TREK Sub-Species B.M.X.

Before I talk about the TREK Sub-Species. I have decided not to take on any more kids bikes of the "department store" variety. I would rather sell a bike that I know will perform well and will last. I may on occasion pick up a pristine bike of somewhat lesser quality. But it will have to be something exceptional.
Now back to the TREK Sub-Species. I found this bike at one of my favorite thrift stores. I could see it needed bmx tires and TekTro BMX Brake Shoes and that it was filthy. But there were a couple of unexpected surprises. First was the tubular tires, not sewn together but evidently glued shut with the tubes inside. The tires were badly worn, but I knew I had a "near new" set back in the shop. After trying to pry the tires off the wheels, with no success. I remembered that I also had tubes with that spare set of tires. So I reached for my new Stanley Combo knife and my side cutters and made quick work of removing the tires. When I removed the bicycle front axle and bearings
I found it was chewed-up pretty badly inside. So now I`m looking at new cups and bearings (front hub) and axle assembly and a couple of spokes and truing the wheel. Well I was going to stop -by "Cycle-Therapy" in Waterford anyway. Might as well take this mess with me and see if it is worth saving or maybe (if the price is right) just picking up a new front wheel. I had already called them the day before to inquire about a set of skins for the BMX`er.and I knew they would have the correct brake shoes.
Well James at Cycle Therapy hooked me up with a new wheel for a fair price and the set of skins (pads) and the brake shoes for the TekTro cantilever brake. Well back to the shop. I should mention the rear axle was ok. I degrease'd the axle and bearings and removed the single sprocket free-wheel and cleaned and lubed it up. Then polished up the alloy rim with some Mothers aluminum cleaner polish. It looked almost as good as the new front wheel. I had to brush (brass) and polish the handle-bars and clean-up the frame and forks. I replaced the nasty looking duct-taped saddle with a good used Raleigh saddle I had left over from a restoration. I also polished the seat post (mothers). And removed some paint from the front forks. There also had been some on the handle-bars. So I got the thing put together with the new skins ,tires, saddle and new front wheel. And I notice while cleaning the chain that the crank has a bad wobble. Straightening the chain-ring was a lot easier than I thought it would be. You gotta get lucky once in a while!
All in All I think it came out pretty good. It rolls nice (no drag). The aggressive Mongoose tires look good and dig-in real good. The wheels match and look good. And The Raleigh Sport Touring Saddle is small but comfortable. And I think the BMX Stem, Top-Tube & Handlebar Brace Pads look pretty good too. I have no problem mixing or changing brands. As long as it does what I want it to do and looks good doing it. I could care less who`s name is printed on it. Oh and the brake works great. And even though it has a cable the handle bar can rotate 1 full 360 no problem.
I guess if I learned anything while working on this bike it is. Before purchasing a bike for restoration or refurbishing. Look it over very carefully then look over it again!