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Show Your Vintage MTB Drop Bar Conversions

Old 02-24-13, 11:00 AM
  #1076  
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The 'Hopper looks nice. I like the color, too. The Specialized line seems to be some of the more popular for this type of conversion.
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Old 02-24-13, 11:04 AM
  #1077  
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Wow! What a difference, the build came out great! The original set up was sort of a dark and gloomy bike that wouldn't catch my eye but as it presently sits, I want to jump on and see what it can do! Really nice work debit!!!
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Old 02-24-13, 11:14 AM
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Thanks, guys! I have to credit the forum; I never would have even attempted this without all the tips and tricks you guys have shared.
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Old 02-24-13, 01:23 PM
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It does look great!

Well I'm rethinking my idea to use the Barracuda frame. I put the Rockhopper frame next to the 'Cuda frame and picked them both up. They both had headsets and stock forks. The 'Cuda's bb shell is empty, I have cups but no bearings/spindle in the Rockhopper. Picked them both up and the Rockhopper feels a LOT lighter than the 'Cuda frame. By at least a pound it feels like. I guess that is the difference between using butted tubing and non-butted tubing.

Ugh, I hate these kind of dilemmas.
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Old 02-24-13, 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted by bobotech
It does look great!

Well I'm rethinking my idea to use the Barracuda frame. I put the Rockhopper frame next to the 'Cuda frame and picked them both up. They both had headsets and stock forks. The 'Cuda's bb shell is empty, I have cups but no bearings/spindle in the Rockhopper. Picked them both up and the Rockhopper feels a LOT lighter than the 'Cuda frame. By at least a pound it feels like. I guess that is the difference between using butted tubing and non-butted tubing.

Ugh, I hate these kind of dilemmas.
Naw bobotech... you gotta love those dilemmas! Some poor guy is sittin' home on his computer endlessly searching for a frame, his insides all twisted up 'cuz you have to pick which one to start with, all the while he's S.O.L.! Embrace your choices, grasshopper... when you can snatch this bearing from my hand...
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Old 02-24-13, 02:31 PM
  #1081  
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Originally Posted by neo_pop_71
Good move Chris_in_Miami, smart to keep a sharp eye open for any Barracuda deals lurking about! They are out there, not long ago a 'Cuda website member (aka Cudaheads) picked up the top-of-the-line Yeti made Easton "Custom" for $80.00 in Tampa off Craigslist. That was a $3,000.00 + bike back in the early '90's!

On a different note, I've seen your avatar and I've never bothered to ask... so, why not now... is the gent pictured in your avatar Jerzy Balowski (Alexei Sayle), the landlord from The Young Ones comedy show on the BBC back in 1982?

Thanks!

-D-
Yep, that's Alexei from an episode of "Alexei Sayle's Stuff," which ran a few years after The Young Ones. He's a cyclist also by the way...
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Old 02-24-13, 05:55 PM
  #1082  
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Originally Posted by Chris_in_Miami
Yep, that's Alexei from an episode of "Alexei Sayle's Stuff," which ran a few years after The Young Ones. He's a cyclist also by the way...
I loved the Young Ones and it never clicked that's where I knew him from! LOL
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Old 02-24-13, 07:06 PM
  #1083  
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Originally Posted by bobotech
It does look great!

Well I'm rethinking my idea to use the Barracuda frame. I put the Rockhopper frame next to the 'Cuda frame and picked them both up. They both had headsets and stock forks. The 'Cuda's bb shell is empty, I have cups but no bearings/spindle in the Rockhopper. Picked them both up and the Rockhopper feels a LOT lighter than the 'Cuda frame. By at least a pound it feels like. I guess that is the difference between using butted tubing and non-butted tubing.

Ugh, I hate these kind of dilemmas.
Get a scale, you can get one for under $4 on ebay. It eliminates the "feel".
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Old 02-24-13, 07:07 PM
  #1084  
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Finished my Crosscut today and took her out for a maiden voyage of 25 miles on a 70° afternoon.

Almost had a show-stopper last night, however. When I went to run the derailleur cables, I discovered it was missing the bottom bracket cable guide. Turned out I had another frame awaiting rebuild that I could steal one from. The mount hole for it wasn't threaded, however and the guide had a screw to mount it. I did a search here on BF and found several threads that said some kind of adhesive and the tension from the cables would hold it in place. I used some high temperature hot melt glue and it seems to be holding nice and tight.\

Now that everything is adjusted to suit, I'll wrap the bars this evening.

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Old 02-24-13, 07:10 PM
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Originally Posted by neo_pop_71
Naw bobotech... you gotta love those dilemmas! Some poor guy is sittin' home on his computer endlessly searching for a frame, his insides all twisted up 'cuz you have to pick which one to start with, all the while he's S.O.L.! Embrace your choices, grasshopper... when you can snatch this bearing from my hand...
LOL True true. I am a bit bummed though, I put them on my scale and sure enough, the Barracuda is about 1 to 1.5 pounds heavier. I am donating the 'Cuda frame to my co-op unless you might want it or something.
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Old 02-26-13, 05:58 AM
  #1086  
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What do you guys consider a decent frame to weigh? I'm considering a triple butted frame with a claimed weight around 9 lb (20" frame) as a platform for a conversion..
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Old 02-26-13, 08:32 AM
  #1087  
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Eh? Really?
9lbs seems a lot for a triple butted frame, unless it's triple butted depleted uranium.
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Old 02-26-13, 08:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Barchettaman
Eh? Really?
9lbs seems a lot for a triple butted frame, unless it's triple butted depleted uranium.
Yeah I thought I might have been missing something, unless it was just a typo in the conversation. Looks I just need to pull the trigger and see for myself.
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Old 02-26-13, 09:11 AM
  #1089  
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Originally Posted by Barchettaman
Eh? Really?
9lbs seems a lot for a triple butted frame, unless it's triple butted depleted uranium.
Oh, you mean the radioactive bike...
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Old 02-26-13, 09:19 AM
  #1090  
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Originally Posted by bobotech
LOL True true. I am a bit bummed though, I put them on my scale and sure enough, the Barracuda is about 1 to 1.5 pounds heavier. I am donating the 'Cuda frame to my co-op unless you might want it or something.
Thanks bobotech, I appreciate the offer but donating the frame to the bike co-op carries the most good karma. Maybe one day you'll land at the co-op as the proud new owner of the 'Cuda is set to blast off... that would be super cool for sure!
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Old 02-26-13, 06:46 PM
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I bought a triple butted CX 700 frame from Origin 8 a while back. Laser or water jet cut dropouts, and the whole deal. I got the frame, and it weighed 9 pounds!! The fork was a beast! Weighed just over three pounds alone, IIRC.,,,,BD

They give the weight, but it HAS to be frame only. My frame was 6 pounds...

https://www.origin-8.com/?page_id=91&...26+ACCESSORIES
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Old 02-26-13, 06:55 PM
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I had one of those too, sold it a month after I got it. The geometry was absurd, and the fork weighed nearly as much as the frame (not exaggerating).
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Old 02-26-13, 07:06 PM
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Originally Posted by jdefran
What do you guys consider a decent frame to weigh? I'm considering a triple butted frame with a claimed weight around 9 lb (20" frame) as a platform for a conversion..
9 is towards the hefty end, but probably not unusual. Realize that MTBs were made to take a lot of abuse. So even the ones with good tubing were hefty. Even pretty good vintage mtbs were often in the 29 to 30 pound range. But with lighter weight wheels and tires, you can knock them down. I got my Cimmaron down to under 26 pounds (started pushing 30 pounds). I never weighed the bare frame, but it was hefty. The Paramount I just finished was MUCH lighter.
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Old 02-26-13, 07:07 PM
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Thinking of doing a rando/commuter build with this, drop bar none the less. Waiting for it to arrive..
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Old 02-26-13, 08:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jdefran
Thinking of doing a rando/commuter build with this, drop bar none the less. Waiting for it to arrive..
That's funny, I was just reading this thread yesterday: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...+mountain+tour. Maybe you could use some of the info from the catalogue scans for your build. Good luck, Mike
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Old 02-26-13, 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by likebike23
That's funny, I was just reading this thread yesterday: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...+mountain+tour. Maybe you could use some of the info from the catalogue scans for your build. Good luck, Mike
Hey Mike. I too, was looking at the thread to help convince me if I should get the frame or not. Weird thing is I haven't found much on this specific model..the Seneca. Mombat has a little info but none of the color schemes match nor does it give color options for the year.
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Old 02-26-13, 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by jdefran
Hey Mike. I too, was looking at the thread to help convince me if I should get the frame or not. Weird thing is I haven't found much on this specific model..the Seneca. Mombat has a little info but none of the color schemes match nor does it give color options for the year.
It's probably going to be one those situations where you'll have to figure everything out as you go. I've dealt with a few vintage mountain bikes, and there's always something. Watch out for odd stem sizes, seatpost sizes, and narrower (126mm or 130mm) rear dropout spacing.
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Old 02-26-13, 09:01 PM
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Originally Posted by wrk101
9 is towards the hefty end, but probably not unusual. Realize that MTBs were made to take a lot of abuse. So even the ones with good tubing were hefty. Even pretty good vintage mtbs were often in the 29 to 30 pound range. But with lighter weight wheels and tires, you can knock them down. I got my Cimmaron down to under 26 pounds (started pushing 30 pounds). I never weighed the bare frame, but it was hefty. The Paramount I just finished was MUCH lighter.
i'm sure you already went over this, but how did you shave 4 lbs off? I picked up a Araya RM-17 wheelset and even with new tires I'm only looking at 1-2 lbs reduction. I guess i need to find some weight weenie pedals and... chain?

I weighed my Jamis with just the frame, fork, headset, BB and seat post skewer and it was at 8.5lbs
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Old 02-26-13, 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by wrk101
9 is towards the hefty end, but probably not unusual. Realize that MTBs were made to take a lot of abuse. So even the ones with good tubing were hefty. Even pretty good vintage mtbs were often in the 29 to 30 pound range. But with lighter weight wheels and tires, you can knock them down. I got my Cimmaron down to under 26 pounds (started pushing 30 pounds). I never weighed the bare frame, but it was hefty. The Paramount I just finished was MUCH lighter.
What tires are you using? Also, as Frank mentioned, what else did you do to reduce weight?
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Old 02-26-13, 09:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Barchettaman
Eh? Really?
9lbs seems a lot for a triple butted frame, unless it's triple butted depleted uranium.
My Moulden hits the curb at 21.5 pounds... the frame is a mix of Reynold's 853 and Tange Prestige and is sub 5 pounds and with the fork is under 7.

It is almost as light as my steel road bicycles which are also custom lightweights, and also vintage... my Proctor road bike is actually a little heavier than it's cousin with it's training wheels on it.
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