What to do re. trusty old bike

yearofthegoat

I have a 1994 GT Tequesta and I like it a lot, it's been utterly reliable; other than a couple of punctures no problems at all. It was stolen in 1995 but thanks to the local police being on the ball (pulled the thief over in his car at one in the morning and noticed it with my brother's Claude Butler in the boot) I got it back with no damage to it. So, as you can understand, I'm quite attached to it.

However....

Went on holiday to the Cotswolds with friends and did some - mainly country lane/track - routes with them, no mad downhills etc. They were on their shiny new lighter bikes with hydraulic brakes, front suspension etc. Got a mild case of bike envy.

So I have a couple of questions, as I've not been up to speed with MTB developments for years:

1) What would be the current equivalent of my Tequesta? It was £399 in 1994, came with Tioga Psycho tyres, Tange cro-moly frame tubes, Shimano STX throughout, Diacompe Aheadset and Shimano hubs with QR skewers.

2) If I were to replace the forks with suspension forks, what would be suitable? From what I've read I'd be looking at 80-100mm travel, possibly Rock Shox Darts of some kind, as I'm not into downhilling, just medium off-road trails and some road riding with the wife.

Anyone got any ideas? I don't want to sell my GT as I think I'd lose a good solid bike for not much cash. Changing the forks seems a good idea - but is it?!

Any help much appreciated.

benneally

Buy a new bike. Much better value and im sure that you will be impressed at how bikes differ, especially in the last 15 or so years.

llamafarmer

Buy new. As benneally says, technology has come on leaps and bounds in the 15 years since you bought the GT, so £400 or so will get you a nice new machine.

BlackSpur

Buy a new bike, singlespeed the GT and put slicks on it for a town hack bike.

supertwisted

At the risk of repeating everyone else, don't spend any money on your GT.

Either buy a new bike or continue to ride your old one and be happy with it's retro coolness.

A new off the peg bike will net you more for your money than investing in upgrades for the GT.

Plus you have the added bonus of then having 2 bikes. Never underestimate how useful it is to have a backup bike!

supersonic

Don't see many new cromo bikes for 400 quid nowadays.

Pretty sure you have a 1 inch threaded headset too which severly limits fork options.

yearofthegoat

'Retro coolness' - like the sound of that. Am going to keep riding it as it doesn't have any problems and will save what I can towards a new bike.

SWMBO caught me drooling over new bikes yesterday. Had half a mind to go to a LBS to try some out, but that way expenditure lies...

Cheers everyone, won't go looking at forks anymore then!

yearofthegoat

supersonic wrote:

Don't see many new cromo bikes for 400 quid nowadays.

Pretty sure you have a 1 inch threaded headset too which severly limits fork options.

I do know it's an Aheadset and it has a star nut in it, which I *think* means it's threadless - correct me if I'm wrong. As for size, I haven't taken it apart to check and my manual could be anywhere by now! Thx anyway.

supersonic

Ah, could be good news! Need to check diameter of steerer. If 28.6mm then replacing forks is easy.

However, if you run Canti brakes there will be know cable stop on the forks - good time to upgrade to Vs too.

If you don't have 400 quid, then new brakes, an RS Tora and new tyres would be good upgrades for less than 200 quid.

yearofthegoat

Hmmm, just when I thought I'd decided..!

Yeah, I was wondering about the brakes when looking at forks. The brakes are Shimano direct-pull with the button and link wire. I take it Vs wouldn't be a problem with STX levers as they're still direct-pull, right?

So something like RockShox Tora SL or 302 U-turn and a Deore V-brake kit?

edit: can't see brake bosses on the SL! Must investigate more thoroughly...

supersonic

You'd need V brake levers, as the old STX has a different leverage ratio.

Deore kit (or even Alivio) sounds fine!

This is a great value air sprung tora:

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/rockshox ... 36462.html

I'd ring to ensure they have the brake mounts though.

yearofthegoat

That's odd - was just on JEJames site (small world - bought the Tequesta in their Chesterfield shop in 94) and those didn't come up in a search. (Was looking at 302 U-turns 85-130)

First things first, need to take the forks out and check the steerer size.

Thanks again for all the advice!

yearofthegoat

Been looking into changing to v brakes and remembered that my gear shifters are part of the brake lever assembly.

Can I use (say) Deore levers for Vs with my gear shifters? The shifter pods are connected to the brake lever pivot

View from above:


Ideally I'd just connect the brake lever to the handlebars and connect the shifter pods in the same way as they were connected to the old brake levers.

Even thought about new Deore rapidfire brake/gear combo - only they are all 9 speed and my rear derailleur is 7 speed. (could I lock out the top/bottom gears?)

Sorry for all the questions. A new bike would be more straightforward but I actually like the idea of reviving my old GT!

supersonic

Ypou have STI combined shifters and levers - they aren't designed to come apart, so you will need either new sperate shifters with your brake levers, or a new combined unit that is compatible with Vs.

Your shifters have to match the the amount of rear cogs ie 7 in this case. ie

http://s233299868.e-shop.info/shop/arti ... -fire.html

I think is a pair! I have emailed them to check.

Then add say:

http://shop.2wheelsonly.co.uk/shimano-a ... -989-p.asp

Front and rear.

All in less than 40 quid.

.blitz

Yearofthegoat wrote:

Yeah, I was wondering about the brakes when looking at forks. The brakes are Shimano direct-pull with the button and link wire. I take it Vs wouldn't be a problem with STX levers as they're still direct-pull, right?

V-brakes won't work with canti levers...well, they do, but the lever moves a lot before anything happens :shock:

Your GT is a bit older than my Proflex 856. I bought it '96 and still use it but the biggest problem is finding 'period' components. Not so much consumables but the more expensive stuff. If you give your GT a makeover, my advice would be to buy a spare set of everything because when they're gone they're gone.

From a riding point of view a new bike is quite an eye-opener. The Proflex is interesting in a retro-90s throwback kind of way but really, there's no comparison with a modern bike.

supersonic

Loads of 7 speed stuff about still IME! Still make it for lower end groupos, and cantis still widespread, though a V upgrade is worth it.

.blitz

supersonic wrote:

Still make it for lower end groupos, and cantis still widespread

Agreed but UN91 BBs and period XT/XTR components etc are not exactly commonplace

yearofthegoat

.blitz wrote:

From a riding point of view a new bike is quite an eye-opener. The Proflex is interesting in a retro-90s throwback kind of way but really, there's no comparison with a modern bike.

That's the dilemma - adding RS toras, Vs and some new tyres, as supersonic said, could be done for £200 or thereabouts. But that's £200 I could usefully put towards a new bike. And then I'd have a spare bike too.

Can't really decide. Think I'll wait until I've been out on the next thrash round and might borrow a mate's newer bike to see what that's like.

But, at least I now know what can be done to the GT to improve things and what it's likely to cost, so thanks again for all the info.

.blitz

Yearofthegoat wrote:

That's the dilemma - adding RS toras, Vs and some new tyres, as supersonic said, could be done for £200 or thereabouts. But that's £200 I could usefully put towards a new bike. And then I'd have a spare bike too.

Can't really decide. Think I'll wait until I've been out on the next thrash round and might borrow a mate's newer bike to see what that's like.

Brakes and tyres are worth it but I think once you start looking at suspension and drivetrain you have to be sure you really like your Tequesta. A serviceable spare bike is always worth having and you can use it when it's cold/wet/dark.

I like my old Proflex but I try to keep it in perspective. It's pointless trying to make it into a modern bike because (as I'm sure you'll realise when you ride your mate's bike) MTBs have come a long way.

supersonic

Decent frames though - most GTs of that era were. My 96 zaskar still holds its own!

.blitz

supersonic wrote:

Decent frames though - most GTs of that era were. My 96 zaskar still holds its own!

OK maybe I should've said MTBs have come a long way since my Proflex

supersonic

Lol, was a quirky one that!

yearofthegoat

Holy necropost!!

Just wanted to say I've still got the '94 GT Tequesta and it's still fine - no mods - mainly due to not having a very big paper round whatsoever. Had to clean out the shifters and the freewheel but that's all apart from new tyres (the Tioga Psychos have had it).

Now have two kids who are ripping around on their bikes so am going to have to get a new one. My 9yo lad wants to do big air jumps, so am looking at FS for me and him.

Have my eye on a Boardman MTR 8.8 - fork and shock lock out for flat trail use and otherwise seems to have what I need without being totally silly money.

As for him, still looking...

davidof

11 years Holy prevarication Batman

Well a bike from 2009 will seem vintage too now

yearofthegoat

Yeah, 'life' took over! The bikes are just radically different now, so I'll be keeping the Tequesta for giggles and nipping to the pub.

steve_sordy

Would you be more than usually upset if it was nicked?
Then chain it up as if it was your brand new shiny bike.

yearofthegoat

Chain it up? Yeah too right. Never ever leave it unlocked while out of my sight. I suppose while it's not worth much to a thief, it gets more sentimentally valuable as the years go by.

I could lock it away and never use it again, but that's IMO a bit daft, bikes are for riding (even if it'll get less use once I get a new bike - where has all the new bike stock gone BTW?).

The Tequesta was stolen, back in 1994/5, hadn't had it very long and I was totally gutted at the time. Was very very lucky the police pulled over the thief's car with it in the boot so I got it back, undamaged too.

If I lost it now, well, I don't know; kinda not as bad somehow. I'm older, less attached to material stuff I suppose. And these days I have out-and-about insurance.

I do need to get a decent ground anchor and chain for the garage, and another chain and lock for out and about. Currently use an Abus 420 and its cable. I like the look of the Hiplok chains, or I'll just use my backpack and a Pragmasis chain+lock set.

steve_sordy

I can recommend a Kryptonite New York Noose and their ground anchor. Go for the 1.2m long noose. I set the ground anchor into the garage floor and I had problems with the supplied 5/8" dia drill. My 1/2" chuck drill would hold the drill and it was powerful enough, but it didn't have a hammer action and wouldn't touch the pebbles in the concrete. My 3/8" chuck would also hold the drill shank and had a hammer action, but it wasn't powerful enough! You really need a direct drive hammer drill (SKS type?) which fortunately I was able to borrow and it made short work of the holes. Also be careful when fitting the Rawlplug type fittings into the hole, that they don't fall apart! If they do, all is not lost, just contact me and I'll tell you how to get them out.


Since that first photo, I now use a small towel between the chain and the bike to avoid any chance of any scratches to the shock stanchion or paintwork.

Cargobike

yearofthegoat said:

Holy necropost!!
Just wanted to say I've still got the '94 GT Tequesta and it's still fine - no mods - mainly due to not having a very big paper round whatsoever. Had to clean out the shifters and the freewheel but that's all apart from new tyres (the Tioga Psychos have had it).

Now have two kids who are ripping around on their bikes so am going to have to get a new one. My 9yo lad wants to do big air jumps, so am looking at FS for me and him.

Have my eye on a Boardman MTR 8.8 - fork and shock lock out for flat trail use and otherwise seems to have what I need without being totally silly money.

As for him, still looking...

Thank God I'm not the only one still rocking a pre-2000 mtb.

Still got a 1997 Klein Adroit used mainly as a pub bike these days, but it still sees more mileage than others in my collection.

I too keep intending to upgrade to one of the latest, modern bikes, but they are all so bl**dy expensive these days for the amount of use it'd likely get.

Hopefully, if I keep it long enough the Klein will come back into fashion somewhere in the next couple of decades, certainly if bike shortages and Brexit have anything to do with it

yearofthegoat

I'm trying to use mine more - just to get more exercise really. Went down to the surgery yesterday to get my flu jab (apparently I'm 'at risk').

Only 4 miles round trip but uphill on the way home, so got the heart rate up nicely. Had a kind of chain skip changing gear though - like a clunk as I pedalled hard. Am going to give it a clean and check out the mechs later.

Re. the ground anchor - thanks for the recommendation. I have an SDS drill that'll eat through the concrete no problem. Had my eye on a Pragmasis with resin inserts, but will take a look at Kryptonite. I'm going to need to chain up four bikes though so I'll need a long chain, or perhaps two/three smaller ones linked would be better.

Trouble with all the lock stuff is you give yourself the willies watching some YT kiddie sawing through an 18mm chain in 45 seconds with an angle grinder.

Probably a good thing nobody wants a'94 Tequesta any more!