Korina

cs1

Me three.

dickbandit 

This is my 1995 Trek 830 daily commuter. Just installed the fenders last night.

brian3069

My Specialized Hardrock beater. The VO Tourist bars and the 26 x 2.125 slick tires are new. The handlebars replaced a set of steel North Road bars from a Schwinn Collegiate. I was a pleasantly surprised to find the slightly different hand position of the VO bars much more comfortable. Also, a shout out to jcb3 for giving me the nice Suntour BL GT rear derailleur.

beicster 

I have your bike's twin. I have a set of VO Klunker bars on mine and nearly all of the rest is original spec. I have been meaning to get pictures but I have not done it yet.

lorenzo_de_leon

My '94 MB-6 trail rider turned kid-hauler / grocery-getter. Made with what I had in the workshop, well, that and a BoBike seat which I just learned will also hold Salsa panniers just fine.

Taken this morning at James Island, SC

stanman13

My 1984(ish) Univega Range Rover. Not a top of the line bike, but a nice rider. Straight gauge Tange Cromoly, nice forged dropouts. Good fit. Came to me mostly bare, with mismatched wheels and the worst saddle I've ever sat upon. Like I do with all the family bikes, I just add little upgrades a bit at a time, shaping it into the bike I like. Yesterday I removed the old stem shifters and added the Silver shifters on Shimano bar end pods. Fenders by Woody's. By the time I'm "done" I'll have far more invested in components than the bike is worth as a whole. Probably already past that point.

cooperryder 

There are sure some great looking bikes posted recently.

Very nice!

These vintage mt bike frames are so versatile for building up and customizing to ones preferences.

After adding decent quality fattish street tires, comfortable bars & a tall enough stem that works for me
I can ride my 'urban cruiser' as I refer to mine comfortably for hours.
If the road or trail gets a little rougher these bikes can handle it.

These bikes put a smile on my face for not a lot of dollars spent.

It's fun seeing how others have customized theirs especially the various add ons,
internal hubs, generator lighting, front and rear bags, fenders, racks, baskets, cool grips, bar tape, bells, horns, other than black tires, leather saddles, and all the rest.

Y'all are some talented, creative , imaginative, resourceful and inventive folks.

cooperryder 

stanman13,

Beautiful and nicely done!

Love the variety of colors on your bars!
I need to get creative like that on one of my cockpits.

My first vintage mt bike I experimented with and rebuilt years ago was a Univega Rover.
I have fond memories of that Univega.

cs1

They really are great bikes. It makes me wonder why 26” bikes died the way they did.

stanman13

Thank you! The handlebar tape resulted as much from my inability to make a decision as anything else. Had these two great colors of Newbaum's and just couldn't decide, so I just ad-libbed. The little blue bits were just an experiment for fun.

stanman13

Hard Rock Ultra. Not sure what the "ultra" means. Small frame for my daughter. VO stem and Left Bank bars. All of our bikes are friction shifting, in this case on some very nice Suntour thumbies. Right now it just has some Wald cruiser fenders on it, which are fine except too short. I'll replace those with some aluminum guards, probably VO. Original seat probably needs an upgrade, but she hasn't complained about it.

cooperryder 

That's a sharp looking cockpit. (and bike)
I have a set of those same shifters.
Hope your daughter enjoys her cool bike.

stanman13

In my layman's opinion it happened because the industry is built around moving on to the Next Big Thing, and in this case that was 700c. I guess I'm neutral to it overall, but I think that it's not always the right choice for a given frame or customer. I like the ubiquity of 26", and even cheap wheels in that size are pretty sturdy. A frame the size of my Univega above would be fine with 700c. But it would be absurd to put them on a frame the size of my daughter's, though I have seen it.

Korina

I completely agree. At 5' 4" I feel so much more comfortable on a 26" wheel bike; I wish all mfrs. put them on their small and extra small frames, but they're not interested in the outliers, just the big fat middle.

Pretty Purple Princess Penelope is the most comfortable bike I've ever owned, and she'll be even better when I get the new crankset working (have to replace the bb because the spindles are too long).

cs1

Kind of but not quite true. If the popular wheel size is say 27” or a 700C that’s what goes on every size they make. Because an XS with 700C wheels is so much faster!

Korina

It's really not; I can go just as fast on my 26" as on my 700c (i.e. not very ), even though I'm more upright on the 26". Or do you mean it's all popular perception? Because that I believe. I was never much into fashion. (Okay, so there was that time in the '80s... never mind. )

cs1

You realize I was kidding. I wish there was a smart ass emoji.

Brocephus

This might work

Brocephus

I'm thinking you could start a side business, wrapping handles on samurai swords !!!!

[QUOTE=stanman13;21012216]



[/QUOTE

stanman13

Now there's a cutting-edge side gig!



(I'll just show myself out...)

Korina

I kinda figured it was on the level of "red goes faster". It's all good.

cs1

Wait, you mean red doesn’t go faster?

Korina

Of course it does; it goes at least as fast as 175 cranks.

cooperryder 

Another pic of my lugged Trek 950.
This is my 2nd lugged 950.