Nothing earth shattering, but to keep my Mt McKinley company. Got this last Saturday at a yard sale... $5.00

I added the Rock Shox fork & 26" front wheel to create a early Beast of the East look. Haven't ridden yet to see how it preforms. I'm planning that tomorrow. I've kept the original fork & wheel just in case it doesn't work out.

Well, I've been waiting patiently over a year for a nice lugged steel MTB frame in my size to appear for $20 at a yard sale, or on craigslist...but no such luck!

So, when this '91 Trek 800 - the bottom of the barrel - popped up on CL for $10, I figured it would make a great winter beater. I'm also very uptight about riding anything of value on the local trails (Allamuchy, NJ...nothing but rocks, roots and mud pits). But now I can finally ride them with abandon!

I spent a total of $80 on the build, including a new seatpost, crankset, tires, brake pads and used Deore DX thumb shifters. I traded a frame for the wheelset: Araya RM-20 rims laced to Deore DX hubs (they ride very nicely indeed!) The rest was cobbled together from parts I had in the bin: Deore XT FD, Alivio cantis, stem, bars and levers from another 90s Trek, Exage 300 LX RD. The only original parts are the headset and seatpost binder.

Despite the high tensile fork and stays, and the plain gauge CrMo tubes, I don't think the ride is heavy, sluggish or sloppy. But then, I've mountain biked so little, what the hell would I know?

Saved this one from a guy who was using it as his beater bike to get back and forth to work....

Was my dream bike BITD. I remember asking the guy at the LBS if I could touch it and when I picked it up I fell in love.

Fast forward 18 years or so, I finally own one, granted this one's got a lot of dings, cut bars, wrong rear wheel, cracked seat post and a tiny crack at the hole in the seat post tube, but I couldn't be happier....putting it back in shape will be a pleasure.

Saved this one from a guy who was using it as his beater bike to get back and forth to work....

Was my dream bike BITD. I remember asking the guy at the LBS if I could touch it and when I picked it up I fell in love.

Fast forward 18 years or so, I finally own one, granted this one's got a lot of dings, cut bars, wrong rear wheel, cracked seat post and a tiny crack at the hole in the seat post tube, but I couldn't be happier....putting it back in shape will be a pleasure.

Can't wait to hit the single track with it.

One of my dream bikes as well. A friend tried to sell his in the middle '90's and I didn't buy it. Dang. I'm still waiting for another to fall out of the sky.

These pictures make me sad. I had a 1992 Schwinn Sidewinder, dark blue. I loved it, it was my first "nice" bike. For some reason it did not make it to my parents' new house during a move. My girlfriend's got a Nishiki Bravo from about the same time period.

This is my '89 3.0 that rides beautifully, but I'm trying to find a replacement fork for it (I'm wondering if I could clamp it in a vice and bend the shaft about 1-1.5" ??)....I still have the original bars which put one in a fairly aggressive position, so I replaced them with the one's pictured for my city commute

NO! I wouldn't even ride it as is. Replace it, 1" forks are cheap and abundant.

Pinguwin

I disagree. The fork doesn't look catastrophically bent, and any LBS should have a fork bender that'll have it looking and riding like new in no time. It shouldn't affect the integrity of the fork, either.

I disagree. The fork doesn't look catastrophically bent, and any LBS should have a fork bender that'll have it looking and riding like new in no time. It shouldn't affect the integrity of the fork, either.

That's what I was thinking. The steel forks Cannondale used were pretty high quality and I dont think it would be a biggie... But then, I've never had a bent fork before either

no cracks, though! geez...no cracks...cracks in your fork are, unh, bad...really, really, bad. If you do get it bent back, check it really well, and check it after the first time you pound it...stress may make 'em show up later.

no cracks, though! geez...no cracks...cracks in your fork are, unh, bad...really, really, bad. If you do get it bent back, check it really well, and check it after the first time you pound it...stress may make 'em show up later.

there's a red die that you can use to check for cracks isn't there? i recall seeing a machinist use it the last place i worked.

I guess there are differences in opinion but for myself, I'm very cautious about something on the front end like that. I know that you probably could ride it but for something that can be replaced quite cheaply, why bother? My long time mechanic always replaced such forks and like I said, I'm very cautious like that. I fly hang gliders and there is a saying, "If there is any doubt, there is no doubt." YMMV.

here's my mb-2. i got it for 50 bucks and put 125 in it, including the brooks which i'm going to swap out for a black one. it's a great ride and a little different for me as i'm usually on road bikes or vintage three-speeds. it's a bit small as you can tell from the saddle height, but hey, fifty bucks for a mb-2.