neo_pop_71

Hey Roy, sweet score for ten bucks! That looks like a higher level bonded race frame, can you verify the frame material. Based on what I know about Ross (Rand) after they bought Barracuda in 1996, they were still producing American made bikes in Farmingdale, NY. It looks like the McKinley was a top tier bike for Ross, other years the McKinley came with XT group. According to Bikepedia, the '94 McKinley weighed 24.5 pounds, came with XT and Ritchey components, and sported a Halson suspension fork on a 6061 bonded aluminum frame... not a junky set up for sure!!!

This McKinley on Ebay is only $14,849.00 + $150.00 s/h fees... compared to $14,999.00 your $10.00 is the bargain of the century!!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1987...672#vi-content

*EDIT*

I knew I'd seen that same bike before, a guy over on RatRod bikes fixed up one and he has some info about the bike and Ross too. He seems to think that the bike is a 1991 based on the cover of a catalog, anyway, here is a link:

https://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/vie...st=0&sk=t&sd=a

pcdmiele

no, I didn't buy it. they wanted $30 for painting with very thin paint on the canvas. yea it was signed by Ned bit until I wiki'ed him I had no idea who the guy was. Looks like somebodies highschool art project painted from an opaque projector. then they gotr Ned to sign it. for $5 I would have picked it up to pass along to one of you guys who would appreciate it, but not for $30, I'm way to cheap for that. that is why I hang out here and ride C&V. I did drop a little dough on some spinergy spox wheels excellent condition for $100. they will be a sweet upgrade for my paramount 70 series. now I need to find some tires.
Royal

neo_pop_71

Well played, I wouldn't drop that type of coin at a thrift store... where the hell did the thrift part of it go? I'm with you as I'm too cheap to toss my dough on something like that and I'm right with you on the SPOX! Nice score for $100.00! Those wheels are so light and strong, I love 'em, I have a few sets. Watch out for small cracks around the base where the spoke pulls through the rim. If you can swing it, pick up a few new PBO spokes from Spinergy directly and keep them for spares. Spinergy is still around, they are about a 40 minutes south of me in Carlsbad, CA. Speak with their tech shop guy, he's cool, he'll get you proper spoke for your wheel. I need to call and get a couple yellow PBO spokes this week for my 700c rear wheel. Oh, did you SPOX come with the spoke wrench keys? If not, I have a set that I can send your way, PM me if you need 'em.

Peace,

-D-

plumberroy

yes it is a bonded frame with steel fork and chain stay/seat stay are steel too. there is a decal on the top tube that says "sakae litage" yes it is dx and ritchey componets I replaced the broken left shifter/brake lever with this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-Deor...70887825501%26
After cleaning some and lubing and replacing the shifter it rides decent I am still fine tuning
Roy

Edit how is that bonded frame going to hold up under a #300 lb rider?

frantik

Shp4man

The suspension fork just keeps the front wheel on the ground. So I can have one less thing to compensate for.

pcdmiele

thanks for the info, there are a lot of mixed reviews online about the spinergy wheels. some love them other cant gat more than a couple of rides out of them. I hope I got a good set as they have been proven out for a few years by a previous owner. they are not beat up but I will call spinergy and get a couple of spare spokes. and they did not come with wrenches I hope they are still available. If not I'll pm you. thanks, hopefully I have some pics to post up with them installed soon. royal

frantik

I guess you could say subtly isn't my strong suit when it comes to bike builds new paint job and massive upgrades have turned this low end beater into something i'm proud to have in my stable. XT RD, Deore FD, Deore thumbies, (modern) Deore Vbrake levers, STX wheels with WTB rims, shimano 600 main crank, other odds and ends. Everything came from my parts bin too only money spent so far has been on cables and paint

before


AFTER!

Chrome Molly

That's a blast, and they'll see you without a flasher.

neo_pop_71

Frantik, that stock tandem was something I would have totally missed and paid no attention to but rebuilt it demands attention as a legit bike with attitude! That's awesome, it came out great! What does your gal think of your handiwork? I assume she has seen this bike morph and change over the past couple weeks, does she get it? All the effort needed to make something on such a large scale grow into something cool, your time was well spent!

frantik

thanks! my gf definitely noticed it rode a lot better, and of course she loves the paint. I showed her the purple cable ends and she was like "only you would notice something like that" i'm pretty sure she recongizes and appreciates the work put into it even if she's not totally aware of exactly what i've done to make it better

I just won some XT tandem cranks on ebay which I will put in the captains position.. first parts bought specifically for this build. Hopefully the longer arm (175 vs 170 for the stoker) will help with my desire to spin and her desire to mash.

Chris Chicago

Picked this up today for brother in law. His 93 trek 800 was taken from his garage. 80 bucks got him a 93 rockhopper as replacement. In really good shape.

LesterOfPuppets

Should be a step up from the Trek 800. Nice find!

Narhay

The Merlin photo is out of date. I'll get a newer one some I imagine.

LesterOfPuppets

I think I might end up keeping this one. Fuji Blvd. XC. Pretty tall standover for me but perfect TT for sem-upright position with those bullmoose bars. Running single speed for now, have some Suntour thumbshifters that may go on there if some suitable derailers present themselves anytime soon.


FB_IMG_13730588023390909 by Wheel Deals Vancouver, WA, on Flickr

LesterOfPuppets

I think I might end up keeping this one. Fuji Blvd. XC. Pretty tall standover for me but perfect TT for sem-upright position with those bullmoose bars. Running single speed for now, have some Suntour thumbshifters that may go on there if some suitable derailers present themselves anytime soon.


FB_IMG_13730588023390909 by Wheel Deals Vancouver, WA, on Flickr

Chrome Molly

I bought an almost identical Fuji sundancer on Saturday (cept for wheels and it's multi speed - or kinda is). What are your plans for it? I spent $40 on mine, mainly to pull the bullmoose bars onto another project (cheaper than the $155 that riv wants for a pair). In looking at it, it has the makings for a sweet grocery getter (with the ex long stays and dual eyelets).

How was lunch?

Chris Chicago

that fuji blvd is nice and big. cool bars and white hubs as well. sierras came with white hubs in 87 I believe. had one pass through my hands and contemplated keeping the wheels on account of the hubs.

ncrnelson

Saw what appeared to be a near perfect original black chrome Schwinn High Sierra on the Minneapolis Craigslist yesterday for $30. I emailed the seller an hour and a half after it was posted, but haven't heard back and the ad is now down. If the buyer is a BF member, I just want to say congrats and I hate you.

Would love to see some pictures though.

plumberroy

I posted this bike earlier I so far have added a shimano deore left shifter/brake @ $14 and a chain @ $8 and the bike is ridable. Here is my big question. I weight #310 will this bonded frame hold up ? I would be using it for off pavement but not tech stuff something to ride down the horse trail gravel path etc.
Just wondering before I spend $50-$70 for new tires and tubes
Thanks
Roy

neo_pop_71

Hey Roy,

That's a hard one to call not knowing the construction of that particular frame. Some bonded frames were adhesive only, some were threaded tube ends into threaded lugs plus adhesive, and others were glued and retaining pin to keep things in place. I would imagine the only way to know might be to ride it hard in your neighborhood, fly off some curbs, and listen for any creaks or sounds that weren't there before the ride. I'd also follow up the ride with a close inspection of the bonded joints to see if there are any stress cracks in the paint. I'm 225 pounds and have raced clydesdale class for years, I've yet to hear a story from any of the other big guys about a major frame failure. If you're so apprehensive that you won't hammer it out of caution, it's not worth keeping, at that point I'd say sell and find a straight gauge 4130 CrMo steel frame... barring rust inside the tubing, that frame will last forever.

Good luck!

IthaDan 

Speaking of Ned:



Gallery- https://imgur.com/a/qiclQ

I've since traded it to a friend who's swapped the fork out and converted it to singlespeed. He seems to love it. I still have the fork and (failure prone) Ti stem around here somewhere...

shoota 

Holy seatpost!

plumberroy

It is a sakae litage frame
I am not to worried about it as long as it doesn't have a history of failures. I looked the tires over they are old but show no cracks etc. and hold air so I am going to just ride the thing. I'll make the decisions of keep/invest in or sell after riding it a couple months. I have a long haul trucker and a steamroller as my main bikes.
this bike is a tinkering project, for unpaved paths and the fact I like things that are a little different from the crowd. thanks for the insite
Roy

KZBrian

I picked this up yesterday as a commuter bike for my son. I really like the "Black Chrome" finish! I have not seen this on any other bike.

The FD is broken, and the set is ripped, but otherwise it is in good shape.