Today is windy—perhaps too windy for a good bike ride, and I don’t really have the time for a full ride anyway. But I needed to get more spinach, and I figured it wouldn’t be too bad heading out on my new-to-me-and-updated-by-me 1990 Trek Antelope 800. So I cruised against a 19mph headwind to Whole Foods. It was almost noon when I got back to the bike and I didn’t really want to go home yet, so off to The Cask why not? Overall I ended up with a little over 7 miles. I think a few changes are in order:
- I need to tilt the saddle up slightly given my riding position
- I would like to replace the tires with something fatter and maybe some TPU tubes for lighter rolling and comfort.
- I hadn’t quite tightened the stem enough, so near the end of the ride it kept tilting down slightly every time I hit the brakes! It’s fixed now. Ain’t budgin'.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve modded on this puppy:
- Nitto Technomic stem, 120mm, 26.0 clamp diameter
- Ron’s Ortho Bars from Crust
- Wolf Tooth Fat Paw grips
- Suntour Power Ratchet shifters (they are as awesome as people say)
- Suntour Radius front derailleur
- Shimano XTR M952 rear derailleur
- Cheapy Sunlite front rack with a Wald 1372 basket bolted down
- Those cute little Blue Lug front and rear lights that bolt on
- My resurrected Berthoud saddle, now with cro-mo rails
- 26.2 seat post from Velo Orange
- New Albion cranks, 42-26 with the chain guard removed (it looked a little goofy for this particular build)
- the cheap-o green plastic platform pedals I got when I bought my Space Horse back in 2023
I kept the Dia Compe brake levers because they look sweet and feel great, and for my first time setting up cantis, I think they stop my lard ass pretty well. I would maybe like a liiiiitle more range on the freewheel in the back, but damn if it doesn’t spin smooth. The wheels aren’t in the best shape, but they are true enough for these rim brakes, and they roll forever on their bearings. Overall this whole update process was terrific, and I think the build has largely been a success. I may still pursue a 650b conversion with the right set of v-brakes down the line, but I’m in no rush. This thing is fun to ride a fit for purpose (that purpose being chill rides over short distances).