Fifty Plus (50+) - I Googled Up my old Bike!

I own an 80's Bridgestone CB-1. But over time I lost all of my info on it, and forgot what year I purchased it. Hadn't been able to piece that information back together, until tonight when I found a web page that had all of the old Bridgestone catalogs on it. Pics, descriptions, and technical specs. Amazing!

I had gone out earlier today to clean it up and re-lube it. It was sad to see all of the little scratches and rust spots forming on it. Nothing serious, but definitely aging.

Turns out it is a 1987, in the color of Aquatone Blue. 18.5" frame. Oversized Cro-Mo tubing, but a high tensile fork (had completely forgotten that). There were three models in the CB-series, with the -1 being the highest. I think I paid something like $200 for it on a clearance sale, with the list being $300 or a bit higher.

So as it is now 20 years old and uses such things as friction thumb shifters, Japanese Suntour derailleurs, and cantilever brakes (the front brake cable runs down through a hole in the stem), does it qualify as a "Classic & Vintage" bike?

Here's the catalog picture.

I suspect, like all Bridgestones of that era....it is either a sort of contemporary classic or, more likely, a semi-cult bike. I can just see Pineapple Bob jackrabbiting it through traffic in Berkeley or Walnut Creek. Worth hanging onto for all of us Bridgestone owners (91 RB-T) and former Bridgestone Owner's Bunch (#1132)members.

Sheldon Brown has many of the old Bridgestone catalogs in their entirety on his site. Elsewhere online, too. Somebody a few years ago put them on DVD. Might try the Rivendell newsforum for that.

I hadn't noticed the URL for the site I found it on ... indeed it was Sheldon Brown's Bridgestone catalog site.

My '87 is still pretty darn original. Still has the original wheels. Same reflectors. Original crankset, derailleurs and rear cassette. Even all of the shifter and brake cables are the originals.

Even with all of my "new" bikes, I still feel that I owe it to the Bridgestone to ride it now and then. Funny why someone would think that about a bicycle.

I never named it, which is typical for me. I've never named a car either.

It's not much of a collector's item. There isn't much Grant Peterson in it and the frame was made in Taiwan. But when I ride it into a bike shop, the salespeople treat me with more respect than when I walk or drive in. I've noticed this many times. And this is especially true when they find out that I am the original owner.

Early, gestational Grant. Actually, I think the concept of the city bike was very Grantish. Not a mountain bike, not hybrid........a utilitarian, upright vehicle for bopping around urban/suburban environments. A kind of American errand bike...almost French except for the baguette sticking out of a rear basket.

I have an '86 MB-1 that is still fairly orginal, too (and I'm the orginal owner). I changed out the stem and bars in '88, but still have the stock ones. It's quite a nice bike.

What's the Bridgestone Owner's Club? Does it have a secret handshake or an active PAC?

Yes, it is a C & V bike, and we're waiting to see photos of it over there. Now!

:D

East Hill

What's the Bridgestone Owner's Club? Does it have a secret handshake or an active PAC?

When Bridgestone folded as a bike company, there marketing director, Grant Peterson, cranked up a little business selling NOS parts--it included a newsletter (forerunner of the Riv reader). Bridgestone bikes had already become semi-cult. The Bridgestone Owner's Bunch (B.O.B.) was born. We each got a number, a plastic (retro of course) coin purse, etc...and a discount on parts. Then Grant decided to design a bike and Rivendell Bikes was started.

The club is gone. I still have my B.O.B. tee shirt. The cultish thing is still there a bit...transformed now into people wearing wool, reading "Hiawatha", and eschewing cycling modernity. No longer do they dip their headbadges in the blood of OCP'ers.

More than you wanted to know!

Yes, it is a C & V bike, and we're waiting to see photos of it over there. Now!

I don't have pictures of any of my bikes. But perhaps on some overcast but brightish day, I should line them up one by one in front of my white garage door and snap a few.

Except for some tarnishes here and there, my bike looks almost exactly like the catalog picture I posted above.

Thanks for the invitation.

Early, gestational Grant. Actually, I think the concept of the city bike was very Grantish. Not a mountain bike, not hybrid........a utilitarian, upright vehicle for bopping around urban/suburban environments. A kind of American errand bike...almost French except for the baguette sticking out of a rear basket.

Well, that contradicts some information I received some years ago ... as well as what Sheldon has posted on his site. But I like your story much better.

I believe the '87 CB-1 was the first Bridgestone city bike. There are no CB bikes in the '85 or '86 catalogs.

I don't have pictures of any of my bikes. But perhaps on some overcast but brightish day, I should line them up one by one in front of my white garage door and snap a few.

Except for some tarnishes here and there, my bike looks almost exactly like the catalog picture I posted above.

Thanks for the invitation.

Ta! Do make certain that the photos are in the approved C & V style, however :p .

Yet another sticky is needed in C & V!

East Hill

Well, that contradicts some information I received some years ago ... as well as what Sheldon has posted on his site. But I like your story much better.

I believe the '87 CB-1 was the first Bridgestone city bike. There are no CB bikes in the '85 or '86 catalogs.

Personally, I'd go with Sheldon. My BF recollections tend to get muddied by wistful thinking and too much residual toastiness from not remembering my age out on the road. I'd definitely keep&maintain the CB and even take it out for an occasional neighborhood zip-around.....good way to attract chicks at Starbucks (!)