likebike23

It is indeed an 88 sierra. I picked up 2 of those a while back (his and hers). One of them I stripped the paint off of to reveal the fully chromed frame. The other I'm planning on building up with some more vintage parts like bullmoose bars, suntour power rachet thumbies, takagi tourney cranks, etc. The paint will stay on that one.

Bikedued

Surprisingly it wasn't very heavy either. The 84 Sierra I had fixed up as a touring bike, was right around 33 pounds.,,,,BD

IthaDan 

My new bar bike. Already signed up for the chainstay brake mafia, but here's my proof I guess. Biopace, chainstay mounted u-brakes and thumbies. Love it.

I'm really having trouble with the concept of a "beater"- I keep putting work into this thing, and I'm starting to feel bad about keeping it on my porch. :/

It's too small for me, but it was also $40 pretty much as pictured (I added the longer post and a more modern seat).

frantik

caintuck

Hope you all can see these. 1984 Bridgestone MB-2, original color but newly painted. Naked and in full commuter configuration. Looks like the photo of the commuter setup didn't attach. I'll work on that.

WNG

Yup, a 88 blue/chrome Sierra.
I bought one for 10.00 that was in sad shape but mostly intact. Partially stripped to its chrome base.
I was going to strip it completely and build a touring bike out of it.

The rear wheel is a shimano freehub, 6 speed uniglide, 130mm OLD axle. Weinnman concave 36h rims.
Wheels were kinda heavy.
I was going to replace the wheels or swap in a HG freehub body and go 7 speed.
My Bike's fate is uncertain on whether I get her back after my divorce in 2 weeks.

Bikedued

I just found an NOS Water Snake bottle cage a week or so ago. Been wanting one ever since I saw a pair on an old Rockhopper.,,,,BD

Mine is purple though, hehe...

treebound 

pics? Sounds interesting.

cyclotoine

sweet, didn't realize it went that far back... anyone got a rear mech they're willing to part with? Soon I will have a complete component group, but still no frame to hang it on. Really really want a Rocky Mountain blizzard with syncros forks so I can deck it out in red anodized parts.

turbodrabbit

I picked this up in Cape Cod this past weekend, it was in a Mercedes repair shop/junkyard. I believe it is a Cannondale SM700. I have no idea what kind of seat this is.

nikku 

Hey, I have that exact same bike! Except mine is a 22". I was thinking of throwing drop bars on it, but decided not too. Instead added a rear rack and Schwalbe Big Apples and relegated it to the indignity of grocery-getter/errand-runner/city-cruiser. Just like yours, it is supposed to be my "beater", but I probably put more work and time in the saddle on this bike than any other. Those Deore components just plain work, and the U-brake was able to fit regular Kool Stop canti pads (can't remember the exact part number offhand).

nikku 

I should add that you got a slightly better deal than me, mine was $70.

andyfloyd

1994 Univega Alpina 5.5..... 23.1 lbs soaking wet.

cyclotoine

I don't know, but it is perfect for a shop stool (talking about the seat, not the bike).

cyclotoine

some hot bikes here. If anyone on this forum every runs across a 20-21" rocky mountain from the early 1990s.. please let me know. I really REALLY want a 1991 blizzard with syncros fork...

Chrome Molly

How does the concept fork work for you? Any comparisons vs rigid or say a similar travel rock shock? Thx

YetiLuv

Diamondback DBR Vertex TR--all original. 'Cept the saddle.

Glennfordx4

Looks like a nice bike, I could use the front fork for my 84 ST500 The saddle looks like a Troxel sp? I had a pair of them on this tandem I built




Glenn

andyfloyd

Ah thats a great question. I will compare the AMP to the stock rigid fork, and a Rock Shox Quadra 21r which has 50-60mm of travel which is approx what the AMP fork has...

Amp vs Rigid fork... The rigid fork responds to turning input a little faster on the road. The AMP fork I think lengthens the wheelbase just slightly and so turn in response is a little bit slower, but not really noticeably so. On trails ( singletrack / xc ) the AMP fork is MUCH better. The stock fork will jar you on every bump, the AMP fork soaks up large roots well and acts very much like a rigid fork when there are smaller bumps. The AMP fork is pretty stiff so it feels nearly like a rigid fork unless you are hitting some larger stuff.

AMP vs Quadra 21r... I have a Q21r on my specialized FSR and it is an elastomer fork with 50-60mm of travel. The Rock Shox is much more plush on the trail it soaks up small and large bumps but at the same time its FAR more soft and so a lot of your pedaling power is being lost because it is so soft. The AMP fork feels like a rigid fork 75% of the time because its stiff and it needs larger bumps to actually move quite a bit. Because of the design of the AMP it feels much better on turn in because its stiffer and that translates into a faster feeling bike. The AMP fork is a great compromise between a rigid fork and a Typical stanchion based fork.

The best part....the AMP weighs 2.4 lbs, the Rock Shox is 3.6lbs. The AMP is the lightest fork I think youll ever find and mine has steel legs, put on some aluminum legs or carbon and youll drop up to a 1/2 a pound.

Chrome Molly

Thx. I've wondered about that for a while. Univegas turn up time to time with the AMP fork and now I'm in want mode...

andyfloyd

I know the feeling. I knew that Univega made the Alpina in both rigid and front suspension models. My fork came off of a 1994 Univega S6.7 which was their top of the line hardtail for 1994. It uses the rare 1" unthreaded steerer tube and it JUUUUST clears my bottom tube. I bought this AMP off ebay for quite a large sum of money...they are sorta hard to find. Cool thing is you can still send your AMP fork to AMP and they can overhaul the thing for you still to this day. I may send mine in for a softer spring and some carbon legs. But for now Im just gonna enjoy the bike. Ive been in upgrade mode on this bike now its time to enjoy all the stuff.

neo_pop_71

Hey andyfloyd-

Really cool bike, you did a bang up job on the build! Back in the day, you couldn't hit the trails in SoCal and not run into an AMP fork or frame, countless guys were running those forks. Local love for the most part. I'd say do the softer spring as it tends to be a tight fork but stick with the steel legs, find some other components to shave weight. Every person I knew that rode their AMP consistently (frame and/or fork) experienced cracked aluminum or major failure with the carbon. I was following a guy up on Angeles Crest, we dropped in below JPL, he was on a full suspension AMP (B4 era)... that frame freaked me out! I grabbed a bunch of brake and gave major distance, that frame was like a soggy noodle as it twisted and pogo'd its way on the descent. The only AMP forks that my buddies are still running are the steel legs models. Andrew, I'm not trying to be a jerk, I wouldn't feel right if I didn't say something.

-D-

andyfloyd

Thanks for the props man, I do love how the AMP fork has transformed the bike into something thats still just as fast on the road but now is MUCH more capable on the trails as well. Yea I have seen some AMP frames, the ones with the really thin downtube or the dual downtube look like they would flex SO MUCH! lol. My AMP fork I think needs new bushings because it has a little bit of side to side play which makes the front end have a slight shimmy to it on really hard hits. Thanks for the heads up on the aluminum and carbon legs. Sounds like too much flex leads to failure, I appreciate you giving me a heads up. I think I want a softer spring, a softer elastomer, and lighter oil then I can soften the fork up and hit the trails even harder.

Italuminium

Such a nice univega, I still have a similar frame waiting to be build up, the hang-up is the 1" front fork. I'd love to get one of those amps, but they are probably mega $.

Bikedued

Came close to picking up a steel GF Hoo Koo E Koo today. The guy said $70 so I moved on, came back and talked to him later on, and he agreed to $50. I told him I would come back and pick it up either tomorrow, or in an hour or so, since I had not seen all of the market. I came back about 30 minutes later, and he acts like he never talked to me before, and the price was now $65. If it's still there tomorrow, I will act like I've never see him before and offer him $40. Not top of the line by any means, and the fork was toasty, but the frame was pretty cool. STX/RC and an RS Indy fork. At another flea market, there was a Klein Pulse comp, and the guy tells me $100. I start looking it over, like anyone would, and when I am done it's now $150?? Not my day apparently.,,,,BD

The gary looked like this one, but was a deeper red.

https://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/I...%20E%20Koo.jpg