Best old frame to build from
05-11-14, 07:07 AM
#26
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I built just that from a 1994 fuji frame. New parts all over. Xtr, Slx, Deore, xt all mixed up. Put a rockshox tora on it. My best multi purpose bike ever. Don't let the naysayers stop you.
05-11-14, 07:29 AM
#27
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I love 70's Era Frames
Here's a few more of my creations that might inspire OP (if the turd blossoms didn't chase him off permanently):
1973 Super Course frame/fork with drum brakes and 2x9 drive train:
1970 Super Sport frame/fork built up single speed for my Best Man's son's college bike:
1973 Sport Tourer frame/fork built up single speed for my son's college bike (raw finish)
a few new projects:
1973 Super Sport frame/fork stripped clean, waiting for inspiration:
1978 Astro Daimler 531 DB frame/fork that will have all modern equipment and become my long distance road bike with 3x9 drivetrain:
1973 Super Course frame/fork with drum brakes and 2x9 drive train:
1970 Super Sport frame/fork built up single speed for my Best Man's son's college bike:
1973 Sport Tourer frame/fork built up single speed for my son's college bike (raw finish)
a few new projects:
1973 Super Sport frame/fork stripped clean, waiting for inspiration:
1978 Astro Daimler 531 DB frame/fork that will have all modern equipment and become my long distance road bike with 3x9 drivetrain:
05-11-14, 07:54 AM
#28
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Thats what I built. 3x9 48-38-28 11-34 at the back. Has off road and onroad wheelsets, xt calipers on deore levers, an xtr chain and slx hubs.It has rockshox tora up front with a.lock and height adjustment from 80-120mm. I could buy something like it easily enough but I built it from a lonely looking frame and we've done 30,000km together. Much more fun this way.
Thats what I built. 3x9 48-38-28 11-34 at the back. Has off road and onroad wheelsets, xt calipers on deore levers, an xtr chain and slx hubs.It has rockshox tora up front with a.lock and height adjustment from 80-120mm. I could buy something like it easily enough but I built it from a lonely looking frame and we've done 30,000km together. Much more fun this way.
05-11-14, 09:43 AM
#29
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05-14-14, 09:35 AM
#30
aka Tom Reingold
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I haven't found many road bikes that are lousy with upright handlebars.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
05-14-14, 04:48 PM
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As an A+ Certified PC Repair Technician I could easily build myself any kind of computer I want. Back in the day my colleagues and I would do just that. These days there is no way a one off build can touch what Dell or HP can put in your media room. Tiger Direct discounts motherboards and chipsets when you buy 10 or more. Dell buys chipsets by the millions. Yeah, yeah, yeah... its for the experience... ... I'd rather use the damn thing. There is a group of PC enthusiasts called modders that build jaw dropping creations that are not possible to buy for love or money. That is a valid use of creative energy. Bike builders who fabricate choppers or restore vintage machines get my respect. People who cobble together off the shelf parts in non-sanctioned ways, not so much. I don't think its wrong to tell someone they are wasting money, or their time or re-inventing the wheel. If they are. You are absolutely correct in your second paragraph summation. When you go further and consider the assortment of BSO's in department stores, it gets even harder to justify the expenditure of time, money and energy it needs to bring a late 80's early 90's steel mtb frame into the 21st Century.
H
H
But if you've got to upgrade the power supply to feed your graphics card(s), and you already have a windows license? Now it's more economical to build.
Admittedly, gamers and PC graphics development are niche markets.
05-14-14, 10:01 PM
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I wouldn't have said lousy. Just not quite right. Bike designed for flat bars have more reach (longer top tube) relative to the expected bar height. Putting drop bars on a bike like that is more of a problem than going the other way, but flat bars on a road bike is still less than desirable in my opinion. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that you'd be better off starting with a frame designed for flat bars.
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05-15-14, 07:47 AM
#34
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I wouldn't have said lousy. Just not quite right. Bike designed for flat bars have more reach (longer top tube) relative to the expected bar height. Putting drop bars on a bike like that is more of a problem than going the other way, but flat bars on a road bike is still less than desirable in my opinion. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that you'd be better off starting with a frame designed for flat bars.
The tops on a drop bar are sort of like narrow flat bars with no rise or sweep to them, but not many flat bars are like that (though some are). The end result of putting the typical flat bar on a road frame will be a more upright riding posture, which maybe OK, if not exactly intended. You've also completely taken away the more aerodynamic riding position of being in the drops.
If the OP's goal in choosing a road frame was better performance then he would be largely negating that by putting flat bars on it. That's why a performance hybrid frame or even a mountain bike frame might be preferred. Of course just like flat to drop conversions you can somewhat compensate for differing top tube lengths by using another stem.
It has become very fashionable in the fixed gear world to put flat bars on road bikes so it's a pretty common conversion. I'm not sure everyone understands the aerodynamic consequences nor do they probably care.
Last edited by tjspiel; 05-15-14 at 11:34 AM.
05-15-14, 10:43 AM
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I'm building an "89 Hybrid into my first commuter. The frame is a rigid mountain bike, I've got 700c 35c slicks for bump absorption, rack, fenders, lights, and I'm putting dropped bar ends and bike bucket Kittiers on the rack. I'm way upside down on value, but I'm having the time of my life customizing the ride, and getting into fighting trim!
