NKOTB

Rear hub is an On One 135mm fixed, out of production nowadays, I think.

hemizach

After reading this thread I decided this is what i want/need. and old mountain bike, no suspension, cantis, drob bars, for my city rides (I hurt my back so no more mtb for me for a long time).
IMO the good point are
-solid frame
-gears
-strong tires and wheels even when 1.5 slicks are used (potholes, train tracks, dirt paths, etc)
-drop bars have 3 riding positions -maybe more
-good for long rides -from other people experience.
-cheap -at least this bike is cheap, 25 bucks CL find.

the bike right now is disassembled and in cleaning lub stage.

is a royce union unknown year, in fair condition. if everything goes well maybe later I'll upgrade to a lighter frame.
plan is to have it in running condition as soon and as cheap as possible and later upgrade components and new paint.

this is the CL pic, i'll update later.

LesterOfPuppets

Shoulda been a $5 CL find, I'm afraid. Those Royce Unions are pretty nasty bikes.

Sounds like you'd want more of a townie conversion than a drop bar conversion.

hemizach

I don't know about these bikes been nasty but i know the previous owner was:

-seat clamp was mounted backwards
-tons of thick oil on chain and freewheel -at least helped prevent rusting
-26 x 1 3/8 tubes in 26 x 2.10 tires!!!!!

other than that it looks fine -hubs are stamped "made in Italy"- not bad for cheap project/experiment!

neo_pop_71

Man LesterofPuppets, I don't think either of those comments are very fair, what's up with that? How is that being supportive? Just a slam without help or advice?

Hemizach stated,
After reading this thread I decided this is what i want/need. and old mountain bike, no suspension, cantis, drob bars, for my city rides (I hurt my back so no more mtb for me for a long time).
IMO the good point are
-solid frame
-gears
-strong tires and wheels even when 1.5 slicks are used (potholes, train tracks, dirt paths, etc)
-drop bars have 3 riding positions -maybe more
-good for long rides -from other people experience

How are his desires or interests any different than anyone else's in this thread? He seems like he's read through the postings and formulated a clear idea of what's important to him. I'm not going to make the leap that you did that his hurt back damns him to riding "a townie" for the rest of his days. A $25.00 bike that's going to get a new life and not end up in the landfill, seems like a good thing to me! I'm not going to be an elitist, I don't know hemizach's used bike market, and it's not any of my business! Hemizach, please post pictures of those hubs... I'd love it if you scored a vintage set of Campy or Fiemme hubs for 25 quid!!!

Thanks!

-D-

wrk101

At the $25 price point, you did just fine. Be resourceful on the project, and you should be able to make significant improvements for very little $$.

I like to tinker, several of my keeper bikes have gone through several rebuilds and reworks, my Cimarron is on its third or fourth build, my Prologue is on its fifth, etc. I don't get hammered on the cost side as I keep an ample supply of take off/donor parts.

gerv 

Keeping perfectly serviceable frames out of the dump is a great thing to do. There's a good market for touring and other fat-tire-application bikes. Older MTBs and hybrid can often be converted into pretty sweet looking rides.

gerv 

And there are lots of ways to be resourceful. Donate some time at a bike co-op and get shop credit. Pick up a donor bike on CL or a swap meet. Put you own ad up on CL.

LesterOfPuppets

Sorry to offend, that's just the opinion of one who spent several hours maintaining and riding a Royce Union around last summer. Uggh.

calstar 

Pretty much a beater/parts bin build. First pic is as found, next in drop bar configuration, may or may not touch up paint, headed to CL.

mainstreetexile 

Sweet, I think this is the first elevated chainstay drop-bar conversion I've seen.

What stem is that? I've been looking for a similar nashbar-style riser quill stem (with a removeable faceplate) in silver.

simpleton.

This thread is pretty inspiring. I decided to take the plunge last night. Had everything in the SPB. She still needs to be tweaked a bit but, thats part of the fun!

LesterOfPuppets

That definitely took the GT to another level there!

simpleton.

Thanks - Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

frantik

sweet.. loving those tires

SteakKnifeSally

[QUOTE=mainstreetexile;15716300]Sweet, I think this is the first elevated chainstay drop-bar conversion I've seen.

+1. That is funktastic.

SteakKnifeSally

I can't make out the stamp on the seat. Is that a Brooks Flyer or a more affordable knockoff? How do you like it on road and off? I've been considering a similar saddle for the Trek 820 drop bar conversion. (Don't diss the 820; it was free. And so far, except for a $12 Gary bar, so is the rest of the conversion.)

simpleton.

Thats a pre aged champion flyer. I love the saddle but, it's kind of a squeaky one. If there's one thing I cant stand it's a squeaky bike but, for some reason this doesnt bother me much. Probably because I know the springs are doing they're job absorbing shock... I guess....
And dont worry... I not going to hate on an 820. This is a GT Outost like the bottom of the barrel for a GT. Speaking of Trek's Im going to look at a '89 950 this weekend!

dphilips

+1. It was nice with the upright bars, but now, wow.

cyclotoine

My swallow makes noise like crazy.. I might try the piece of inner tube under the cantle trick, because it is starting to drive me a little bonkers.

WNG

Very cool Nishiki Ariel! Nice drop bar job on that e-stay.

I had picked up a Alpinestars AL-Mega-DA frame that is also an e-stay config, and it's getting a drop bar conversion. Now I have a rough idea how it'll turn out.

inkandsilver

Man, that GT is gorgeous! Wow. I like it both ways. And the Nishiki looks great too. Let us know how it goes on CL, if you don't mind.

andyfloyd

That GT looks effin SICK!

Paramount1973 

Sweet! Those tires are something else!

I love this thread.

simpleton.

Thank you all for the kind words!