# Rebuilding/Upgrading 1996 Trek Mountain Track 800



## Brandon Lew (Jul 3, 2013)

Hey everyone, so I've been riding my vintage 1996 Trek Mountain Track 800 for a little over a year now and I was wondering what upgrades I could do to it.

- Is it possible to get a newer groupset for this bike? and if so, can someone refer to me a link(s) where i can get them?

- Will this fork work on my bike? Exotic Rigid Carbon UD Finish Fork 1 inch Steerer 39 cm Disc V for MTB 26" | eBay

- For the fork, is it possible to install Cantilever brakes on a V-brake mount? them seem to be in almost identical spots.

Thanks ahead, I'm really loving my rigid mountain bike and even though it is really old, I've learned so much from riding it and I wanna just upgrade some parts to update it a little without having to get rid of the bike I've made some great memories with.

"love your bike and it will love you back." Kris (MTBtips) youtube.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Personally, I would ride it as is, into the ground or when the wheels fall off, and buy a newer, better bike. 

Perfectly decent, absolute entry level, recreational style bike, (which there's nothing wrong with owning and riding I might add), but it's not going to be nearly as well suited to the trail as what I refer to as a "trail worthy" MTB.

Top tube is shorter, and the position far more upright are the common themes of your bike style. Great for comfy upright cruising around and light duty trail riding, but not really positioning the rider well for MTB riding as a sport.

Upgrading to anything better than what's on there, is a waste of money. If something breaks, and you're of modest means, certainly replace it with kind and keep on riding, but better parts? It'd be like one of those Plymouth Neons that get lowered, huge chrome wheels and rubber band thick tires, spoilers front and rear, a huge exhaust pipe and a thump system. You can dress it up, but it's still a POS Neon...... 

And yes, V brakes and cantis can go on the same mounts, as for the fork, I'd need more info to be of use, but see my comments above about anything better on that bike. 

Have fun, and start saving your pennies!


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## Brandon Lew (Jul 3, 2013)

It's quite strange how the geometry of my Trek is quite different from the ones I see online so to be totally honest, even though it is an entry level bike, I doesn't sit that high. I've seen some that look like tall standing semi road bikes, however mine is a lot more low profile and more aggressive looking than what I see online. 

Anyways, the fork is suppose to be a 1 in steerer fork with v - brake mounts. My bike I think is 1 in, all I know about my headset is 1 in YST 8002 or something, but I don't know whether carbon 1in steerer fork is compatible with my bike or not since I'm not bike savy or know a lot mechanically


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Someone may have swapped out the upright bars and stem for lower/flatter. It's still going to be at least an inch or so shorter in TT length than a comparable sized, say, 930 from the same time. Translates into more upright, as well as the front wheel being closer to you, thus, more endo prone once you start to really use the bike as intended. 

If the fork is an alloy steerer, or steel, and threaded, it may work, but could be different in a number of ways that will lead you down a rabbit hole of hassle. 

Unless your current one is broken, I'd not bother, and if you need a fork replaced, I'd talk to a local shop about it, too many variables like crown press diameter, axle to crown, threaded vs threadless, length of thread if threaded, cable housing stop mounts, etc, as well as several specialty tools to to certain aspects of the installation to just buy a fork and pop it on.

Ride it like you stole it, and buy a better bike down the road if you're having a good time in the woods! Like the look and feel of older bikes? This is the place to get your stoke on, but bikes that sold for $300 BITD won't get much love, kinda like how there's not too many fan sites for Chevy Citations or Chevettes.....


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