frantik

hmm interesting.. further confirming my suspicions you've got an 87. I definitely think mine is 128 or some other "transition" spacing.. kinda random.

gonna finish up the paint stripping in a little bit here

frantik

After 1st round of paint stripping and ready for round 2



Remove that paint!!!


unfotunately my cam ran out of batteries after that LOL. 95% of the old paint is gone but I missed some spots so not quite done yet

James1:17

Hey frantik, do you know if your seatpost is a 26.4? My oem Suntour is cracked and a spare 26.6 I have is just a little too big. The Suntour isn't marked, and I don't have any calipers. Thanks in advance, and the chrome is looking awesome btw.

calstar 

The brakes you need are Shimano AT50 cantilevers, here's what they look like https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-Cant...ht_7513wt_1219

frantik

indeed it is 26.4... I'm actually on the hunt for a nicer stem because the one that came on the bike is one of those crappy steel 2 piece ones

picked up more paint stripper, so I'll hopefully get the last of the paint off tomorrow

Kobe 

That smokey chrome remind me of those gazing balls some people have on their front yard. Look into it long enough and the meaning of life will appear.

I can't wait to see this totally stripped. It looks like it will turn out nice.

frantik

Ok, finally done with the stripping! the sun had gone down the light wasn't the greatest, but here's some pics!

pretty steep head tube angle for an 80s MTB.. one reason I was drawn to this bike


The welds and workmanship on the frame are really nice


Chromed canti bosses = teh sex


I think I've got the answer for unicrown fork haters


No decals needed!



I also am pretty sure, despite the [until recently changed] thread title, that the frame is NOT prestige.. it seems the Prestige Univegas didn't come out till 89 or 90. "Tange Triple Butted Tubes" was a different tube set offered by Tange that seems like it may have been in between Double Butted and Prestige. It doesn't really matter though, it's pretty nice whatever it is...

Siu Blue Wind

btt

James1:17

check out what popped up in my market today:

https://nashville.craigslist.org/bik/3321607445.html

frantik

^sweet looks like the "Alpina Uno".. i'm not 100% sure but i think all of the Alpina models of a given year had the same frames, just different components

mainstreetexile 

Based on the year and downtube logos, I'm guessing these are taiwanese-built frames? Does anyone know who manufactured these frames for Univega, maybe Giant?

frantik

You could also base it on the Made In Taiwan sticker




Thrifty Bill suggested they could be made by KHS in this post. KHS made MTBs with Triple Butted tubing just like the Alpinas so that may be a hint

3speedslow

Frantik,

How is the build coming? Any pics gonna show soon? Mine has been pulling duty as an around town bomber and race monitor bike of late, soon it will get back to some dirt on the New River Trail. More changes again to the comp. for mine. Still no front brake as yet.... got good choices from all here but have not tracked any down yet.

As it sits Anxious to see how yours turns out.

frantik

Mine's close to being rideable again.. I overhauled the BB yesterday and then put the cranks, derailleurs and chain back on. I need to install the brakes, set up the cockpit and run cables to be ready to ride again, though I should overhaul the wheel hubs and true them first too.

She's wearing some Kenda k838 slicks which look good too. Taking pics in my cramped apt is kind of a pain but I'll see what I can do

PHT

Well it's just a lowly Range Rover, but what the heck, I'll throw up a pic- here's my black chrome Univega

due ruote 

Very cool bike, great score and a nice thread. Looking forward to the finished product.

stringbreaker

I don't know what it was but I think those vintage Univega's were really beautiful looking bikes.

frantik

nice PHT

hopefully will get the Alpina Pro on the road and take some pics in the next couple days.. just need to run cables now

frantik

Finally finished rebuilding the Alpina pro.. of course the sun had just gone down so I didn't take too many pictures, but here's a few teasers








Changes/upgrades:

* Swapped out MT60 brake levers for MT62 "2 finger" levers with SLR (besides lever length, levers have spring return)
* Swapped out MT60 front cantis for MT62 with SLR (not really sure what was different except MT62 had an extra spring location
* Swapped out original steel handlebars for an aluminum bar
* Kenda K838 fat slick tires
* swapped in metal platform pedals
* added toe clips
* blackburn water bottle cages (need to get a 2nd black one)
* Avid tri-dangle brake hangers
* Control Stix bar ends

I greased the BB, looks like someone greased the wheels (opened up and found new grease.. NICE ) and possibly the headset (it's super smooth)

I gotta tweak the brakes.. they work great but are noisy as hell.. the rear brakes have new pads so i guess i need to get better at toeing in

This bike is so much fun to ride... just need to upgrade to Hyperglide and silence the brakes and i'll be stoked. Hopefully I'll get a drop bar on there sooner rather than later too..

frantik

parked the 1988 Univega next to the 1986 Diamondback and noticed the huge difference in head tube angles. With the diamondback you can definitely feel the "cruiser" heritage, but the Univega feel much more like a road bike. I'm really looking forward to getting drops on it

mobilemail

Many of these early mtbs are sorely undervalued and under appreciated. A road bike with the same build quality would sell for 2-3 times as much and turn heads of even the uninitiated.

3speedslow

Frantik,

Nice Build-up ! I am really eye-ballin' those tires as a choice to replace what I have on my Alpina now. Dropbar handelbar would be interesting to see as well ! Your frame does not look lacking without any decals. The smokey chrome is that awesome !

Nice Work, and a great ride as you will find out. Did 40 ish miles on the New River Trail with mine and it just ate the miles with ease.

3SS

frantik

3speed, i definitely recommend the kenda k838 tires if you're looking for a slick tire.. they rock!


Took the alpina out for another ride and more pictures today. The bike is really a blast to ride. I adjusted the brakes and they are silent now, and really powerful. The rear ubrake will lock up the wheel which I can't do on my Apex..not sure if it's the ubrake or the wheel or the levers..



after i took this picture i figured out how to thread the strap through the pedal correctly.. lol








I still need to trim the handlebars and wrap them with bar tape.. I set mine up in a style I call "flopped and chopped".. the bar is turned almost completely around (so the logo that is usually on the front is facing towards the rider) and then all the components are pushed inward as far as they can go, and the ends chopped short. To me this is the most comfortable position, especially with bar ends. I don't see anyone else with bars like this though..

frantik

Some other pics i took on my ride today. There's not a lot of offroading to be done where I live, but I found a few spots to get in the dirt a lil..









Stopping by the LBS for some handlebar tape

frantik

7 speed hyperglide freehub body swapped in! I didn't even have to redish the wheel which surprised me. Space between the last cog and the drop out is kinda tight though, not sure if I will need to mess with the spacers.



Probably gonna bring over the rest of the HG drive train from 1989 Apex over to the Univega.. I want to use the Biopace HP rings more than the original biopace rings i've got on the univega now, but the big ring on the HP set I have is only 46t :\ Eventually I will probably find some nice round rings to use, cause i'm not a biopace believer, especially after that one thread that suggested they were actually LESS efficient that round rings.