rebuilding rocky mountain bike

[Steve]

I have an old school early to mid 90's rocky mountain hammer.

The bike was given to me from a relative b/c they were moving away and after having it sit in my
shed for several years collecting dust I decided that I'm going to pull it out to use....

basically after having a test ride I have concluded that it hops gears a lot, the brakes (v -brakes)
drag and don't open up smoothly or evenly when the lever is released.

I can tell from basic observation that it will need all new cables for the shifter and brakes as
well as new chain rings (they looked awfully rounded off) and perhaps a new gear pack on the back
(not sure what its called).

My question is: What should I look for when fixing this bike? Is it even worth my while to repair
all the gears and cables? The shifters are Shimano deore DX shifters so they're nothing special.

Ideally I would like to replace the shift knobs with deore lx or better ones and to at the very
least replace the front 3 chain rings and chain.

What is the likelyhood of the derailer (I know that isn't the right spelling) wearing out as well?

I'm am totally new to fixing mountain bikes and my expert friend is gone for a month before he
returns. What am I looking at for costs, possibility of shimano part interchangability (say for
example I want to install all XTR components or perhaps all Alivio components). The frame is in
excellent conditions and the tires are great.

Seat and handlebar changes would be nice too but I'm sure I can easily change those over without
much problem.

Suggestions to a lost and naive biker?

Thanks Steve

 

[Chris B.]

On Tue, 06 May 2003 06:08:29 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have an old school early to mid 90's rocky mountain hammer.
>
>The bike was given to me from a relative b/c they were moving away and after having it sit in my
>shed for several years collecting dust I decided that I'm going to pull it out to use....
>
>basically after having a test ride I have concluded that it hops gears a lot, the brakes (v
>-brakes) drag and don't open up smoothly or evenly when the lever is released.

Just a note, unless the brakes were changed at some point they are likely to be cantilever brakes.
V-brakes are Shimano's name for linear pull brakes which, unlike cantilevers, don't have a /\ shape
to the cable.

If they are cantilevers, here is an article on how to adjust them:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-adjustment.html

>I can tell from basic observation that it will need all new cables for the shifter and brakes as
>well as new chain rings (they looked awfully rounded off) and perhaps a new gear pack on the back
>(not sure what its called).

New cables will give very good return for the money invested and they might solve the dragging brake
problem entirely. If only one side is dragging, there is usually a way to adjust the spring tension
on one or both of the arms to balance them out.

The cogs at the back are either a cassette or they make up part of a freewheel. You can determine
what it is by looking at this page:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html

I'll bet your bike uses a 7-speed cassette. The chain will need to be replaced at the same time as
the cassette. I'd probably leave the chainrings until I changed the rest and see if it still
skipped. Most likely only the middle chainring would need replacing anyway.

>My question is: What should I look for when fixing this bike? Is it even worth my while to repair
>all the gears and cables? The shifters are Shimano deore DX shifters so they're nothing special.

DX was a very good MTB group, comparable to XT in quality and durability. I doubt you'll find better
quality 7-speed shifters being sold today. These are the "push-push" rapid fires, right?

I think that this bike is worth fixing up but I'm biased because I really like mountain bikes
of this era.

>Ideally I would like to replace the shift knobs with deore lx or better ones and to at the very
>least replace the front 3 chain rings and chain.

Most new MTB shifters being sold today are 9-speed, with some old stock 8-speed available. The
problem is that they require a wider cassette body than 7-speed so you would need to modify or
replace your rear wheel and if your frame measures 130 mm between the dropouts, it will need to be
set to 135 mm.

>What is the likelyhood of the derailer (I know that isn't the right spelling) wearing out as well?

Sheldon Brown to the rescue again:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_d.html#derailer

If the derailleurs are DX, I can tell you that they were made to last.

>I'm am totally new to fixing mountain bikes and my expert friend is gone for a month before he
>returns. What am I looking at for costs, possibility of shimano part interchangability (say for
>example I want to install all XTR components or perhaps all Alivio components). The frame is in
>excellent conditions and the tires are great.

In case you hadn't got the hint, http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home.html is a great resource.

I would suggest only upgrading the parts which are worn. If you definitely want new shiters and are
prepared to hassle with the rear wheel and frame, XT's would work very well and XTR's (which feature
a new design for 2003, I believe) would a little nicer and a lot more expensive. If you buy shifters
integrated with brake levers, they will not work properly with cantilever brakes, only linear pull
(V) or cable disc brakes.

Chris Bird

 

[Chris B.]

>>On Tue, 06 May 2003 06:08:29 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]> wrote:

>>I can tell from basic observation that it will need all new cables for the shifter and brakes as
>>well as new chain rings (they looked awfully rounded off) and perhaps a new gear pack on the back
>>(not sure what its called).

I wrote:

>New cables will give very good return for the money invested and they might solve the dragging
>brake problem entirely.

I should have pointed out that you should replace the cable housings as well as the inner cables.

Chris Bird

 

[Java Man]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> I have an old school early to mid 90's rocky mountain hammer.

A nice bike. I rode one for 4 years.
>
>
> My question is: What should I look for when fixing this bike? Is it even worth my while to repair
> all the gears and cables? The shifters are Shimano deore DX shifters so they're nothing special.
>
> Ideally I would like to replace the shift knobs with deore lx or better ones and to at the very
> least replace the front 3 chain rings and chain.

Deore DX may not be as light as XT or XTR, but if they're not damaged, they shift very well and are
quite durable. I suggest you keep them. Don't be fooled into trading "up" because new ones are
lighter or better looking. It won't make the bike any easier to ride or shift.

> What is the likelyhood of the derailer (I know that isn't the right spelling) wearing out as well?

Unless the derailer or hanger has been bent, it should shift fine when adjusted and with new cogs
and chainrings fitted.
>
> I'm am totally new to fixing mountain bikes and my expert friend is gone for a month before he
> returns. What am I looking at for costs, possibility of shimano part interchangability (say for
> example I want to install all XTR components or perhaps all Alivio components). The frame is in
> excellent conditions and the tires are great.

I wouldn't waste the money on new parts unless they're needed, and I would stick with the original
derailer, etc, unless what you have is bent or broken. Once you put new chainrings, chain, cables,
and cassette on the bike, it will shift and ride great. Sure, some will have more gears, but the
practical difference between 7 (I assume) and 9 speeds is much less than inexperienced riders think.
>
Rick