so I took more damage than the bike did. We are both completely healed up after that incident.
I am not sure about some of the older bikes discussed here, but my almost 35 year old Giant is a tribute to their ability to produce a highly durable hybrid bike that with a little care will last a lifetime. Currently the bike performs as good or better than the day I wheeled it out of the bike store.
 
Ultimately the lower end kit is fairly rubbish and becomes cheaper to replace than repair, and the higher-end kit is less durable where they can shave some weight at the expense of longevity.

That Rincon is in the goldilocks zone.

A lot of these are bikes we respect - at the top end of the GZ are Kona Lavadome, Marin Bear Valley, Spesh Rock hopper.

Additionally that idea of making a top end bike to last 2 seasons racing hadn't really become commonplace until around 2000.
 
I have a 1995 Giant Rincon hard tail, named by my college roommate in Portland Maine "The Red Rincon Ryder". I have literally put 10's of thousands of miles on the bike. Over the years I have performed regular maintenance, namely cleaning and repacking, adjusting all bearings. keeping the bike relatively clean and storing it in a dry place.
Last winter I decided to give the bike a major going over, I'll keep from calling it a major rebuild. I replaced the front controls with a current Shimano ST-EF500 3 x 7-Speed Brake/Shift Lever Set which was perfect fit, and added a 4pc universal cable set. Finally installed a Greenfield KS2S kickstand w/retro kick, which brings the total investment to $47.50 this decade. I may have replaced the drive chain at some point during it's lifespan. As a former motorcycle racer, I have utmost respect for drive chains and always keep them clean, lightly lubricated and properly adjusted. Small rust spots on the frame were prepared, gray primer and followed up with Rust oleum red gloss spray paint which I was delighted to find matched very well.
This all started when my GF who has a nice stable of road and hybrid bikes tried to shame me into buying a new bike. No way was I prepared to part ways with my old friend.
Granted the frame is rather heavy by 2024 standards, it wasn't a lightweight even in 1995. I am 6'3" tall and was 200lbs at the time so neither am I (down to 170lbs currently). I bought this bike from Quinn's bike shop in Biddeford, ME. The owner interviewed me and concluded I would be happiest with the Rincon, he was 100% spot on. That bike has been my major form of transportation for many times over the years. It has lived in Biddeford, Portland and Boothbay Maine for a decade total. It lived in Johnson City, NY for 2 years while by GF at the time completed her residency at Wilson Memorial. Finally it landed in the Western Philadelphia, PA suburbs where it currently resides. Where I live now has an incredible amount of bike friendly paths along rivers, hills and parks with more being opened every day. Most of the bike's life always had those type of trails available. I did climb Cadillac Mountain in Maine, probably it's most notable trip.
Currently the only feature I may be updating is the handlebars, not exactly sure what direction I want to go, I am in no rush.
The bike has only taken what I would call a major spill, the from when the tire got caught in rather wide exposed seam in a concrete road at the bottom of a hill at a high rate of speed. I high sided so I took more damage than the bike did. We are both completely healed up after that incident.
I am not sure about some of the older bikes discussed here, but my almost 35 year old Giant is a tribute to their ability to produce a highly durable hybrid bike that with a little care will last a lifetime. Currently the bike performs as good or better than the day I wheeled it out of the bike store.
*chants* Pictures! Pictures! pictures
 
I picked up a 91 Kona Lava Dome on its original (dry rotted) tyres that had spent at least the last decade in a lockup.
By the looks of things the bike had an easy life overall and I trusted the frame and wheels because of it's general condition, but even still I replaced the cables, brakes and tyres for common sense and safety sake.
Im too old and unfit to give the 33 year old bike a hard ride or life, so it will be completely safe for anything I actually intend to use it for.
 
I used to attach a tag-a-long trailer to a steel FAT with my 5yr old and ride hard off road including small jumps. No issues whatsoever but I would never risk that on a modern carbon.
 
Back
Top