# Vintage Kastle Tour Randonnee



## pancakeplatoon (Jul 8, 2014)

I was just given a matching set of his and hers Kastle mountain bikes. I can not find any information about them and was looking for some wisdom. Can any body give me some info on these or point me in the right direction? I am looking to fix a couple broken pieces, but parts seem to be quite hard to find.
I am on my phone please look here for picture 
http://forums.mtbr.com/beginners-corner/vintage-kastle-tour-randonnee-921159.html#post11311136

Th


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## 70sSanO (Nov 20, 2013)

From the description on the other thread, nothing that is missing or broken is unique to Kastle. Bike manufacturers did not manufacture the components they put on their frames. If you need to find old components, it is best to start on ebay as all sorts of various older used and NOS Shimano, Suntour, etc. parts can be found.

You may need to get educated on bike maintenance and compatibility so you can basically replace, adjust and lube whatever needs to be done. Bikes are really simple to work on; you just have to learn how to do stuff. There are tons of Youtube videos that will teach you just about anything you need to know.

John


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## pancakeplatoon (Jul 8, 2014)

Thank you! I am not going to lie, and I am sure everyone and there grandmother can tell that I am new to mountain bikes/bike maintenance. Since I have gotten these bikes I have been very excited to start fixing them up and tuning them for me and my girlfriend. I look forward to learning!
Thank you for the help.


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## 70sSanO (Nov 20, 2013)

Once you get going on fixing them, it can become addictive, especially the older bikes. One thing to remember is that a lot of older parts are interchangeable within manufacturers. The Shimano pecking order is XTR (Top of the line), XT, LX or Deore (depending on how old), STX.Acera, Alivio, Tourney (not sure on the last few as I try to stick with XT for the most part).

You can replace a Suntour compnent with a Shimano component, except for index shifting, which usually won't work. Friction shifting is fine for either. You have cantilever brakes, so if you decide to go with V-brakes you will need to swap out the brake levers.

Here is a site that will give you all sorts of bike info...

Articles by Sheldon Brown and Others

John


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

I sold those new out of a ski / bike shop in which I worked. That is a 1991 model year bike with Shimano Deore level components on it. 

Sometimes those STI shifters go bad. If you are unable to find 7 speed under the bar shifters, you can replace them with a more reliable thumbshifter, but you will also have to replace the brake levers.


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