Author Topic: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion  (Read 8334 times)

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #50 on: 06 March, 2021, 11:00:21 pm »
any specific thing I should be doing?

Oh gosh, I'm not sure I can remember that much detail that far back.

If you were to ask my Mum, she'd be very definite about not doing it in the house under any circumstances. All my memories of it are very much located in the back garden. I think there was a *lot* of practise, by virtue of us living in a tiny village and there not being much else to do. Maybe quite a lot of single club work to get the hang of how the spin worked. Then I developed boobs and it became an anatomically incompatible past-time.

Wowbagger

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Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #51 on: 23 March, 2021, 10:04:06 pm »
My younger son was/is a very accomplished juggler. I'm pretty sure he has juggled clubs. He hasn't grown boobs though.
Quote from: Dez
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Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #52 on: 24 March, 2021, 08:55:56 am »
Some hoops have arrived. I will not be juggling with them.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #53 on: 24 March, 2021, 09:01:13 am »
Ooh, what bits did you order?
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #54 on: 24 March, 2021, 11:49:53 am »
Deore 610 hubs with Exal LX17 rims.

I ordered a Stronglight bottom bracket too, whilst Baldwins are still failing to send me the UN55 I ordered. I think that means I've got everything to build up a rideable bike now. Stem will be something to revisit, and mudguards and rack are still outstanding, but I want to ride it a bit first and see where we're at.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #55 on: 24 March, 2021, 12:48:27 pm »
That Exal looks chunky. Hope the build goes well.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #56 on: 24 March, 2021, 08:33:56 pm »
Lx17 in 26” form. That should be tough!

Kim

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Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #57 on: 24 March, 2021, 10:53:37 pm »
I've had one on the back of the Streetmachine for a couple of metric yonks, and fully expect it to die of corrosion (of which there is some, but not alarming, evidence below the rim tape).  It helps that the rim brake is only used as a parking brake.

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #58 on: 25 March, 2021, 04:47:14 pm »
They weren't the chunkiest of Spa's sturdy touring offerings!

I've similar exals on my tourer and possibly the current commuter too. They're getting a lot of abuse from bits of grit getting lodged in my brake pads, so a bit of chunk on the braking surface is probably no bad thing.

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #59 on: 05 April, 2021, 07:50:11 pm »

*** MAIDEN VOYAGE! ***

I panicked for the first 30 seconds of riding, fearing I'd made a serious administartive error and invested a load of time and money in something that was too small for me. But it soon became apparent that it felt odd because it wasn't too big for me - this is new!

After checking out the newly re-opened Lune path, I engaged Adventure Mode on a succession of ruff stuffs.














It rides really nicely! Same chainset that I use on my tourer and commuter; I spent a remarkable amount of time in the big ring!

The handlebars are Ergotec Space Bugels, and the width and sweep of those suit me very well it seems.
Cables cut quite long for now whilst I figure out what to do about handlebar position and experiment with baggage on the bars.

The saddle is a Specialised Power Expert from Ebay. I've not used these before, but we did well considering our first encounter was 26 bumpy miles and I've barely done more than 2.6 miles in any saddle so far this year. Hard to tell what's due to the saddle and what's due to a better fitting bike at this stage...

The gear shifters are Deore spec, also from ebay. I'm used to Acera shifters on my Dawes and wasn't expecting to miss the plastic-y clacks as it indexes between gears. Cockpit set-up is always a compromise because things are never sized to accommodate smaller hands, so I have to move around on the bars quite a lot to change gears. The audio feedback that I've been able to stretch far enough to change to a larger sprocket turns out to be quite useful! These quieter ones are going to take a bit of getting used to...

I didn't do a huge amount on tarmac, but I didn't feel like I was fighting the Double Fighters when I did. They (1.9") were, unsurprisingly, noticeably more stable on the bumpy stuff than the 32mm Marathons on the Galaxy. I had the pressure up near max, so might reduce that a bit to benefit a bit more from the cushioning.

V-brakes also an improvement on the Galaxy cantilevers!

Trouble is, now I'm a bit reluctant to put mudguards and rack on it to enable Commuter Mode  :facepalm:




Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #60 on: 05 April, 2021, 08:01:42 pm »
Looking good! And the self-knitted hoops are looking... circular and shiny.  :thumbsup:
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Kim

  • Timelord
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Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #61 on: 05 April, 2021, 08:57:05 pm »
Good stuff!    :thumbsup:

(Is a Space Bugel what you use to wake a platoon of Space Marines?)

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #62 on: 05 April, 2021, 10:31:52 pm »
Just the one space cadet here...

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #63 on: 18 April, 2021, 10:18:01 pm »
And the self-knitted hoops are looking... circular and shiny.  :thumbsup:

I put them back on the truing stand and, even though I'd not gone to super tight tolerances first time around, they didn't need much tidying up after that test ride.

Today it got its proper initiation:







The stepping stones made it apparent it is not a light bike, but I don't really notice it when I'm riding. I still like it  ;D :thumbsup:

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #64 on: 19 April, 2021, 08:50:08 am »
Lovely ford!
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

BrianI

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Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #65 on: 20 April, 2021, 10:19:42 pm »

*** MAIDEN VOYAGE! ***

I panicked for the first 30 seconds of riding, fearing I'd made a serious administartive error and invested a load of time and money in something that was too small for me. But it soon became apparent that it felt odd because it wasn't too big for me - this is new!

After checking out the newly re-opened Lune path, I engaged Adventure Mode on a succession of ruff stuffs.














It rides really nicely! Same chainset that I use on my tourer and commuter; I spent a remarkable amount of time in the big ring!

The handlebars are Ergotec Space Bugels, and the width and sweep of those suit me very well it seems.
Cables cut quite long for now whilst I figure out what to do about handlebar position and experiment with baggage on the bars.

The saddle is a Specialised Power Expert from Ebay. I've not used these before, but we did well considering our first encounter was 26 bumpy miles and I've barely done more than 2.6 miles in any saddle so far this year. Hard to tell what's due to the saddle and what's due to a better fitting bike at this stage...

The gear shifters are Deore spec, also from ebay. I'm used to Acera shifters on my Dawes and wasn't expecting to miss the plastic-y clacks as it indexes between gears. Cockpit set-up is always a compromise because things are never sized to accommodate smaller hands, so I have to move around on the bars quite a lot to change gears. The audio feedback that I've been able to stretch far enough to change to a larger sprocket turns out to be quite useful! These quieter ones are going to take a bit of getting used to...

I didn't do a huge amount on tarmac, but I didn't feel like I was fighting the Double Fighters when I did. They (1.9") were, unsurprisingly, noticeably more stable on the bumpy stuff than the 32mm Marathons on the Galaxy. I had the pressure up near max, so might reduce that a bit to benefit a bit more from the cushioning.

V-brakes also an improvement on the Galaxy cantilevers!

Trouble is, now I'm a bit reluctant to put mudguards and rack on it to enable Commuter Mode  :facepalm:

Lovely looking bike, and comfy looking handlebars!  :thumbsup:

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #66 on: 21 April, 2021, 10:22:49 am »
Lovely ford!

That whole section of track made us grin! Great place for harvesting wild garlic, too.
I'm not sure the water level will ever be low enough to ride through, and from the photo someone's put on Google maps, it looks like the stones can get very submerged, so it'll be an interesting one to get to know.

Lovely looking bike, and comfy looking handlebars!  :thumbsup:

Thanks! Yeah, the bars are working well for me. Only done maybe 50-60 miles on them so far, but I like them.

I'd gone to an On One Fleegle on my hardtail, and that was an improvement on the stock bars, so I thought I'd try something with a bit more sweep still. The trick will be in trying to remember they're not mtb bars and I shouldn't abuse them too much!

Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #67 on: 23 April, 2021, 02:06:35 pm »
Put a rack on it.



















(click to show/hide)

I'm starting to detect a few bumps and rattles now, so time for a tune-up, but other than that it's still a delight to ride!

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: 1995 Trek 820 to adventure commuter conversion
« Reply #68 on: 23 April, 2021, 02:46:48 pm »
Uggle Lane... I don't think that's Covid safe, unless it's with someone in your 'ubble.  ;D



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Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.