Is my bike sufficient?

[bonovox_co]

I bought a Trek 7200 in 2005 and haven't ridden it much.  It's in good shape collecting dust in the basement.  I want to get back into biking and really am a novice when it comes to bikes, working on bikes, etc.., but I'd like to learn more.  I'm curious what others think in terms of the bike being sufficient to "get back out there!." 

[TreesBikesLove]

If it has working brakes and pumped up tires, get out there! Just ride for leisure and fun. Ride to that local coffee shop you've been meaning to try out. Ride to the top of a hill and look around. Ride to a nature park and then take a hike.

Just get out there and ride :)

[yachi]

If it has working brakes and pumped up tires, get out there! Just ride for leisure and fun. Ride to that local coffee shop you've been meaning to try out. Ride to the top of a hill and look around. Ride to a nature park and then take a hike.

Just get out there and ride :)

It'll probably need air in the tires, but that doesn't mean you should get a new bike.  There is a tube inside the tire, watch where the tire meets the rim, that you don't pinch the tube.

[acepedro45]

Bikes are not only sufficient, they're necessary!

[vhalros]

The Trek 7200 is a perfectly serviceable bicycle for utility bicycling.  Its not going to be the most pleasant thing to go for long trips (> 20 miles) or to go fast, but you can certainly ride it recreationally for fun as well. You may want to add some accessories to it, but you can figure out what you need at some later point.

[Aggie1999]

Looks pretty much the same as my hybrid mountain bike. I guess that is what it's called. Shocks on front fork, hard rear end. I rode mine 290 miles up and down the neighborhood streets and to the grocery store in the month of March. Seems to work fine.

[marielle]

I thought the title said "efficient" at first, then I started wondering how I'd do a cost calculation of how much extra food you'd have to eat to power a bike...

I started on a shitty Walmart bike that cost less than $100 new, and at the time had only one working gear. Everything was rusted. If you're not riding the shitty one, you won't ride a new one.

Probably wasn't the safest but I didn't know any better until I started reading MMM a few months later and got a new bike.

[BlueMR2]

That's a far better bike than my primary "get around town" bike.  Get out there and use it!

[honeybbq]

Of course - ride it regularly for a year and then consider an upgrade if it's not performing how you want.

[GhostSaver]

If it has been sitting for that long, you may need to replace the tubes in the tires.

You almost certainly need to live the chain and the brake and shifter cables.

It's a perfectly good bike for riding around town.

[spokey doke]

If it has working brakes and pumped up tires, get out there! Just ride for leisure and fun. Ride to that local coffee shop you've been meaning to try out. Ride to the top of a hill and look around. Ride to a nature park and then take a hike.

Just get out there and ride :)

(mostly) ^This^

Brakes and derailleurs may need adjustment to work well, but that is a very easy fix, either for you (with YouTube to help), or at a shop.  Tires may need new tubes or replacement...same deal.  You would also be amazed at what a little chain hygiene will do...wipe it off with an old rag, run some Tri-Flow or other basic chain lube on it...wipe it off again (repeat until it is moving nicely again).

Many of the decent bikes you might find on craigslist for cheap typically need the same treatment, or more, so you may as well just start with what you have...enjoy the breeze!

[sw1tch]

My example is kind of similar:

I had a 2007 Trek FX 7.2 that I bought in 2007.  I think I totaled something like 30 miles on the thing since then until June of last year.

Since I started, I logged ~ 1200 miles.  Maintenance I've done are: adjusted the derailleurs, tightened some cables and adjusted the brakes.  I also lube the chain pretty often.  Everything is pretty easy to learn; just takes practice.

I'm still on the original brake pads but have another set that'll need to be installed soon.  I might replace the chain as well since it went through the whole winter and is starting to look pretty beat up.  The original tires are holding up great as well; however, I have had to change 3 tubes due to punctures.

[spokey doke]

My example is kind of similar:

I had a 2007 Trek FX 7.2 that I bought in 2007.  I think I totaled something like 30 miles on the thing since then until June of last year.

Since I started, I logged ~ 1200 miles.  Maintenance I've done are: adjusted the derailleurs, tightened some cables and adjusted the brakes.  I also lube the chain pretty often.  Everything is pretty easy to learn; just takes practice.

I'm still on the original brake pads but have another set that'll need to be installed soon.  I might replace the chain as well since it went through the whole winter and is starting to look pretty beat up.  The original tires are holding up great as well; however, I have had to change 3 tubes due to punctures.

if your chain is badly rusted or bent, that is a good reason to replace it, but clean and lube it first (I actually alternate between a lube with a cleaner in it , like Rock 'n' Roll, and Tri-flow (that lasts longer in my experience).  Otherwise, it is pretty simple to measure the wear...

http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/bicycle-chain-wear-explained-46015/

[sw1tch]

My example is kind of similar:

I had a 2007 Trek FX 7.2 that I bought in 2007.  I think I totaled something like 30 miles on the thing since then until June of last year.

Since I started, I logged ~ 1200 miles.  Maintenance I've done are: adjusted the derailleurs, tightened some cables and adjusted the brakes.  I also lube the chain pretty often.  Everything is pretty easy to learn; just takes practice.

I'm still on the original brake pads but have another set that'll need to be installed soon.  I might replace the chain as well since it went through the whole winter and is starting to look pretty beat up.  The original tires are holding up great as well; however, I have had to change 3 tubes due to punctures.

if your chain is badly rusted or bent, that is a good reason to replace it, but clean and lube it first (I actually alternate between a lube with a cleaner in it , like Rock 'n' Roll, and Tri-flow (that lasts longer in my experience).  Otherwise, it is pretty simple to measure the wear...

http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/bicycle-chain-wear-explained-46015/

Thanks for the article.  I have a chain wear measurement tool but haven't used it yet.  Mostly I think it's just surface rust and I'll give it a good soaking in some kind of solvent (probably mineral spirits or denatured alcohol).  It actually still works great and isn't clunky or bent; since winter has passed I don't have to lube it as much anymore; probably once every week or every other week.

[Reynolds531]

Save your money on the chain wear tool. You should measure how close pins are to center to center at 12 inches. That should show you any stretch.

....Old man goes back to his 1991 bianchi.

[spokey doke]

Save your money on the chain wear tool. You should measure how close pins are to center to center at 12 inches. That should show you any stretch.

....Old man goes back to his 1991 bianchi.

I still have my 1991 epic stumpjumper (with the straight carbon tubes and chomo lugs)...a decent townie bike

[Reynolds531]

Sweet bike!