Looks like it's already set up to be a good hill climber. Looks like it's got a triple Biopace chainring & a long cage rear derailleur. You could probably get a 7 speed 34 tooth extended range rear cog set to fit on that. I'd say a new rear cassette, chain, bar tape & brake pads + clean & repack the bearings and, that's ready to ride. If you really have that kind of long steep descent then, I'd definitely put some koolstop brake pads on it. Plus, you may want to take real close look at the tubes & tires. (You don't want a blow out when you're doing 35 - 40 mph downhill).

Bottom bracket should be a standard BB. Just make sure you get the correct length of axle - and that will be whatever your crankset dictates. New cranks/groupset should come with one. I wouldn't even bother going to a modern drive train - you should have plenty of gears to work with. You'll probably have to cold set the rear triangle to fit a 10 or 11 speed drive train on it, which isn't a huge deal but be prepared for more learning experiences.

Vinegar for rusted bits. $10?!?!?!?!!! What a grab! Cudos

Weigh it. It might feel heavier than it is in comparison to a much bigger frame. A kilo on a bar a meter across held with two hands feels like nothing, but a kilo that fits in the palm of your hand feels very heavy. Density and leverage are really tricky that way.

It might be a heavy frame, though.

Good to know! And yeah, it is absolutely a downhill like that. I normally head down it around 38mph. As for the wheels/tubes/tires, those are all 100% top of the change out list. The tubes and tires that it came with are completely shot (back tube was actually shredded and hanging out the between the tire wall and the rim). Plus, the wheels were showing some odd burring/divets that makes me uncomfortable even if I did slap new rubber on them.

[MENTION=418278]billytwosheds[/MENTION] I'm probably going to hit you up soon for that assist. I've got family coming in to town this weekend, but after that I'll be about it. I'm gonna pick up a big ol' thing of vinegar for the rusty bits that might be salvageable and give that a go. I think the thing that it is seeming like I'll need guidance on most for ya'll is STI shifters that'll line up with the existing groupset. That is my bigger inclination towards buying a new groupset (aka, a lack of knowledge/skill so lets just throw some money at it... still cheaper than a $1500 new bike...)

Today's project before heading in to work, de-gunking the bars. Maybe if I keep working it in small bits, I'll be able to finish this project in a reasonable amount of time.

Nice Score!

Diamond Backs are not well respected by alot of people but they were good back in the day, even today they have some nice bikes. To many people think of the low end DB's that are all over the place.

I have a couple Diamond Backs some old MTB's and they are good bikes.

Like alot of other people said, think twice about updating everything, the 10 and 11 speed have more gears between the range but the range is the same, I commute regularly on a 87 Ironman and I do just fine having a 6 speed .

you can also post the Venture on our Show Us your Vintage Diamond Back Thread.

Yeah, looking through that thread it looks like someone took one of the mountain bikes and maybe turned it into a roadie? It definitely doesn't have classic roadie lines, but I'm still gonna have it set up as a rodie. Thanks for the share!

So, since you're knowledgeable on the older Diamond Backs... any suggestions on some brifters [MENTION=365143]fleslider[/MENTION] ?

Just for fun, here are a couple of pix of the 1991 DB Venture I have been riding in the Clunker Challenge 100 this year. I wound up using mostly stock parts and setting it up to be a multi-surface road bike suitable for accompanying my son when he runs. The funny thing is - it actually rides very, very nicely.

[IMG]7/6/2017 2nd version by Russ Fitzgerald, on Flickr[/IMG]

My 1991 DBV came with 47-57mm reach brake calipers rather than the typical 39-49mm on most road bikes. Double check yours, which I think is a 1990 and see if it is the same. In my case, with a little creative grinding to remove excess steerer tube length I was able to run 35mm Continental Cyclocross tires on mine -

[IMG]7/6/2017 front clearance by Russ Fitzgerald, on Flickr[/IMG]

- which means there's easily room for 28mm tires and fenders, maybe even 32s. But 28s for sure.

Now, you could update everything I suppose - but honestly, why? It's a commuter. What I found was that the bottom bracket in mine, which looked like it had been deliberately filled with rusty red mud, came back nicely when properly cleaned and repacked with fresh grease. The same for the hubs, which emerged from my workshop running smoothly and well. The 3x7 drivetrain has so far worked nicely for me. I will note that I do need to tweak the derailleur hanger, which shows signs of having been bent, which could be the result of an accident that took out the original rear derailleur. Not a biggie.

This bike is actually made with pretty decent tubing - the Tange Infinity is .09-.06-.09 walled, double-butted chromo with .08-walled stays and 1.0mm walled fork blades. Sure, it's seamed, but by the time Tange was done working it into shape the seam is pretty much irrelevant. It's not a hi-zoot, big name brand kinda tubing, but who cares? You could build up a very nice, speedy, not-so-attractive-to-thieves but still very nice bike with this. It's not that much different from Reynolds 531 dimensions - though it does take a 27.0 mm seatpost rather than a 27.2.

Should you choose to simply clean and re-use as many of the stock parts as possible, you'll find the Exage stuff is all good, workable stuff that is durable and dependable. It works pretty much like everything else Shimano has made and is the equivalent of Sora or Tiagra. I will note that I picked up a set of replacement brake lever hoods from Niagara Cycle that are close enough for around $8 shipped - every example of those white Shimano lever hoods I have encountered in the Southeast has been a runny sticky mess.

Were it mine, and if I was absolutely set on running brifters, and with the understanding that this is a commuter - I would look at Microshift brifters. They sell a 3x7 set which turns up on the big auction site for around $50.

If you must run 10 or 11 speed on the rear, it's already set to 130 mm in the rear, so it should all fit in nicely. But again, it's a commuter, 7-speed cassettes are readily available and reasonably cheap.

Here's my account of setting one of these up cheap!

I dig it as a commuter... if you wanna run it with 10 speed brifters I would look for some older tiagra/105/ultegra stuff (4600/5600/6600). The newest tiagra group needs its specific derailleur and crankset. Claris brifters might be a good choice too actually. They might even work with the crank and FD without much trouble.

I like it, I wouldn't paint it, I'd give it a good cleaning and clearcoat it to preserve it as is. That's what I'm going to do with my 1990 Diamond Back Centurion Interval frame. It's awaiting an STI conversion with Shimano 105. What appears to be a dent in the 2nd photo is just a smudge.