What I did was reconditioned and rebuilt an old mountainbike for my father-in-law. The story goes something like this:
My father-in-law over the past year or so has lost a phenominal amount of weight. Estimates have him dropping 80 pounds but the actual figure is not a disclosed piece of info. None-the-less, he's a lot thinner now. While putzing around with him, I asked him about the Big M trail system... not even a half an hour from his doorstep... and he gave me the lowdown of some of the history, as he always does. He knows I'm an avid rider, so he offered to go with me at some point in time on his "Columbia" bike. Well, his Columbia is a road bike.
While roaming around town doing the Saturday scavenger hunt for good deals and wicked buys, my wife and I were discussing her dad's upcoming birthday. As we entered the local Salvation Army, I told her about the discussion I had with her dad. In this particular SA they have a room full of bikes and we wandered in to look around. Back on the far wall, away from the rest of the bikes, leaned a Specialized HardRock. It showed signs of wear and some mis-handling but I thought it was a good candidate for a restoration. A stand-out in the crowd of aging Magnas and Pacifics. We took it home for less than a reasonable meal at most mainstay, local resturaunts.
I eagerly ripped the bike down to fully assess the rebuild. What I found was a bike that was used and used and used but probably never saw a lick of trail. Aside from the front brake, nothing seemed to have ever been adjusted, regreased, or maintained since its sale from Village Bike Shop (the local Specialized dealer) back in the 1990-91 era. Aside from the lack of maintainance, all that was needed was a good cleaning and regreasing, new front hub cones, fresh cables and housing, a new chainstay protector, a fresh saddle, readjustment of everything, and a really good wheel truing. At my wifes request, I even waxed the entire frameset. Total cost was less that a 4-some at the local chain eatery.
Add a few stickers and voiala! Inspiration for possible new senior MTB'r!
He was genuinely ecstatic over the bike and asked question after question about it. He did mention the next time we are up visiting that maybe we could go out for a ride! Great stuff!
Here are a few photos of when the bike was first brought home. The rest of the photos are still bei
ng
uploaded.
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