Ideas for a 90's Trek 820 Mountain Bike

[243]

I bought a Trek 820 for 30.00 a month ago on CL without a buildup in mind other than a single speed. As soon as I pulled it out of the bed of the truck I realized it had some oddball Shimano crank that didn't have individual chainrings. I dug through a small tote of bike parts and found a Stronglight crank so I bolted it on but had really sloppy chain tension with the vertical dropouts so I went and bought a half-link and didn't fair any better.

I looked at track ends online and thought they looked simple enough so I torched the dropouts and hack-fabbed some track ends.

I picked up a set of chain ring bolts and noticed the old quick release levers were not holding the wheel tight so I borrowed the wheels off my Fisher and gave it a spin. It was smooth and quiet but it needs a lot of work and I am looking for ideas but here are my thoughts.

Keep the cantilevers, strip all the un-needed braze-on's and maybe some Holy Roller 2.4's.

Strip it naked, coastie wheelset, English touring bars and some Tioga City Slicker 1.25's.

 

[Jesserd]

I always see super cheap, nice MTBs going for cheap and I've always thought about doing a similar build. You think a 700c laced to a coaster would fit? that would be something different. I like the idea of some fat tires, so you could use on the road at high pressure or off road at low pressure; could you throw a freewheel on instead of the rear sprockets?

 

[243]

Chain tensioners will hold that wheel where you want it:

Here's one type. There are zillions of 'em.

Oh, and that is a real nice job on those dropouts.

Thanks!

I saw some bmx adjusters at the bike shop last week but after I took a ride with the Fisher wheels I think the problem was the low quality or worn out QR's because it didn't slip at all.

I always see super cheap, nice MTBs going for cheap and I've always thought about doing a similar build. You think a 700c laced to a coaster would fit? that would be something different. I like the idea of some fat tires, so you could use on the road at high pressure or off road at low pressure; could you throw a freewheel on instead of the rear sprockets?

I don't know if the 700's would work with the cantilevers, on the other hand, I think it would be a fun ride with some skinny tires and that is probably the way I will go. If I stick with the cantilevers and a cassette hub I will use spacers and a bmx cog. Since my oldest daughter has been driving for a year and really outgrew her 24" cruiser I robbed the stem and narrow cruiser bars, and the Trek still looks like a mountain bike

With the small frame I may not be able to pull off the Schwinn Speedster look either so I am still searching for ideas.

The stem and bars are my sticking point right now, but I will say mini-straight bars and upside down and hacked drops are out.

Speedster, bmx, wide and low moto-x and angular cruiser bars are in.

I have spent days looking at the gallery and bike builds, mountain frames are not so popular I guess.

I have tossed around the idea of adding some hack-fabbed disc brake brackets, discs and some new wheels. Mostly for the practice welding on a bike frame and to say I did it but I definitely like the look of the discs even if they stop better than the cantilevers.

Going skinny is partly due to refinishing my Trek Cruiser Classic that I bought back in 96, it is all original with the exception of some Bontrager Hank's but needs it needs a few upgrades, de-rustification, FSA chainring, 170mm crank and maybe a B66 if my budget allows; I won't be selling it so it will probably be my *fat* tire cruiser.


I really like this sweet bike in the gallery but I don't think my small mountain frame will work. It sure looks clean with the naked frame, matte black paint and skinnies.

.

 

[jackdaw]

I wonder if you took a coaster brake hub and laced a 700c rim to it, would it fit in the frame with a 32c or 35c tire. You'd have the coaster brake so the canti's could go, if you wanted. That is a really cool crank and drilled chainring. Looks great.

I have a Trek 820 that I fixed up and sold to a friend and an 830 that is my winter ride, though it's not ridable right now, gotta get it going.
I think MTB frames are great for ratting, the diamond frame goes back to the earliest safety bicycles whereas the cruiser frames came later. You can do cool Teens and Twenties builds with diamond frames.

Did you see this section?

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2118

There a bunch of cool diamond frame builds there.

 

[243]

I can't fit 700C's in this frame so I picked up a set of Trek 920 wheels off CL yesterday, put some cheap 1.25 slicks on it along with the stem from my daughter's 24" cruiser and some low rise bars I had in the bike tote. I am not happy with the stem and bars, the look is not right too me. I am still trying to decide if I want to keep the brakes or lace in a coaster hub, as of today I am leaning towards a coaster.

This is my other project, I bought this Trek Classic Cruiser 17 years ago and have put a lot of miles on it. Mostly neighborhood riding and for local trips where I would not want to lock up my nicer bikes. It helped me shed 50 lbs and I bought the same bike for my now EX wife and she rode with me twice. She wanted to give the bike to her sister so I swapped the almost new alloys onto my bike. I am getting close to 50 and carrying at least an extra 50 lbs again; all of these bike projects are multi-faceted, I like projects, I like bikes and this is motivation to ride again.

I don't plan to cut it up but do want to freshen it up a bit, I have a Black Ops 175mm crank and FSA R-Way sprocket to install today. If the stem does not clean up nice I will replace it with a similar GT or Haro stem or maybe a double clamp bmx stem and get new handlebars to match the originals that are rusted down to the bare steel. If I go double clamp stem, I would probably look for some lower rise, wider bmx/motorcycle type bars. Next will be a Brooks B66 saddle and a set of Holy Roller 2.4's.