What to do with old very old mtb

Have an old MTB (Jamis from about 2000). It was stolen from me after a few months while out riding but managed to recover it a few months later. Rode it alot in my youth then sold it to a mate. Couple of years later I bought it back off my mate who didn’t use it. I stripped the paint off the frame and set it up as a winter single speed with rigid forks and have used it alot since. Now have an On One Whippet to replace it (currently set up single speed).

So it has some sentimental value to me but not worth much if I tried to sell it and don’t really know what to do with it. Everything on it is very old but good kit. For example some 4 pot XT discs that are great and have never needed a bleed since new.

Any ideas what to do with it?

Give it a deep clean and hang it on the wall in the front room and remember the days when it took you too the places you dreamed of……

Do you want to keep it, use it, pass it on?

By me there are charities that take bikes and sell them on, training folk up in bike mechanics en route.

Some of the parts might be worth selling.

Sounds like the frame won’t be.

I have a 1993 Kona for pub trips / leaving in the station.

It cost me less than two taxi fares and does the job very nicely.

2000 isn’t that old.

Keep it !

Sounds like a perfect pub, going into town bike. Or would be good for someone with a child seat on the back. Bikes always have a life beyond gnar.

I bought a pair of Specialized Crossroad tyres and put them on an old 26″ Charge Duster. No other changes. I now have a flat bar gravel bike.

I put big apples and a rack on the front of an old cheap Kona and it’s great for family potterings, pub and small bits of shopping.

Give it away. Let someone else get some use/fun from it

Frame sounds fine, you’ll get money for it regardless. There’s plenty of demand for decent (and even not so decent) bikes, if you don’t want it pass it on to someone who does. Bike charities will also happily take it.

https://www.stridsland.com/

https://www.savetheratbike.com/

I’d Donate to one of these bike recycle charities/charity shop for the warm glow of doing something kind for your fellow human being!

Leave it in the corner of the garage and look at it wistfully every now and then….

Or sell it/give it to a charity.

I have a 1993 Kona for pub trips / leaving in the station.

It cost me less than two taxi fares and does the job very nicely.

Same here, except mine cost me well over a grand. (But then I’ve had it since new 😉)

Old MTBs make great shopping/station/pub/towing bikes.

I have an old (2002) Fisher hardtail. I did enquire on here about doing a drop bar conversion etc. to make it into a gravel bike. I’ve come to the conclusion that’s a dumb idea but I will stick some better sem-slick tyres on it and clean it up a bit so I can carry on using it to pull the kiddy trailer (also useful for shopping trips).

Bikes like this I give to friends/casuals without bikes – on the basis of keep-forever or give it back, ie. they can’t sell it, but otherwise its theirs to do with as they see fit, if it breaks in some way, they can fix it or give it back.

You’d be surprised how many people you know who are bike curious but don’t have the cash to spare – particularly on my partners side which tends to be less bikey.

I’ve had a few bikes that I’m emotionally attached to that I can let go of on this basis.

They are allowed to pass it on to someone else on the same basis if they get their own bike, or they can give it back, and it can go to someone else.

My oldest MTB is from 1986/1987 when they were still called ATB’s. Depending how it’s built up, it’s a commuter, exped tourer, gravel tourer or currently, ‘rufty tufty’ shopping bike.

It’s not worth selling even though they’re a bit sought after and I’d have to get something else to fill its place so there’s no point.

Yes it’s old and obsolete but ‘it’ doesn’t know that being just a bicycle.

As cynic-al says – donate to local bike recycling charity if you have one… our local charity were well pleased with the 1990 Cannondale’s I gave them and the box full of older parts.