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RV Adventure: Replace a Mountain Bike
Part 2

 

Let's begin part two by saying that "Old Blue's" frame is steel while the Trek is aluminum. Both are equally strong but the Trek is about 15% lighter.

I show you the stems from the two bikes mostly because it was the stem that kept me from just buying a suspension fork for "Old Blue". No quality suspension forks are made for a one inch stem found

A 1" stem on "old blue"
Click to see What's New at RVeCafe A threadless stem on the Trek on my 18 year old bike. All the new bikes and forks are made for the new threadless stem shown at the left. When I was in the 6th grade I bought an old Schwinn 3 speed frame for $3 and built it into an 18 speed road bike. By the time I was finished I had spent more than what a new Schwinn road bike would have cost me and I still had an "old" bike. So I knew the pitfalls of trying to upgrade my 18 year old
 

bike with new parts.

The brakes on Old Blue work. Both the front and rear wheels can be locked-up with the brake levers. But the new disc brakes on the Trek are marvelous and a close second reason to replace Old Blue. They require much less effort and I'm still learning how to control them without locking up my wheels all the time and flying over the handlebars.

"U" brakes on old blue's rear wheel
  Hydrolic disc brakes on the Trek's rear wheel The Trek has hydraulic disc brakes on both front and rear wheels. I mentioned the price of components in part 1 contributing to the high price of the bike. These brakes purchased alone are better than $200. Note that it would take a special wheel and frame to fit these brakes so they are not something you can decide to add to an old bike designed for a different type of brake system.
  I always liked the simplicity of these old cantilever brakes. They are easy to release when I needed to remove the front wheel for transport, easy to adjust and reliable. Cantilever brake in the front of "old blue"
  Hydrolic front disc brakes on the Trek You will have to admit how clean and sharp this front disc brake looks.
  Return to Part 1
Continue to Part 3
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