Semi OT - Bicycles

[Jeepnut22]

Yeah, it's a knife board, but wanted to share and see what folks have... Oh, and these are all users. No Bike Rack queens in my garage yet.

First, my '86 Cannondale Road Bike. Some parts upgraded to more modern components, some original '86 Campy and Suntour stuff that still works great:

Nice and Ugly!

Campy Brakes:

Suntour Cranks and Front Derailer:

Newer Uprades
Shimano 105 Read Derailer:

Mavic Wheelset:

Complete Front End:

 

[Jeepnut22]

On to the Mt. Bike!!

'92 Bontrager Race Lite (Pre-Trek). Old School 1" Head Tube!! Man I love this bike. It is soooooo silky smooth to ride.

Kooka Cranks!

XT Nonsense:

XT Brake levers w/ yes, Old School Grip Shifts I've had since the mid/eary '90s!!

Front Mavic Wheel w/ Disk Brake:

Rear Mavic Wheel w/ XTR Hub and Red Spoke Nipples:

 

[Jeepnut22]

Both bikes work exceptionally well. Frames are a testament to the more hand made era of Made in the USA Bike manufacturing.

These two will get a brother later this Spring (layaway). A new Specialized Enduro SL Expert:

The first new bike in over 15 years...

 

[xaman]

Nice rides Phil! I love the old school Cannondale...

 

[Bob W]

Nice bikes, especially that Specialized! Haven't seen any like that before.

Both bikes work exceptionally well. Frames are a testament to the more hand made era of made in the USA Bike manufacturing

When bike shopping a couple of years ago, it was nearly impossible to find a Made in USA frame. Got lucky and found a shop in the city selling these Monument Cycles:

It seems these "Monument Cycles" frames were contracted just for that one bike shop, and they were made by the same company that makes (made?) frames for Turner, Ellsworth, and others.

Sadly I don't ride much. If the weather's right for mountain biking, I'm probably riding the Volusia or the S2000 instead...

 

[KeithAM]

Here's some older old school -- 1972 Mercian Professional I've had since age 14 -- many 1000s of miles on this one. Many of the components have worn out and been replaced. Original finish with real life road dirt -- this is and always been a user. The amazing thing is they still make them in England. www.merciancycles.com

 

[Jeepnut22]

Man that is sweet!! Dig the saddle and the old school mavic hub! :thumbup:

 

[KeithAM]

Man that is sweet!! Dig the saddle and the old school mavid hub! :thumbup:

Thanks. Your bikes are cool too. I especiallly like the 'Dale -- great choice of components, and those older style frames were built to last with robust, well finished welds. :thumbup:

 

[BlackHills]

Love that old Bontrager Jeepnut. Those were sweet. I've got a set of powder coated Kookas setting in a box waiting for a project.
BTW, the brakes on the Cdale are Dia Compe not Campy. I think Suntour only made road brakes for the Superbe Pro group and every other Suntour group came with Dia Compe brakes.

Nice looking bike Bob. I'm not familiar with those, looks like it has some nice welds.

Keith, the Mercian is a beauty. I used to live near Maplewood Cycles who were the importers for Mercian. I love lugs on a road bike.

Old school I can do (sorry if a couple of these pics aren't great, they're pre-digicam. I do need to get some newer pics one of these days)

1989 Cannondale MTB (US made), everything has been replaced with better components. Bullseye hubs, Bullseye crank and Grafton brakes. The RockShox is the first model made, SN is below 1500. I rode this bike off road a lot, then converted it to a commuter later on.

1991(?) Ibis Mt. Trials (US made), 24 inch rear wheel 26 front. This bike is pretty much all US components. The bottom bracket, crank, brakes and freewheel are the only non US parts. The derailleurs are Gorilla Billet, the hubs Bullseye.

1990 Scapin MTB (Italian), Columbus tubing and a full Campy Euclid gruppo.

OK, it's not old school but it is US made. 1999 Dirt Works Cannibal They're out of business now but this company was 2 guys in California making frames.

And an old school road bike....

1985ish Ciöcc SL with Campy 50th Anniversary gruppo.

I'm a huge fan of Italian road bikes, I have 3 Ciöcc, a Bellesi, a Bianchi, a Cramerotti, and a Somec. I also have frames from Ciöcc, Fondriest and Pinarello that I haven't gotten around to building up yet. The Fondriest is at the top of the list.

 

[KeithAM]

The 50th Anniversary Gruppo is a real treasure. The chromed sloping crown fork on the Ciocc is beautiful.

One of my dream bikes is a lugged steel De Rosa. A friend of mine has one in mint condition with a mint full Super Record gruppo. The Campy brakes still have the little cardboard inserts on them.

 

[Jeepnut22]

Blackhills, correct, my mistake!! Dia Compe brakes!! :foot:

Dig the rides!! That Campy 50th stuff is really something special!

On the Bontrager, before I went with the newer style stems, I had a bombproof Campy Road Head Set on the Race Lite. When I made the switch over (Only because I needed a new fork) the bearing cups on the Campy Road Head Set weren't even pitted and was still silky smooth. Really amazing!

 

[puukkoman]

I'll have to dig up some pics... but mine's a fixed gear conversion on an older Bianchi crit frame, Campy Record gruppo (headset, bb, 175mm cranks, 52-tooth chainring, pedals, brake calipers - although I only use one of those), front wheel is a cheapy - Shimano 105 hub laced to a no-name aero section rim, rear is a formula track hub laced to a Velocity Aero rim, gearing is 52x18 with 175 cranks, so I'm pushing ~77 gear inches. Stem is an old steel 3TTT, bars are flip&chops, one no-name cross lever, seatpost is stamped Kalin (dunno if it's any good, but it holds my saddle up and was cheap), and I forget what brand my saddle is, but it's a leather-covered ass-hatchet. MKS toe clips with Soma double straps.

 

[mwerner]

Haven't posted this in a while; just for fun:

This is the short-wheelbase recumbent I built a couple of years ago. Started out by looking at grainy pics of the "No-Weld Recumbent" page (the guy wants you to buy plans) and saw pretty easily what he was doing.

I built one pretty much to his specs as a test-bed. It worked, but was exceedingly heavy and very inefficient. Weighed in at about 56 pounds.

So I decided to see how far I could go with the idea. I found a cheap aluminum MTB frame, and took bits from a number of other junked bicycles and parts I had on hand.
The seat back is made from the unused "bag" assembly for my lawnmower...

Idler wheels are made from roller-blade wheels, hand-turned by chucking into a power-drill. The whole thing weighs in at 38 pounds (surprisingly competitive with commercial recumbents) and I don't think it could be refined to any greater degree as it sits.
Actually rides quite well. Gear ratios are right, seating position good, and the ride is comfortable. The only downside is that she is not stable at high speed. Downhills require a bit of brake-feathering, or she gets twitchy.
I fear the front end rake-trail angle is not sufficient, and no way to easily repair that.
Fun to ride on level ground....

 

[JB in SC]

Man, that Mercian sure brings back some memories. My first really good road bike was a Raleigh Pro with Campy components. Something very special about a handmade bike. The hand painted lettering and attention to details were impeccable. Rode like a dream, fast. I think I paid $500 for it. Mink Blue with silver.

 

[KeithAM]

I remember the old Raleigh Pros. My understanding is they were made in a seperate "race" shop. My observation is that the Pros were a big cut above the other models in terms of workmanship. I once owned a 1971 International, and it was downright crude in comparison to the Pros I've seen.

 

[JB in SC]

The Pro was indeed a cut above, I paid $500 for mine from a shop in Thomasville,GA. It was a King's Ransom in those days. The shop owner had one and I fell in love with it. I had to special order it as I needed a 20.5" frame due to my elfin legs. It was a tiny bike, seems like it was 38" axle to axle. Great for flat country spinning, but hell on hills with a 24 rear. The six speed was as smooth as I'd ever experienced. The stiff frame really put the power to the wheel.

I don't recall the exact components, but it was basically all top end Campy. It was a great road bike, but was far above my level of cycling. The hand hammered rivets on the Brooks saddle were one of those little nuances missed by most. Everything was tuned to perfection.

JB

 

[tallpaul]

Ahhh bikes... have not had a new bike until a couple years back. I have had many a freebie but as a little guy at 6'5 and 280 they did not fit. I was buying a high pressure part for a big bore airgun and the guy at the counter was pickin on my hobby so I asked what he did- he said bikes so I said "Harley" and he said no... bicycles. I said great I need info. Gas was going up from 2.00 and I thought it would be prudent to have a bike that was a good fit and good quality. I wanted to know if the better bikes were worth it- duh he said So I goto his dealer bud said I wanted american and looked at a cannondale hybrid. An adventure 400 and liked it. The dealer spent quite a bit of time with me but told me not to buy new from him. He had an existing customer of my stature that had a used Raleigh mountain bike (a M-80) that he just put over 200.00 in parts on and wanted only 175.00 or so for. Now I have a bad habit- if I find an honest dealer or a guy looking out for me and not just a sale I really feel the need to support them. I bought the hybrid as a decent starter to get back into biking. Street and some groomed trails we have around here. A few days later the guy with the raleigh calls me... he wanted ta know if I was still interested- the dealer gave him my number. He said he' wanted rid of the extra bike- he had several and wanted the room. I went ta look at it and it is clean... made in america- one of the last I believe and great shape.... 125.00 I could not say no I figured I could use it as the "beater" and keep the other pretty.

I have not used either as much as I should but I do enjoy them. They look like horses next to other bikes though- its funny. I have yet to add anything since purchase. I got the computer on the adventure and a rear rack. With the big dollar gas becoming a reality I look forward to a bit more riding this summer.

 

[JB in SC]

Higher end used bikes can be fantastic bargains...many buy them, use them for a month or so and let them sit unused in a garage.

 

[Colnago-C40]

I have this Colnago C-40 with all Campy Record components. I also own a Waterford 2200 Steel bicycle that is Dura-Ace equipped. I then own a Nishiki Alien for my mountain bike. Needless to say I like bicycles and riding.

Terry Newton

 

[Absintheur]

My mountain bike is getting old and pretty worn...much like me so I have been shopping for a new bike that will stay on the paved and be comfortable. I tried one of the "S" Rods and will be ordering one most likely for this summer.

I would love to try one of these too tho...looks like a great workout but my knees aren't what they use to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUo_yTo9AcU