Bridgestone RB-T 56cm touring bike - $700 (Newton)

Up for sale is a 56cm 1991 Bridgestone RB-T touring bike. I have a number of Bridgestone bikes and owned this one almost since new. The bike has all of its original components: indexed Suntour derailleurs and shifters, Diacomp brakes and Sakei cranks and everything has new tires and has just been serviced and works perfectly. With appropriate maintenance, I would expect it to last for a very long time. The handlebars are wrapped in hand sewn elk hide and the chain stay has elk hyde protection as well. The seat is the original leather Avocet preferred by Bridgestone in the touring model on the RB-Ts. The bike has a few scratches from bike racks but way less than you’d expect and looks like new without close scrutiny. The decals are original, this is rare for Bridgestone bikes since that seemed to be their weak point. The catalog can be seen here https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridges...ne-1991-32.htm

If you are looking at this you may already know Bridgestone bicycle history. Bridgestone, under Grant Petersen, went from one of many good Japanese bike builders to something special. He built their reputation on their top of the line bikes like the MB-1, RB-1, XO-1, RB-T and Grand Velo. The MB-1 changed all mountain bikes from frames copied from a 1960’s Schwinn middleweights to geometry more like an Italian road bike for exceptional climbing. The RB-1 was a competitive road bike at a price for the quality that couldn’t be matched. Grant brought the RB-T out after the touring bike craze had waned but with 700c wheels instead of traditional touring bike 27”, space for wider tires if you wanted them and an improved geometry for climbing. It wasn’t the best bike for loaded touring with your tent, stove and 3 months food supply but it’s performance made it the top choice for lightweight (credit card) touring and for cyclocross for its climbing, agility and train-stopping cantilevers. All of this made it special as the all-around bike. It did everything well enough to be a great choice to be your only bike for touring, around hilly towns, even off road and everything else.

All Bridgestone bikes made in Japan were special. Even the entry level bikes they produced with the Bridgestone name, although heavy, were beautifully welded, painted and equipped with durable components individually selected for the best performance for the price paid over names.

The price is firm. Please include a phone number for either texts or calls in your response.

do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers

Nice Bike - but who is really buying these for that price? This Serotta been listed for 3 months

$750, Lowell MA