jch3n

hey everyone, sorta new here, been lurking for a while. not really sure if this should be in c&v instead. i just acquired an old land shark road bike probably late 80's or early 90's from what i can tell. cr-mo double butted tange steel frame and full 8spd dura-ace. being completely new to this, i need some help ID'ing the components and figuring out what i can do to fix up the bike a little bit. a few things i'd like to do:

-upgrade the dt shifters to brifters if possible. how do i go about doing this? old dura-ace has compatability problems from what i've gathered.

-ditching the toe clip pedals for platform pedals.

-i'd like to get a carbon fork (probably a forte axis cuz it's affordable), which would also require a new headset, stem, and handlebar. i don't plan on doing it right away, but probably will eventually. would a 27" wheel fit modern carbon forks?

-new paint? the totally awesome custom paint job is nice and all, but it's chipping in a few places, and i don't really wanna ride a pink bike for too long.

comments and ideas on my plans or if you have other suggestions that would be sweet too. here are some pics:

full album: https://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r.../Land%20Shark/

jkizzle

that would be HELLASWEET fixed. if you ever get rid of this frame, sell it to me.

Blue Jays

Send it back to the original builder John Slawta at LANDSHARK BICYCLES and let him take care of everything from fork upgrades to new paint! Sweet find! You are very lucky to have scored that bike.

redal

If you get it painted have Slata(sp?) do it. He is the owner/builder of Landshark. I saw him at masters nationals last year and I'm pretty sure he said he is in Oregon now. He will do something custom for you.

redal

Blue Jays posted while I was typing.

jch3n

see, i would, but...i got the bike for very little money, meaning i don't have the money to send it back to slawta for a $350 paint job or custom upgrades. i'd like to spend a reasonable amount of money on good used parts for a few worthwhile upgrades, not a complete overhaul. this is my first road bike so i know pretty much nothing and i'd like to build the bike up and learn about it, not just have someone else do it for me.

classic1

Here's a Landshark in action! Andy Hampsten, Gavia pass, '88 Giro.

Blue Jays

jch3n, your predicament is understood. What I'm trying to say is you scored yourself a deal-and-a-half. Place a call to John to talk about what you have in mind and advise him of your current financial situation. Perhaps he will suggest a logical order in which the upgrades can be made, you can secure a fork, and have it painted to match. You now have a great bike, might as well refurbish it once the right way.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Congratulations once again on your wonderful purchase!

oilman_15106

Does it fit? Understand they were all custom built to someone's specs.

deadly downtube

that paint job is amazing... you repainting it makes me cry

Indolent58

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html

IMO the easiest/cheapest thing to do would be to pick up some 8sp Dura-Ace STI levers off eBay.

tarwheel 

Is there something wrong with the fork? I would keep it original. It will probably ride as nice or nicer than a carbon fork and the extra weight would be minimal. Carbon forks are way over-rated.

Slawta will repaint Landsharks, but not other brands. Not sure of the cost but it is reasonable considering the quality and originality of Landshark paint jobs.

I would clean up and tune the 8-speed parts and ride as is. If you want brifters, however, it probably would be easiest to just buy a whole new Ultegra or 105 group.

deanp

Don't paint over that, it is wicked cool. Embrace the pink.

waterrockets 

Yeah, keep the fork -- it's really sweet. Weight is highly over-rated around here.

+1 to getting 8-speed DA brifters: https://cgi.ebay.com/8-Speed-Dura-Ace...QQcmdZViewItem

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/bik/468938026.html

Get those brifters on, and forget about buying any parts until you get some miles under your belt and learn what you like and want to improve. You'll have a bike that would be competitive in any Cat 3 race that wasn't in the mountains.

jch3n

i get the feeling i'm a little bit undeserving of this bike, haha. anyways, due to overwhelming response, i've decided not to paint it, but i'll need to touch up some of the chips somehow. i guess i'm just gonna stick with getting brifters, new pedals, new bar tape, new tires, and maybe a new saddle for now, but just to get things straight:

1. the only brifters that will work are 8spd dura-ace or any shimano compatible 9spd shifters right? are brifters capable of shifting a friction front derailer?

2. is it hard to get tires for 27" wheels? should i get new 700c wheels instead? i'm a little bit concerned about the spoke end thingies (dunno what they're called) where the spokes connect to the rim as they look a little bit corroded.

@oilman: yea, the thing about being custom is that i (and a couple friends) have no idea what size it is. especially since i've never ridden a road bike, i don't really know how it SHOULD fit. i've ridden it around and it feels fine and looks about right (probably not really the right way to go about this). i'm gonna try to make some adjustments, but if major problems arise i may just have to get a different bike.

Mo'Phat

The indexing happens at the shifters, not the derailleurs. The derailleur itself is just some springs and pivot points...no clicking happens at the derailleur at all.

mascher

Hee hee yeah. Same for swapping the fork. A Land Shark is a Land Shark is a Land Shark, and you aren't going to find any other bike that ever looked remotely like yours ever. Even if you thought it was hideous, it's impossible to get around the one of a kind look of it.

I'd say cleaning it up and keeping it all original besides your own pedals is the best way to go, but I'm not thrilled about dt shifting on my road bike either.

waterrockets 

You can make touch-up paint by mixing red, white, and yellow Testors model paint (from a hobby store). Just make sure to de-rust it as much as possible first. Just mix in the bottom of an upside-down Coke can (small bowl).

waterrockets 

I don't think bike thieves appreciate Land Sharks, but they do appreciate bikes...

marqueemoon

If that were my bike I'd swap out the bars, put some stainless cages on it, and ride the hell out of it.

jyossarian

Glad to hear you changed your mind about painting over the original job. To most people, all they'll see is some violently pink bike. To those who know, they'll see a landshark and wanna know if it's for sale.

jch3n

what bars would you get? would you get a new stem too?

and i still dunno what to do about the wheels. getting new tires for sure, but is there anyway to clean up the corrosion?

H1449-6

I have a mid 90s 'shark with DA 8s and I am NEVER getting rid of it. In fact I just found some DA 7401 Look style pedals to complete it.

marqueemoon

Bars and stems are definitely a personal preference/fit thing. I'm a Nitto bar/Salsa stem fan myself but you may hate them.

You could try some super fine steel wool on the spokes to get some of the funk off.

big john

I had one from 1990, very soft ride. IMHO, you will gain nothing by changing the fork. Prestige tubing is very light steel, and you might have trouble finding a carbon fork with a threaded steer tube. I would just ride it, except for maybe comfort things like saddle, etc.