Ross Professional
12-28-06, 08:40 PM
#1
Woody
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Ross Professional
oldross 1.jpg
Just picked this bike up and it rides real nice. Does anyone have any information on it ? The components are Altima not sure if I spelled it right ,but any information would be appreciated...
Just picked this bike up and it rides real nice. Does anyone have any information on it ? The components are Altima not sure if I spelled it right ,but any information would be appreciated...
12-29-06, 12:02 PM
#2
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Since no one else responded, I'll take a shot at it. Well, you certainly live in the right area of the country to own a Ross. By now I'm sure you realize, Ross' old headquarters were right down the road from you in Allentown. There are a number of other threads about Ross that you can find using the search function. Ross made some decent bikes in addition to the low end bikes they made. I've seen the Professional mentioned by some others as a good bike. The best road bikes Ross made were called the Signature series and were produced in the mid 80's. The low end Signature series bikes have triple butted, Ishiwata frames. Other than the Signature series, Ross doesn't get a lot of respect.
Do you have anything you can share about the bike, like the type of tubing used or the componenets?
Do you have anything you can share about the bike, like the type of tubing used or the componenets?
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12-29-06, 04:53 PM
#3
Woody
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Components are SHIMANO ALTUS Frame is steel 1020 thats all I know about it. I rode it a couple of times . It rides real nice kinda heavy though .
12-29-06, 06:33 PM
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It's a fairly low-end model. I sold these in the early '80s. Ross was trying to adapt to the changing market by producing a lighter series of bikes than their traditional tire store models. (Ross only sold through "bicycle shops," but some of those were also lawnmower or toy/hobby stores.) They saw their competition primarily as Schwinn, but both companies had sized up the lightweight market wrong. Ross never quite matched Schwinn in the quality department, unless you get to the Jim Redkay models, but they tried. All the US mass producers were really out of touch with the adult bike market in the 70s and 80s, with the exception of Trek and the private label operations, like Specialized. Your bike would make a good beater or give it to a kid. I once rode a century on my Schwinn Varsity, but I wouldn't suggest going more than 10 miles on a bike like that today. Cycling can easily be a lot more fun than that.
12-29-06, 07:55 PM
#5
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Originally Posted by sbarner
It's a fairly low-end model. I sold these in the early '80s. Ross was trying to adapt to the changing market by producing a lighter series of bikes than their traditional tire store models. (Ross only sold through "bicycle shops," but some of those were also lawnmower or toy/hobby stores.) They saw their competition primarily as Schwinn, but both companies had sized up the lightweight market wrong. Ross never quite matched Schwinn in the quality department, unless you get to the Jim Redkay models, but they tried. All the US mass producers were really out of touch with the adult bike market in the 70s and 80s, with the exception of Trek and the private label operations, like Specialized. Your bike would make a good beater or give it to a kid. I once rode a century on my Schwinn Varsity, but I wouldn't suggest going more than 10 miles on a bike like that today. Cycling can easily be a lot more fun than that.
