Posted by MarkB_MI on April 08, 2020 at 04:12:33 from (174.230.14.132):
I bought my Trek bike back in the early eighties, but I haven't used it for awhile. I decided if I'm going to start riding again, either I need a new bike or the Trek needs some upgrades, and I couldn't see spending two grand on a new made-in-China bike when the Trek's made-in-the-USA frame is in good shape.
Bike technology has changed a bunch since the eighties. I've long wanted indexed shifting, and to switch from 27 inch tires to modern 700c tires for which there's a much wider selection. And I've never been happy with the gear range on the Trek; its lowest gears are too high for climbing serious grades. Doing a little research, I found it would be fairly straightforward to switch the six-speed rear to an eight-speed setup. It did require spreading the rear fork by 5 millimeters to fit the wider axle used on newer bikes. In the end, I replaced the tires and wheels, front and rear derailleurs, shifters, rear sprocket cassette, crankarms and chainrings, brake calipers and brake levers. And retaped the handlebars.
The bike is now a joy to ride. The indexed shifters work perfect (no more slipping into high gear at the wrong time), and the 700Cx32 tires are more appropriate for gravel roads than the old 27 inch racing slicks. With the new gearing, the bike climbs like a mountain bike in its lowest gear and the highest gear is just slightly taller than the old high gear. I hope to put a lot of miles on it this summer.
Here's pictures before and after the upgrades. Note how much smaller the chainrings (front sprockets) are now. Also, the brake cables are no longer sticking up from the brake levers.
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Today's Featured Article - Grain Threshing in the Early 40's - by Jerry D. Coleman. How many of you can sit there and say that you have plowed with a mule? Well I would say not many, but maybe a few. This story is about the day my Grandfather Brown (true name) decided along with my parents to purchase a new Ford tractor. It wasn't really new except to us. The year was about 1967 and my father found a good used Ford 601 tractor to use on the farm instead of "Bob", our old mule. Now my grandfather had had this mule since the mid 40's and he was getting some age on him. S
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