Bicycle Restorations, Builds and ...

No photo's sadly but my best bike was a 1974-75 Motobecane Grand Record with all Campy Nuvo Record equipment save the bars and the crankset. I ran a 5 speed cluster with a 13 tooth high gear. I had special 3 cross (I think) wheels on low flange Campy hubs with sewup rims and ran a 500 gram Raliegh tire. Paid $500.00 for the bike and $200.00 for the wheels.

Some where along the path I sold it but for the life of me I can't remember the transaction. I'm sure it was during my entry into Hot cars after college.
 
From the picks, I wouldn't do anything to that. It already looks mint, except for the tires. If it is as good as the picks, why would you even change it?

It needs the usual. Cables, bearings repacked, chain, brakes, lube and adjustments. It's sitting in my living room. Perfect time to rip it apart now.

Yours is very nicely done!
 
Here is another banshee I did. Old Bones sometimes need suspension.

I use the Michelin tires a lot, because they shed mud and water better than any other I have tried.




Sorry guys, for posting so much in this thread.... Bikes and audio are my true passions. I probably pedaled as many miles, as hours spent listening to my stereo.
 
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Just got done reading that thread. Nicely done with the old Schwinn. Now that I'm too old and slow to think about speed it might be kind of nice to build a few retro mods.

I'm in the same boat, too old to race, too young to give up the hobby. Vintage steel is comfortable Scuzzer. I've been in the Bike hobby for nearly 20 years now. What now makes it fun for me, Is I can now afford all those vintage used parts I once desired, but could never obtain. In this sense, it's much like electronics.
 
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Yea, vintage steel is comfortable Scuzzer. I've been in the Bike hobby for nearly 20 years now. What now makes it fun for me, Is I can now afford all those vintage used parts I once desired, but could never obtain. In this sense, it's much like electronics.

I've always ridden steel and even my road bike is an old Casati lugged steel rig. The only 2 bikes that weren't were a brand new Trek 9700 OCLV that I broke and the newer replacement frame that I also broke. As a large guy it never made any sense to save a pound on frame weight. I only bought the first OCLV because it was on closeout and the XTR group on it was about the same price as the whole bike. Trek swore (and I contacted them) that I wouldn't break it...

It's amazing how much cash you can throw at the cycling hobby. I've chosen not to even think about how much I spent during the 90's.
 
Cycling is like audio, you could spend as much cash as you want to, but you don't need too.

I've made blunders in both audio, and cycling. My largest cycling misfortune involved a thermoplastic / carbonfiber gt sts........ call it what you want. I Rode it about 7-8 times, and crashed it into a tree. cracked the frame in two places. It wasn't really mine yet, so I had to replace it.

My only salvation to this story, is the friend I rode most with, destroyed his frame on another tree the very next ride. I call it Karma, because the guy ridiculed me severely.

I used to ride some crazy stuff, I probably still do. But I now, only ride stuff I absolutely know I could handle, I used to ride stuff I thought I might be able to handle.
 
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Not really a restoration, but I rebuilt the beastie. I bought it back in '89 and over the next year or so replaced everything except BB. The frame is from the days before Trek when Klein was independent. These days it would be considered quite a retro ride, bordering on antique. :) It's got XT overbar thumbshifters. It originally had 2nd generation Rapidfire but I scrounged up the thumbies as they were going the way of the dinosaur. They saved me in a couple of races where I bashed the der and just switched to friction mode and rode on. The shocks are Manitou II elastomer which I just refurbed with NOS parts.

The drivetrain was built for climbing. It's got 180mm cranks with a low gear of 24/32. Add that to the stiff Klein frame and you can go up a sheer wall if you can keep from flipping backwards.

Now that I don't race anymore I need to swap out the stem for something a little shorter as this really lays me out flat. Great for speed but not all that comfy on a longer ride. Anybody got a 135mm, 10degree, threaded stem for a 1" steerer? :)

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Ahhhhh, from the days when a Klein was truly drool-worthy and it's even in late 80's teal! Nice one man. I learned on thumbshifters mostly in friction mode because I'd bash the old Trek into something and just get back on and ride. It took me forever to get used to index shifting...
 
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I also used to ride a Klein. It was a Pulse, the one I had was too small, and I ended up selling it. I flipped over the handlebars more times than I could count on that bike.

I'm still always on the watch out for a vintage klein large frame. There a fantastic bike. Yours looks really nice!
 
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Reynolds 531 Double butted Tubing rules. I once hit the back of a 63 ford at about 30mph (flew clear up over and landed in front of the car) when the driver stopped in the middle of a 3 lanes street to find a parking slot. And I was looking at a couple of skirts on the corner (just had time to twist out of the clips THANK GAWD) And while the bike was done it just bent the top tube and the down tube with a little buckle. The front wheel went all the way to the hub.
 
Not really a restoration, but I rebuilt the beastie. I bought it back in '89 and over the next year or so replaced everything except BB. The frame is from the days before Trek when Klein was independent. These days it would be considered quite a retro ride, bordering on antique. :) It's got XT overbar thumbshifters. It originally had 2nd generation Rapidfire but I scrounged up the thumbies as they were going the way of the dinosaur. They saved me in a couple of races where I bashed the der and just switched to friction mode and rode on. The shocks are Manitou II elastomer which I just refurbed with NOS parts.

The drivetrain was built for climbing. It's got 180mm cranks with a low gear of 24/32. Add that to the stiff Klein frame and you can go up a sheer wall if you can keep from flipping backwards.

Now that I don't race anymore I need to swap out the stem for something a little shorter as this really lays me out flat. Great for speed but not all that comfy on a longer ride. Anybody got a 135mm, 10degree, threaded stem for a 1" steerer? :)

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oh yes , I want one
 
Here is another one , its an early 80's Miata , I love to build bikes , I listen to my music and build bikes , any occasion I get.:yes:
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What miyata frame set is that, Is it there early TI frame? Miyata, was ahead of the curve for a while, and tried lots of unique materials.

The miyata I posted has a rear steel triangle, with an aluminum front. Miyata is probably the one brand that experimented the most with the available materials used in today's common frame designs.


That bike is really cool. Why did the manufactures, ever feel the need to go past a 7 speed cassette? I was upset when they went to 8, was upset again when they went to 9, and I don't even know if they they went to 10 yet. But I'm sure one day I will be upset again.
 
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I'll have to dig up some pictures when I get home of my summer commuter, a 90% original 1970s Peugeot UE-8.

Thankfully, one of the guys at the local bike shop is into old French bikes so parts are a little easier to come by. Over the winter, I need to fix the rear wheel (3 broken spokes), put a new shift lever on and fix the generator so it will disengage from the rear wheel.

Now that it's snowing, I'm riding my wife's newer mountain bike. Tghe first couple days getting used to rapid fire shifters, I found myself still reaching down to shift.
 
Here's my 1999? Litespeed-built Eddy Merckx titanium AX

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This is the second bike I've built up from a frame. Not really a "restoration". More of a retro-modern build.

I have a thing for British bikes. Eventually I'd like to find a nice one to restore properly (Jack Taylor, Hetchins, Ephgrave, etc...). I picked up this 1982 Mercian Vincitore on ebay a few years ago. As you can see by the Salsa stem period correctness was not the first priority with this one. Parts are a weird mix of Shimano, Suntour, and Campagnolo. It came that way for the most part.

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Here's my Davidson Impulse. It's on its third rear wheel since I bought it (the last one built by yours truly). I love this bike to death. It has a bad spray paint job thanks to its previous owner, which will at some point be corrected. It was apparently somebody's "beater". I swapped out the junky saddle, seatpost, stem, and bars for better/lighter stuff. The tires are crap, but I'm trying to work though all my parts bin tires before buying new ones.

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Sweeet Bikes guys ..That klein makes me think that in spite of the unbelievable deal I got I missed out on something.Usually when you pay $100.00 Doollars for a mountain bike you get to build it. Well all mine needed was a new set of wheels. I know there are always changes you can make but if you rode the bike I bought I am betting as long as you were my height you would not change a thing either. I picked up a Bontrager Titanium....... you know the Ti Lite Mountain bike that Keith only built about 750 of. A neighbor was moving back to Montana and because he never made friends with me over a 4 year period he kind of apologized by selling me this.You see for the whole 4 years I waved caled out and said hello everytime I saw him since he was a fellow Jeeper.He avoided me like the plague.Reason...???? Well he was from Montana and his job sent him to Metro Detroit...Much like a death sentence for him. And since years ago while in college he made friends he refused to this trip away from Montana. Why ,well because he hated to fly that much....The friends he made in college were already to much of a road trip situation without adding me from lovely Detroit.And when he tell me all this I explain how fellow Jeep owners wave dude. Then he says I was killin him...I said hey I was saying hi...He says yeah I know but you were hard not to make friends with waving snowmobiles ,motorcycles, Jeeps and motorhomes in my face....Not saying hello was hard.! Can you imagine such a situation ? He was told by his company it was a 3 to 6 month gig.4 years later he was still here..After I found out what he had sold me in the Bonty Titanium I forgave him but never got the chance to say it.Where ever you are neighbor up in Big Sky country you are thought of in high esteem. Thanks again.
 
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