I’m looking for a commuter bike for a new job I am starting. I know very little about bikes, more than nothing but certainly a beginner. I stumbled upon this Trek bike that looked to be in good shape, and what looked like a good price, $250, at my local pawn shop. However, what I quickly realized is that the entire rear braking system is missing. No cable, calipers, nothing. Very strange I thought. I told staff and they said they’d do $200. So what I am wondering, is

1) is this a good deal

2) could someone with decent knowledge of bikes (I tried to fix one of the bikes I had as a teen so I learned the basics) fix this themselves

3) and what would I need and how much would I expect to pay?

Any help on this would be much appreciated. I included photos of the whole bike, the front system, and then the (non-existent) rear system

by MatisseThybulle22

2 Comments

  1. willingzenith on

    Not sure what it would cost to fix but definitely get a good idea before proceeding. The price seems high to me. These go for $499 new. If you have to put $100 in it, might as well buy new.

  2. Mechanical disks are pretty easy to set up, you can probably get a close to free set with a bit of legwork. It’s common to have them removed and replaced with hydraulics. I know my old store had a bin of mech discs in fine working order. All that you appear to be missing is some cabling, an adapter and the caliper itself. The brake lever is still there. 

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