Happy Feet

After a little hiatus...

I bought a new bike and did some touring etc... so the rebuild took a back seat for a bit. One reason was that I felt thwarted by a frozen fixed cup on the BB. This meant I had to reuse the axle which was scarred and I put it on hold hoping I would come across one in my travels.

Today was a rainy day and I was off work so I decided to give removal one more try. It's been sitting for a while with WD40 sprayed into the threads so I ran a bolt through the stuck cup and using some large washers secured a pipe wrench to it and wailed away with the hammer. Finally.. success! With that out I inserted a Shimano UN55 sealed cartridge BB and set to work on my crankset.

The problem there was that, in making it a 1X I had to remove the middle and small chain rings. This left a gap for the bolts holding the large chain ring as the middle chain ring was also secured by it and in its absence there was play. This I resolved by adding lock washers to the bolt seen here:





Now that those drive train issues are resolved the way is clear to do the rest of the build for which I have all the parts.

TenGrainBread 

Nice job.
For future reference you can go to an LBS and get chainring bolt spacers for applications like this. They're basically just washers of the right size so if you found normal washers that work you should be good to go.
I would look into a chainkeeper (Paul Components?) as a 1x setup with a vintage derailleur doesn't really hold the chain very tight and you end up dropping your chain a lot in the lowest and highest gears. Either that or a derailleur with a clutch and a new narrow-wide chainring, which are standard equipment on new 1x bikes. The chainkeeper will be the least expensive route.

Happy Feet

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to google the derailer info

The one bike store around here that I source older parts from is closing and the other ones would probably have no idea what spacer washers were or why someone would need them (0 vintage vibe) but I will keep it in mind. As far as the wheel goes I'm just going to finish the bike up as it is for now and, if I keep it, will probably rebuild a wheel with a SA 3speed hub I have. It's a 40h and I'm keeping my eye open for a matching rim. That's why I'm not worrying too much about the bent rear axle.

Hah. back already! Thanks for that. I just read about narrow wide rings and clutch derailers. Feel like I learned something new tonight.

higgins617

They make single ring chainring bolts where the nut side is shorter. I've used them on two different builds. fairly cheap too

Happy Feet

Today I finished off the project (for now) though I may still add some vintage wire bottle cages from VO and new brake pads.

Total cost for the project was a little high but that's because I wanted to add a few expensive parts like the seat, grips and tires for a certain aesthetic. Without those I could have knocked $240 off the rebuild price easily.

Tires: $90 (2 Panaracer Paselas 26x1.75 + tubes)
Chain: $10
Fluids: $20 (Blue acid and shop fluids)
Seat: $180 (Brooks B67)
Brakes: $20 (Tektro)
Grips: $40 (Specialized)
Cables: $5
Skateboard rack and light: $10
Other stuff I had lying around
Total: $375



I picked up a few parts from the flea market for $10 and got to work on a sunny Thanksgiving afternoon.



After some mods I bolted them on and took some pics.

Before:



After:

AustinFitz

Wow man, that turned out beautifully!!! Very nice work! I've been keeping an eye on your build as I'm interested in building up something very similar, but with a drop bar conversion. Luckily I ran across the perfect candidate just a couple of weeks ago too!

'83/'84 Diamond Back Ridge Runner

The Golden Boy 

With the super awesome, yet sooper goofy Superbe Tech RD!!!

beicster 

It looks great. I am still a fan of that bluing. I plan to do that to a welded frame when I finally decide it is time to strip the paint off of it.

Happy Feet

Thanks Beicster

Austin, that RR looks in good shape for a conversion. I was considering that too but the bullhorns won out. If you go that way there are a couple of guys on the board who are looking for them (those high rise bullhorns). For an old mtb the lugs on these DB's look so nice that they make spending time on the frame worth it IMO.

I'm going to take off the add on's and take another pic for a more stripped down look.

4funbikes

Woah that turned out fantastic! This is great inspiration for project i have in queue.

3speedslow

It was the bull moose bars that made my early 80's mtb have that distinctive ride characteristic.

cooperryder

I really like how your Diamondback turned out Happy Feet.
Nice work.

What a contrast in the b4 and after!

Thanks for documenting your project.

merziac

Add me to the copycat list, going to do it on an 83 Stumpy that the bad paint looks kind of like this only really bad.
Have no doubt it will be stunning after the blue.

beicster 

I started my bluing process yesterday. I stripped the paint off the fork of my 1994 Diamondback Apex and rubbed on the bluing. I love the way it looks and it is way easier than repainting. I'll post pics when it is done. Thanks for posting about this.