You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My wife's old mountain bike (a 13" 2003 ish Specialized Rockhopper Comp WSD) has been hanging up unused for about 10 years. My very tall 8 year old daughter is now tall enough to ride it and I'm wondering how best to get it up and running safely. It has never been ridden very much so everything is in pretty good condition.
It's going to get new tyres, a smaller saddle, a shorter stem, new pedals and I'll be cutting down the bars a bit.
The brakes (Shimano BR M535) appear to work OK but would it be a good idea to change the fluid after it's been sitting around for so long? Do hoses or pads deteriorate?
The Manitou Axel Supers with adjustable 70-100mm travel miraculously still move but, as my daughter weighs about 28kg in socks, I doubt they will be of much use so I'm think of sticking some rigid forks on. These from on-one seem a good deal but I'm open to suggestions. Anything else I should look at?
I personally see no need to do anything with it ( except the fork ). Test the brakes, after that amount of time a bad previous bleed is going to show up.
Bleed the brakes and that's all I'd do. Exotic carbon fork a bit more than the On-One fork but should be a fair bit lighter which is a bonus for a smaller/lighter person: https://www.carboncycles.cc/?p=197
I've mothballed the wife's old hardtail with the intention it'll get rebuilt once my eldest is tall enough for it. Nice Genesis Altitude 853 frame, air PIkes and Hope wheels. Hoping the only thing I'll need to change will be the brakes as the current ones are knackered.
give the brakes a few good hard squeezes, then check for leaks.
shimano brakes are just (afaik) oil, which doesn’t really degrade much, so if they’re not leaking they’re fine.
Pads, try em see if they’re ok.
fork, I’d be looking to get those a service and some new seals.
tyres/tubes, all gear cables, id replace those.
my friend has a set of deore brakes which are 10+ years old and they still work fine, one was leaking from new, so I topped it up with 3in1 oil, still working a decade later.
fork, I’d be looking to get those a service and some new seals.
Yes.
Bit difficult to get the fork working for 28 kg kid...
But kids hate rigid forks and love some travel in the fork...
Yes - try to get the fork working.
Beside this - the bike sounds fine! Maybe check if there is still some grease in the hubs..
No real need to change fluid on Shimanos - it's oil based so won't have absorbed moisture or anything.