Great build...thanks for sharing...that H-bar tape REALLY sets the bike off...exactly the kind of pictures I needed to see on a Wednesday morning!

Very nice build on a nice bike.

I know what you mean; I just finished my winter project. I had this frame blasted and powder-coated, and then I built it back up. The dynamo wiring is what took me the longest.

This bike is a 1988 Schwinn KOM Project-10, their nicest MTB that year. Investment cast lugs, Tange Prestige. I turned it into a gravel/dirt road bike, commuter, and tourer.

The M12 is the nicer rack of the two (the VO has ugly welds, in comparison). The M12 can be found for $66 online, too.

There seem to be slightly different versions of the M12 with one, two, or zero threaded eyelets halfway down the support legs. Ensure you confirm which one you're getting, if that's important to you. For example, on the bike above, I mounted the dynamo headlight to the left support leg of the M12 (out of sight in this pic).

One issue with a front cantilever-mounted rack: What is the spacing between the cantilever posts on your RB-T? Is it the narrow, 1980s sport/touring bike standard? Or, the wider MTB standard? If your fork has the narrow spacing, you may need to do some bending of the cantilever mounts on any rack to line it up perfectly. FYI

Thanks for the info, Tim!

You've got a great looking, purpose built bike there yourself.

I have a Nitto M12 mounted to my '94 RB-T. No issues whatsoever.

toavii,

That bike looks so ready for a self-supported ride.
Problem is, you'd be surrounded at every stop by gawkers.
Most people have never seen a bike that nice.

+1, but you sure don't need to be in a hurry wrapping it. Brooks really intends you to get it even, eh? I think it takes me 45 minutes to get it right with Brooks tape, and I rest after each side, let my brain drain a bit, and then I very carefully wrap that finish tape. One trick I found is to use one round of Velox tubular tape under the finish tape, and no frays.

Ha, Thanks!

The thing I like most about Brooks tape is that you can pull on it enough without worrying that you'll snap the tape. Done that a couple of times with other tape which meant the need to buy tape twice which is an annoyance. I take my time wrapping but I'm far from having it perfected. Just try to get it to the point where it's good enough for my eyes. The Velox tape is a good tip. I finished with a couple wraps of standard electrical tape and wrapped the finishing tape over it. Next time!

Very nice bike. Last gasp of the classic high end Japanese lugged touring bicycle. I remember selling those. They weren't that popular at the time. Demand for good touring machines had dwindled to near zilch. You'd rather have a 35lb mountain bike with fat tires? OK!

The Brooks looks good on it. It still needs some toe clips and straps, but I'll let it slide for now because of the snow.

Here you go. A few more tweaks to come, possibly front lowriders instead of or in addition to the front rack, and lower gearing. We'll see what the shakedown trip tells us.

That bike is beautiful!

I love that color and the overall look of utility on that. It looks like the rear end is long, but not too long and the clearance on the fork looks fantastic- even with those 33s on it. Heck, you'd be able to fit 35s and fenders on there. You've done a beautiful job with it, all the way to the Teflon coated shift cables!

Are you looking to make changes to it?

I've gone full-on dork with my Trek 720. That bike gets anything that I decide is "top of the line." The key phrase is "I decide." Suntour XC, XC Pro, Deore XT, 600, Phil Wood, Super Champion... Probably going to be going Tubus for the rear rack and Nitto on the front. Considering changing the brakes to Gran Compe and XC Pro...

If'n it were me... I'd do the criss-cross cable thing in the front (the left shift cable goes to the right DT mount, right shift cable to the left- and then cross the cables under the downtube) It's a more gentle bend and it's much easier to look more symmetrical. Then I'd spend more money than you can shake a stick at- and upgrade EVERYTHING to XT (or maybe M900 XTR... hmmm...)

Full. On. Dork.


"Everybody knows you never go full-on dork."

Looks great thumpism!

I don't plan on much as far as swapping out components right now GB. It may get Paul cantis down the line and perhaps a new crankset given the arms on this one have quite a bit of shoe rub. Going to give the bike plenty of miles before that's decided though.

Bags/racks will be decided on by Spring. Foregoing fenders I believe.

I experimented with cable routing before taping the bars. This gave me a combination of the cleanest lines and best shifting.

Now that the weather is clearing a bit in Minnesota, I've been out riding.

Have a little over a 100 miles on the bike now, great riding bike. Really like these Soma tires. Was crossing my fingers with them and so far so good!

Really nice.

Lovely! Like that you kept the RX-100 derailleurs; it was a classy gruppo.

Very nice looking bike. I sold a '92 last Spring that wasn't anywhere near as nice as yours.

It cleaned up very well.

If you want to see something cringe worthy, look closely at the second picture of the finished bike on the drive side fork leg. Yep, the original owner carved his MN license through the paint...

Yes, I noticed that when I looked at it.

Other than that, the bike presents beautifully!

A little light sanding (2000 grit), polishing compound and Testor's paint and you won't know it was there.

Great job on the build. I am in the process of building up the same color RB-T. What is the brand and color tape you’re using?

Welcome to the forum. Always good to quote when asking someone a question. This post is ten years old and the op hasn't posted since 2020 so you may not get a response.

Timely resurrection of this thread, as I was thinking of starting a new one about the 1994 RB-T I recently bought. I wasn't even looking for this model but it came up on FB locally and I eventually gave in. After all, when was I ever going to see another in my size?

This is the seller's photo; he knew what he was doing (replaced this bike with a Riv) and had tried various bars on it. It came to me mostly original but without wheels (seller didn't have the originals). I intend to strip it down, clean it up, and rebuild with a dirt drop stem to get the bars up a bit since I'm old. I will likely keep the 7sp drivetrain but am thinking seriously about brifters, for the first time.

The OP said it is Brooks Ochre

Post more here and join in the fun! You can't post pics till you're at 10 posts total, but you can easily add comments, even 'nice!', put up a WTB post in the FS area, or just add more comments here. If you are looking to build up a Bridgestone you have found your people.

Looking forward to what you do with yours!!!

There's just not enough touring bike builds going on in here anymore!!

I regret to report that the mustard-yellow ochre Brooks leather bar tape that is so appealing in the OP's 2016 post, is no longer available, anywhere. Like several posters above, I thought it was a great color to go with the RB-T's dark green, and my wife, a color-holic artist, agreed completely when I showed her the picture.

So I went down a rabbit hole looking for it and it appears that was a limited edition of vibrant colors for tape and Pro saddles (!) Brooks offered in 2013, according to a post from Radavist from that year.

The crimson red bar tape I put on my Motobecane Grand Record in 2013 was apparently also in that lot and is also NA, anywhere I can find. I shoulda bought a spare set!

Lesson learned: if you see a special Brooks product you really like, grab it now, because it won't be available later on. Maybe a spare, too.

https://theradavist.com/new-offerings-from-brooks