Halloween is here and it has been a tradition of mine to have the flu on this day. I've had this thing for a few days, and along with the extreme stress of my job, constant running around to see my clients, training rides and getting behind on UGLY! Pads - this was the only outcome possible. I'm about 90%, but I still have this lingering cough and it just - sucks - ASS. Oh, well.
Surf City CX Race #1 is today, and although I wasn't going to race it, I wanted to go down to watch my brother. However, a client called and said he has a $XXX,XXX IRA rollover check waiting for me and he couldn't see me any other day but today; so I had to prioritize.
I've been posting my Eastern Traildigger 26" BMX Cruiser on Craigslist lately. I've been getting a lot of tire kickers from obviously younger (or people who prefer txt sp33lng) offering me $150.
no thnx, d00d.
So I put it up for trade (I was looking for a vintage mountain bike) and got this response:
Right away, I was intrigued, but I also knew that there was no way I could leave this pretty gem in the modified condition it was presented in. $300 is what it would take to turn this into a viable mountain/urban machine again.
I met the trade-man and we did an even swap. The fortunate part about the swap was that the bike shifted excellent. And, as he said, it was solid. Unfortunately, as I started to take it apart, I found some issues.
First, the Rock Shox fork steerer tube was way too short, and therefore you couldn't adjust the stem rise. I was disappointed at that, but most importantly, the headset was not appropriate. These Fishers used the "Evolution" headsets, which were threaded, oversized types introduced back in the late 80's. When you take a frame like this and try and "Frankenstein" 1 1/8" headsets with Evolution style headsets, it doesn't work. Believe me, I've tried. What you get is an extremely tight headset and crushed ball bearing cages.
The solution is to buy 37mm to 34mm reducer collars, press those into the headtube and viola! You have a modern 1 1/8" threadless compatible frame.
The Rock Shox fork is being replaced by a Surly 1X1, since I want to ride this as a rigid.
Along with the fork and reducer collars, I purchased a gawdy orange Race Face Atlas handlebar, Schwalbe Big Apple tires, a new seat, and some colorful odds and ends to bring it back to a 90's color scheme, circa Club MTV era. And yes, I have hot pink Oury grips being shipped that will look saucy on that orange handlebar. My water bottle will stay on the frame via a pink anodized waterbottle cage.
Of course, the stickers ALL had to come off. You are looking at a very worn, 20 year old paint job with the "zig zag" detail. What was once a beautiful day glow green, is now an avocado color. But, the patina of an old, faded paint job is great - so I proceeded to remove the stickers. Some of the stickers have been on there for so long, the images blocked the fading, and what you have is a "ghost" image of the sticker. I wish the paint was still in good condition, but part of me likes that aged look.
It would've been nice to have the original thumb shifters, brake levers, cantilever brakes and rigid fork, but the way I'm going to build this is going to make it into a very nice urban trekker. My goal is to ride the Strawberry Fields Forever ride on this thing.
Lastly, The frame may be a big too big for me (feels like a 19") with no sloping top-tube. It's about the same dimensions as my On-One Inbred 29'er, therefore the seat post won't be raised much. The bike elitist in me cringes at that, but the pragmatic part of me says "who cares?"
Here it is in the current state. Parts should be in next week and this should be done by next weekend, just in time of me getting over this flu bug.
Surf City CX Race #1 is today, and although I wasn't going to race it, I wanted to go down to watch my brother. However, a client called and said he has a $XXX,XXX IRA rollover check waiting for me and he couldn't see me any other day but today; so I had to prioritize.
I've been posting my Eastern Traildigger 26" BMX Cruiser on Craigslist lately. I've been getting a lot of tire kickers from obviously younger (or people who prefer txt sp33lng) offering me $150.
no thnx, d00d.
So I put it up for trade (I was looking for a vintage mountain bike) and got this response:
Hi
I have a aluminum Gary Fisher Tomac special....
I was going to sell it for 500 bucks.. It has new everything, rides, shifts, brakes perfect. rIMS ARE nos, OLDER, BUT JUST PUT ON A BIKE RECENTLY. WHEELS ARE TRUE. Matching Bontragers... FRONT shock is very new too. ROCK SHOX..
No problems..Period. It is a 16 speed, as I eliminated big fron sprocket for ground clearance.New front tire. New brakes, cables, rear shift derailer, inner tubes, etc..... WANNA TRADE???
Right away, I was intrigued, but I also knew that there was no way I could leave this pretty gem in the modified condition it was presented in. $300 is what it would take to turn this into a viable mountain/urban machine again.
I met the trade-man and we did an even swap. The fortunate part about the swap was that the bike shifted excellent. And, as he said, it was solid. Unfortunately, as I started to take it apart, I found some issues.
First, the Rock Shox fork steerer tube was way too short, and therefore you couldn't adjust the stem rise. I was disappointed at that, but most importantly, the headset was not appropriate. These Fishers used the "Evolution" headsets, which were threaded, oversized types introduced back in the late 80's. When you take a frame like this and try and "Frankenstein" 1 1/8" headsets with Evolution style headsets, it doesn't work. Believe me, I've tried. What you get is an extremely tight headset and crushed ball bearing cages.
The solution is to buy 37mm to 34mm reducer collars, press those into the headtube and viola! You have a modern 1 1/8" threadless compatible frame.
The Rock Shox fork is being replaced by a Surly 1X1, since I want to ride this as a rigid.
Along with the fork and reducer collars, I purchased a gawdy orange Race Face Atlas handlebar, Schwalbe Big Apple tires, a new seat, and some colorful odds and ends to bring it back to a 90's color scheme, circa Club MTV era. And yes, I have hot pink Oury grips being shipped that will look saucy on that orange handlebar. My water bottle will stay on the frame via a pink anodized waterbottle cage.
Of course, the stickers ALL had to come off. You are looking at a very worn, 20 year old paint job with the "zig zag" detail. What was once a beautiful day glow green, is now an avocado color. But, the patina of an old, faded paint job is great - so I proceeded to remove the stickers. Some of the stickers have been on there for so long, the images blocked the fading, and what you have is a "ghost" image of the sticker. I wish the paint was still in good condition, but part of me likes that aged look.
It would've been nice to have the original thumb shifters, brake levers, cantilever brakes and rigid fork, but the way I'm going to build this is going to make it into a very nice urban trekker. My goal is to ride the Strawberry Fields Forever ride on this thing.
Lastly, The frame may be a big too big for me (feels like a 19") with no sloping top-tube. It's about the same dimensions as my On-One Inbred 29'er, therefore the seat post won't be raised much. The bike elitist in me cringes at that, but the pragmatic part of me says "who cares?"
Here it is in the current state. Parts should be in next week and this should be done by next weekend, just in time of me getting over this flu bug.
Source: http://www.dionridesbikes.com/2010/10/halloween-post-sick-days-and-new.html
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