Fifty Plus (50+) - New Club: The Frigid Rigids?

OK, I named it, but we can certainly change it. Me and Tom might be the only ones actually cold, and he doesn't ride his in the winter.

Let's clean up all these bikes we just bought and post pics of them in the next few days. Anyone else a member of this club? Celebrating the come-back of rigid MTBs!

There are several members of this forum who are from Wisconsin. At least another 10 or so.

Yes, but do they have rigid MTBS? If so, SHOW THEM!

My Trek 820 mountain bike has a suspension fork. My Bridgestone CB-1 has a rigid frame, but is technically a city bike, albeit with a frame that is very similar to their mountain bikes. Close enough to qualify, I'd say.

I guess I'll be an honorary member, because it's rarely frigid down here! Chilly, yes. Frigid? Rarely!

I'm going to look at a $30 Craigslist Trek 820 tomorrow night. If it fits...

I'm a charter member of the rigid steel (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=367348&highlight=lugnut) club (not so frigid lately though).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2101/2082452744_cc6a160b22_o.jpg

Not frigid but rigid.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b152/ad6mj/HardRock.jpg

Good start with the photos! I'm waiting for just the littlest sliver of sunshine to take my beauty "bike shot".

Edit: I just stuck "Frigid" in there because it rhymed, and because, well, I can't really imagine anything non-frigid at this time of year. Everyone is a member, even those in South America!

No pics yet but the Kona Explosif is still about that I bought 13 years ago. Out on loan again but it now has a pair of Manitou Suspension forks from the Era fitted. To be honest- 1" of movement and then "Klunk" was the height of suspension in those days. Must still have the original Project ll forks about somewhere so will try to get it back into OM condition.

And this bike was the one I learnt to fall safely at speed on. Fast downhills with rigid forks taught you that- I had enough of them.

So does it have to be a recent purchase? I've never left the
rigid scene.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r152/crankyolddude/IMG_0683.jpg

Is this Frigid enough?

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r152/crankyolddude/IMG_0670.jpg

My diamonback has a suspension fork. Havent ridden it in 3 years, but will start getting it ready again this weekend

I guess I should add I am primarily a roadie.

I'm going to look at a $30 Craigslist Trek 820 tomorrow night. If it fits...

...and the size was right so I got it for $25. I've started tearing it down and didn't think to take a "before" pic. It's pretty dirty. And heavy. Stem, bars and seatpost are all steel with some rust on the bars. I made sure they weren't seized to the frame before buying; they'd been greased, thankfully. I'm looking for lighter alloy replacements on eBay. Should shed a few pounds.

Not sure of the vintage but it's an 820 "Antelope". Color is light blue with that "silly string/cobwebby" texture in dark blue. I'm guessing mid 80's to early 90's. And it's got those funky Biopace rings. We'll see if they feel too weird before replacing them.

It'll need a new chain and cables; to be expected.

So far in the teardown and degreasing the bearings, cassette, etc. seem to be in good shape but I'll bet it hasn't seen new grease in at least 10 years. Still have the BB and front hub to do. Surprisingly, the tires still hold air and aren't dryrotted.

My Specialized Hard Rock is unfortunately in the shop after suffering a spoke pop last night. But the included rim truing will prepare it for going down the snowy streets this winter. It proved its capability in last years snows.

http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/BikeInNewOffice.jpg

Not frigid but rigid. ...

That's my mountain bike situation, as well (see signature).

Mine is smaller than the one pictured and has handlebar extensions and black cable housings and no spoke protector.

Just gave away my ancient Ross Mt St Helens this past summer. Still have a Specialized Rock Hopper, but it has a front shock so I'm out in the cold on this one.

Yes, you are. No team jersey for you!


(LOL! The jersey could say "rigid member")

Out in the cold here on two counts! One - we live in ND which is generally a lot colder than Wisconsin!
Two - no MT bike, can't ride an upright for medical reasons although with I could sometimes. Just ride a bent, but do it in the cold but not today with temp around 0! Going ice fishing instead! Heh!

Here's the Scott, in final form:

http://homepage.mac.com/sbacig/.Pictures/Me/IMG_1961.jpg

Out in the cold here on two counts! One - we live in ND which is generally a lot colder than Wisconsin!

Yah! Bismarck is where we Minnesotas look to feel better about our own temps.

Out in the cold here on two counts! One - we live in ND which is generally a lot colder than Wisconsin!

It's colder than where I live in Wisconsin, but close to what central Wisconsin gets.

Your coldest day of the year has an average high of 20, low of -2.

Eau Claire, WI is high of 20, low of 2.

Minneapolis, MN is high of 21, low of 3.

Hayward, WI is high of 18, low of -3.

Verona, WI (5 miles from me) is high of 23, low of 5.

The Scott looks nice. Good clean lines. I see you are using toe clips.

It's colder than where I live in Wisconsin, but close to what central Wisconsin gets.

Your coldest day of the year has an average high of 20, low of -2.

Eau Claire, WI is high of 20, low of 2.

Minneapolis, MN is high of 21, low of 3.

Hayward, WI is high of 18, low of -3.

Verona, WI (5 miles from me) is high of 23, low of 5.

Yeah, but I don't think many of their days are "normal". You get some extreme* cold fronts from Canada through there. They can be 30 degrees below what we are in the Twin Cities.

The Scott looks nice. Good clean lines. I see you are using toe clips.

It really does, doesn't it... I've very attracted to this bike. And it's fast and light, too! I mean compared to my expectations, it's twice as fast.

And there's something very cool about the fit on it. It feels very, very good. It's long and low.

At long last, I've completed my overhaul of a $25 Trek 820 Craigslist find. After about $110 worth of parts here it is:
http://bruce.coppola.name/images/bike/trek820crank.JPG
http://bruce.coppola.name/images/bike/trek820rearder.jpg
http://127.0.0.1/images/bike/trek820full.jpg

New(used) bits, mostly from eBay: Alloy handlebar from Specialized Stumpjumper (replaced heavy rusted original steel), new Promax alloy seatpost (see handlebar), cosmetic second "LookIn" titanium rail saddle by Selle Royal, new $5.99 chain from hardware store, lightly used Shimano LX Biopace crankset 48-38-28. New Forte (Performance) toeclips, straps, grips, & tires, new cables, Koolstop pads. Still should get new housings before using in earnest.

Original derailleurs work well after cleaning & lubing. Overhauled hubs smooth as silk.

Trust me, it was in rough shape when I got it! Lots of degreaser, scrubbing, and general elbow grease. Wood chips and sand came out of the hubs and BB! Rear hub cones and the BB spindle were slightly pitted. I re-machined them using a Dremel while spinning in a drill press, and polishing with 400 grit wet sandpaper wrapped around a screwdriver shaft. Not something I'd do to high end or heavily pitted stuff but it worked well. Surprisingly the bearings themselves still looked good but I replaced a few questionable ones.

And so far I like that Biopace crank. I was going to get a standard round set but reading Sheldon Brown's article on Biopace convinced me to give it a try.

A quick round the block shakedown cruise felt good. It's a heavy frame but it feels nimble.

But...the plot thickens: there's a potentially interesting old Fuji lugged steel MTB on CL here, so those new bits might "migrate".

My MTB has a front shock. But my OCR doesn't! Can I be an honorary member? Remember: "honorary" means I don't have to pay dues.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k87/tomfrady/IMG_2061r.jpg

How shall I put it-- It may have a suspension fork on it but it is now siezed solid and it will be replaced with a Project ll fork when I get round to rebuilding it. Kona Explosif. One owner from new and bought at the end of 93- My first proper MTB.

My MTB has a front shock. But my OCR doesn't! Can I be an honorary member? Remember: "honorary" means I don't have to pay dues.


Sure!

Here's a frame I just found on CL. Actually, it's got sachs parts that go with it, but no tires. It's a 91 Cinelli.

http://homepage.mac.com/sbacig/.Pictures/Me/IMG_1989.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/sbacig/.Pictures/Me/IMG_1990.jpg

Did it come with that paint art or is that something you added? Either way it's unusual, but in a good way.

Well, at least I like it, each rider's liking may vary!

Rick / OCRR

Did it come with that paint art or is that something you added? Either way it's unusual, but in a good way.

Well, at least I like it, each rider's liking may vary!

Rick / OCRR

I love it ! It's different!

Here's a bike a friend fixed up for my daughter to ride. I'm not sure what year it is.

http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong@sbcglobal.net/__novara.jpg

Did it come with that paint art or is that something you added? Either way it's unusual, but in a good way.

Well, at least I like it, each rider's liking may vary!

Rick / OCRR

They're decals. Very Italian in a mod sort of way. I think the decals are ugly, but cool in an interesting sort of way.... oh well. I got it because the kid that was selling it was going to strip it down but never got around to it, but he hangs out with a lot of fixie people. The other bikes he turned into art were rattlecanned primer gray, pretty much. The bike was so odd and rare (only made for one year) that I grabbed it. Price was cheap.

Well, I'm out on two counts... My mountain bike has front shocks and it's dirty at the moment:o

It's been too cold to wash it outdoors and I don't feel like dragging in to the bathroom to give it a shower.

So here's me a few years ago. I commute to the train station every work day year round, no exceptions. Same bike. Now I only wear yellow when commutting. (And there's lots more snow on the ground right now)

I just took my rigid bike for a ride on some great trails today. I wanted to get a recent memory of how it felt to ride rigid before I buy my full suspension bike soon.
I had fun and kept up with the group on most sections. But the fast, rocky downhills were too much to take at the speeds the rest of the group rode on their fullies.
It was a little muddy on a few parts of the trails, but not as bad as it looks.


http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/th_Dauset020308group.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/Dauset020308group.jpg)http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/th_Dausetmud05.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/Dausetmud05.jpg)http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/th_Dausetmud04.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/Dausetmud04.jpg)http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/th_Dausetmud03.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/Dausetmud03.jpg)http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/th_Dausetmud02.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/Dausetmud02.jpg)http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/th_Dausetmud01.jpg (http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/MTB%20racing/Dausetmud01.jpg)

I know it's not frigid, but this is the deep South. What can I say? :D

I'm riding a rigid Raleigh M-60 bought in 1994 as my regular commuting bike. Used it in Spain to ride off road a few times and did add a cheap Nashbar suspension seat post to help with the gravel roads.

I just took my rigid bike for a ride on some great trails today. I wanted to get a recent memory of how it felt to ride rigid before I buy my full suspension bike soon.
I had fun and kept up with the group on most sections. But the fast, rocky downhills were too much to take at the speeds the rest of the group rode on their fullies.
It was a little muddy on a few parts of the trails, but not as bad as it looks.

Do you have a special bike shower???? Every time I see one of your bikes, it looks as store shiny, or it looks like it got dumped in a pig trough!

Do you have a special bike shower???? Every time I see one of your bikes, it looks as store shiny, or it looks like it got dumped in a pig trough!

They get dirty and I clean them.:p
When the bike gets caked in mud like that, I let it dry and then knock most of the mud off with a dry brush. Then I use a soapy rag to wash it down and gently rinse it off with as little water as possible. Right now that bike is clean as a whistle. Tomorrow I'll lube and wipe down the chain and hit moving parts here and there with a drop of lube.

Still learning my way around the site here.

Picked up this bike at a thrift shop during a snowstorm. Have been reworking it by taking components off of a ProFlex full suspension (polymer, not springs) and putting them onto this bike. According to someone on another site it appears to be a rebranded/storebranded Trek. About have the build complete, cranks and front derailer wouldn't swap over so had to leave the BioPace on there (for now). This is the before pic:

Photobucket Site Maintenance
Images and videos may continue to serve during this short maintenance.

hmmm, pic of the Timberlin rigid may have to come later sometime.

I did take it out for a lap around the block last Friday, studded tires work well except when the snow/slush gets deep then it's more like steering a boat than a bicycle. At least I didn't end up swimming in the slush.

You made me remember those Proflex Bikes in your posting- Funnily enough around 93 or 4 and it was the first organised ride on My "NEW" Kona. It made me realise rthat Full suspension may have given a comfortable ride- But it did slow the bikes down uphills. Either that or the Kona really did work uphills.

Remembered a different site (motorcycle site) where I'd posted a few pics.

Here's the Timberlin before I began the component swapping:
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/4062/325853.jpg

And here's the ProFlex with most of the stuff taken off already:
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/4062/325910.jpg

You might notice on the ProFlex that I had already began rigidizing it by swapping out the rear polymers for PVC pipe and taking one of the rear polymers and stuffing it into the front Girder suspension in attempt to stiffen it up and get rid of some of the spongyness.

I'll try to post a pic of the bike as it is now with fenders later this week sometime. Still playing around with swapping the handlebars out with some Soma Sparrow bars. Setting the bike up as a commuter and winter thrasher.

I've got the ProFlex frameset posted on the Milwaukee craigslist currently.

Hey I have an old proflex too that has shot suspension. I'm taking off all the nice, black Deore LX components...:D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2049/2251081726_4fa366271c.jpg

I picked up this 1986 Diamondback Ascent last September when I was looking for a replacement bike for my oldest son (he had hit 6' and was still on his old 16" framed MTB). It was in pretty bad shape but it was $40, had a 22" frame (which aren't that common in the low-cost used market) and looked complete. I bought it and gave my son my "old" MTB ('97 Diamondback Outlook DX with about 100 miles on it, obviously I did not ride much) and fix this one up for myself as it would be good enough to ride the 10 or so miles a year I had averaged over the last 30 years of my life.

Well, I spent a lot of time cleaning, polishing, lubing and tuning. Replaced the tires, tubes, seat and grips then started taking it on "test rides" between fine tuning. The test rides got longer and more frequent and I was doing less and less "tweeking" between rides.

I'm now riding it virtually every day, have logged almost 800 miles in a little over 4 months, switched from toe clips to clipless, have added a road bike to break things up a bit, picked up an old wind trainer for when the weather isn't cooperative and am shopping for my next bike (not a replacement for this one as it is destined to be converted into a single speed). Needless to say, I'm enjoying my return to riding and it is doing some positive things for my health and my waistline.

As a side note, I'm about a year and a half from hitting 50 but this forum seems to be the most informative for where I am at in life so I hope you don't mind if I hang out here a bit before I come of age.

What a funny, great story! :) I can just see you thinking, "I was only going to do 1 miles a year... why do I feel compelled to do this again when I just did it yesterday?"

The bike is great!

Found a Bridgestone MB-4 in the pole barn up north. It was abandoned with the property when we bought it. It's in great shape, and my size. I think I'll bring it to Kansas.

Edit: It's a 91, Japanese, Lugged "Ritchey Logic" chromoly. It's probably going to be a very nice ride. This may be the same bike that Diving Biker got... I'll have to find the photo and compare.

It's hot and humid here in the DC area today and I'm longing for the winter rides!!http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn30/consularrider/IcebikeI.jpg

...for a minute there I thought Solveg had returned, risen from a snow bank or something. Sigh.
I hope she's doing well.

Trek 830, originally with an aftermarket sprung fork when we bought it on Ebay.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm11/monoborracho/Trek%20830/20061.jpg

Rebuilt last year for #4 son. Now has a new Terry saddle. Doubles as a commuter bike at university. Someday I'm hoping he'll tour with me.


http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm11/monoborracho/Trek%20830/830-217.jpg


New trekking crank set

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm11/monoborracho/Trek%20830/830-212.jpg



http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm11/monoborracho/Trek%20830/830-208.jpg

13-30 7speed with a NOS Shimano STX d/r

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm11/monoborracho/Trek%20830/830-214.jpg

Give me a day or two and I will snap a photo of my Ross rigid.

...for a minute there I thought Solveg had returned, risen from a snow bank or something. Sigh.
I hope she's doing well.

I have that identical reaction every time someone bumps this thread or one of her other ones!