My parents have some mountain bikes that are really collecting dust. I'm talking over a decade old. A few weekends ago out of boredom, I pull one down. Everything on the bike is original from wherever we bought it (Sportchek?). The tire says to pump to 30-50 psi. I pump it to 32 psi and it's sorta soft when I hop on. While pumping, I couldn't help fearing the possibility of the tire blowing up on me.
I'm semi interested in cleaning it up to the point I might be able to get 5-10 casual rides on bike paths this summer. Do I need to replace the tires/tube etc.? Honestly speaking, the bike probably doesn't meet bylaw requirements for reflectors, bells etc. It also doesn't have a kickstand. I'm guessing I'd need (total guess) $150 in tweaks to get it to meet bylaw requirements and basic safety things (reflectors, lights, kickstand, bell, cleaning supplies, grease etc.) but I also don't know if the age of the bike means I should just abandon it in general. This is also ignoring the fact the seat sucks and I need a helmet which would add numbers on top of that $150.
I have a few cycling buddies I could probably ask to help me tune and replace parts on this bike.
I've been glancing at this:
https://bikecalgary.org/safety
Would this bike even worth trying to "salvage"/"bring up to date"? My best guess is that it's an Iron Horse bike we picked up nearly 15 years ago at a Sportchek. I'm not looking to regularly ride to work or ride up and down mountains or anything like that. Just something I can perhaps use for a few hours on occasion to ride around inner city/downtown, on bike paths or at a random park.
Just a small project to do. Might be cool to have a bike to play with. But I am not really interested in buying a bike just for a few occasional rides.