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Old 07-12-09 | 02:28 PM
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Daytrip
Medicinal Cyclist
 
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,807
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From: Mohawk Valley/Adks, NYS

Bikes: 2003 Klein Q Carbon Race; 2009 Giant OCR-1

Viscount Restoration Project

Well, sort of. Back in my college days in the mid '70s I had two Viscounts. One was a new, bottom of the line model and the other one was a used, but much nicer model (Gran Tour, maybe). Anyway, the bike pictured is a combination of the two. The frame and fork are off the lesser bike. Everything else (except the seat) is from the other bike. The seat is a Selle that I had laying around. I realize that the paint job matches the better bike while the decals are from the cheaper one. It's just a poorly done rattle-can paint job and I bought the decals online, so the downtube "Viscount" logo is wrong for this paint scheme.

Anyway, I'm recovering from major surgery at the moment, so I've only ridden it 2 miles (today), but it rides surprisingly well. It's a lot different from my '08 Giant OCR-1, but it brings back fond memories, and one of these days I'm hoping to do a century on it. I put a lot of miles on both bikes back in the day, and it's nice to have both put together in one package. One reason I went with the cheaper frame is the original Gran Tour had the "Fork of Death" and the chrome fork wouldn't fit on that frame for some reason. The other reason is that the original frame somehow got bent in 30 years of multiple moves and storage. Looks like somebody backed a car into it. And the seatpost was frozen to the frame.
Attached Images
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viscount1.jpg (88.8 KB, 33 views)
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viscount2.jpg (91.4 KB, 47 views)
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viscount3.jpg (70.4 KB, 22 views)
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viscount4.jpg (92.1 KB, 21 views)
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