[SamT]

Eyup folks - not posted on UKb for a long while, but been lurking. 
I'm a bit of a bike Luddite, and wouldn't know my XT from LX  (only bit of bike kit phraseology I know).
Could do with a bike for just pelting round town, going to the pub/mates house/ school run etc. and one I can leave chained without fear of it being stripped of components etc .

I'm on a limited budget, and want spend as little as possible whist not ending up with kit made from cast iron.

I've got an old Trek 7000 c1995 rotting in the garage, that I've just pulled out and stripped.



Shifters and brakes are LX and fine - as are handlebars, headset, bottom bracket, cranks, peddles, saddle etc.

I reckon it needs new wheels/tyres, would like to fit some V brakes, new drive train i.e. chain wheel, chain and rear cassette.

Reckon Derailleurs which are XT ones should suffice with a bit of attention.

Both JE James and Edinburgh Cycle co were shit when I went in to speak to them, quite simply not interested in selling me anything.

I've looked on CRC and have priced up some kit -

Wheels - £92 - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=52990
or should I just be thinking of something cheaper along the lines of the BrandX ones at half the price.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=64575

Chain - what the f*ck difference is there between a 6 quid chain and a 20 quid chain - clearly the £190 one does the pedalling for you yeah?
I haven't the foggiest which I'd choose from this seemingly endless list...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=148&SortBy=Price
Any hints/tips anyone.

Chain Rings - Bit of a problem on this one - my cranks are 5 bolts, nearly everything these days seems to be 4 bolts - apart from road ones - which are 5. Was thinking of just getting an outer and middle ring, and leaving off the baby.
see pick of my crank below. 

Would any 5-bolt chain ring fit (i.e. a road one) - or are they all different. what does BCD refer to.
Seems like Middleburn are the only 5 bolt MTB chain rings available (at crc), but would rather not have to fork out 50 quid for a full set of 3.

Cassette - shifters are 7sp, and I'm presuming any new rear wheel I get will have a freehub on, so I need a 7sp cassette - yeah?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=572&SortBy=Price
No idea of the difference between the HG30, HG50 or the SRAM one. Cheapest ??

Do the cassette, chain ring and chain all have to be matched in some way - or are all the brands/types interchangeable. I'm under the impression that you should replace them all together - since they all wear together. (my chain rings are pretty shonky looking).

V Brakes - again - so much choice,
 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=561&InStockOnly=true&SortBy=Price
probably just thinking 15 quid Deore V brakes - or should I just save a tenner and go for the 9.99 Acera ones. what do I buy with my extra fiver for deore, or tenner is I go to LX.

Tyres -
Was just thinking something like these http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=58799
still going to be £25 for 2 though.

So thats where I'm at (which is hopelessly confused) and shy of forking out close to 200 quid when I may be flogging a dead horse.

I guess I want to know if
a: the above bits will work together,
b: Is CRC the right place to be looking - or is there somewhere better.  I'm guessing 2nd hand stuff (ebay??) is a bit of a no no for chains/rings/wheels etc
c: should I just go out and buy a brand new hybrid from decathlon or somewhere for 200 quid.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[peewee]

Personally I think getting a new bike for £200 ish would be the better option as you don't have the phaff of getting it all set-up and working. The kit you get on new basic bikes these days is pretty good compared to what it used to be.

Pete

[galpinos]

... what does BCD refer to.....

I know chuff all about bikes but BCD stands for Bolt Centre Diameter, ie the distance of the centre of the bolt from the centre of the crank/ring.

[erm, sam]

Sam, there is quite a bit of cheap stuff with old details such as 5 bolt, square taper chain rings etc on http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=c1c895a503d64ea540cef37c71333e2b
I don't think going this way is particularly cheap though as one can tend be drawn into a murky world of vintage kit and obbession....

I have bought wheels and quite a bit of stuff from sellers on Retro bike and it has all been good.

Is your chain rusted solid? If the drive chain is functional you could start by just buying v brakes and new tyres, get riding and sort the rest out later.

[Norton Sharley]

Give me a ring - I've got some spares that are likely to fit

[SamT]

cheers guys
re BCD - yeah - that makes sense.

Cheers for the link sam - I had a squiz at the site the other day (following your orig recommendation) but clearly was looking in the wrong sections.

Tempted by the LX stuff on there at the moment, but will wait to see what Norton has in his shed.
 

[northerngreg]

... what does BCD refer to.....

I know chuff all about bikes but BCD stands for Bolt Centre Diameter, ie the distance of the centre of the bolt from the centre of the crank/ring.

Close but BCD stands for Bolt Circle Diameter, the diameter of the circle described by the bolts. Read this article here to find out what your BCD is.

If you're going to V brakes, it would be advisable to run V Brake specific levers otherwise the original levers don't pull enough cable causing them to feel very spongy.

It is always best to replace chain, cassette and rings together, you are quite correct. TA still make chainrings to fit, but they are expensive. If you buy a new rear wheel, it won't have a 7 speed freehub body it will most probably be 9 speed so you'll need a spacer to take up the extra space. The difference in price between chains is weight, materials and machining - more expensive chains are profiled to shift smoother under load whereas cheaper chains will be more clunky. I swear by SRAM, a PC830 is cheap and will do the job. SRAM or Shimano 7 speed cassettes will work for you.