So you gave up that sweet lugged chromoly frame with the gold accents! How could you! ;)
Hopefully the frame found a good home with someone who could actually ride it. And I agree about the components on this bike. Really solid stuff. Not fancy or feather-light, but reliable and pretty darn smooth. Later.

Was riding my bike and remembered you said something about some worn gears. I hope you weren't talking about the teeth that are supposed to be shorter than the rest - those are to allow for easier shifting (i.e. a place that allows the chain to drop down to a lower gear). You may have some legitimately worn teeth, but just thought I'd put that out there just in case that was what you were seeing...

Any way, that's all. Later.

I've been planning on fixing up a Shogun frame for a while and wanted to ask some advice before I sink some serious time and money into it into a singlespeed -- It seems mostly the same as the ones that are being described here, but it's a 100 (maybe says 700, can't tell because its an odd-looking font) High Tensile Steel frame. I know this is a lower grade of steel-- but is this something that will still go the distance like the cro-mo ,even if its a little clunkier, or does the frame make it a certified POS? I figure I'll put about $250 into building it up as opposed to buying a ready-to go singlespeed at the LBS for $450.

Hi There. You wouldn't be the first to turn one of these guys into a fixed gear or single speed. The horizontal dropouts would work well for this. Check this one out:
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006...d_ricochet.htm

My own shogun has a lugged and butted Tange Champion chromoly frame, which is pretty darn nice. Your high-tensile steel version is lower on the food chain, but I'm sure the frame will last another few decades as long as it doesn't have any serious rust (superficial rust spots are fine).

Should you use it? Well, that's easy to answer once you know what you want:

1) Do you care about weight-weenie stuff or just want a single speed to enjoy without breaking the bank? If you just want a fun ride, yeah, there's nothing wrong with a high-tensile frame. It probably weighs about 1/2 pound more than a butted chromoly frame and two pounds more than aluminum - figure 6 lbs or so for your frame. If weight is a concern, you can pick up cheap aluminum frames. There's a 3.8 lb aluminum model for only $40 at Chuck's bikes: http://www.chucksbikes.com/store/

2) Does the frame fit you well? If not, don't bother with it. If it does fit, and you are not a weight-weenie, sure use what you've got and save a few bucks. It'll be a fun project.

3) What's your style? If you like the old-school style of the frame, by all means, get it on the road with some new parts. If new and slick is your style, just spend a few bucks more on an off-the-shelf single speed or get an inexpensive aluminum frameset to build up.


Have fun!

Just to add more Shogun info: this weekend, I bought a Shogun 200 off craigslist. It seems like a low-end sport tourer, made of Tange 900 cromoly with Shimano components. It rides quite nicely.

Does anyone know anything about "Takagi Tourney ST" 40-52 cranksets? I noticed pgaulrapp's pic showed an "AD" model. Mine is different: it has no spider! The chainrings are bolted to one another. TrackSmart said the crank was made of tough steel for durability, but I wonder if mine is cheaper and might be worth replacing with something lighter and more upgradeable (even a triple, perhaps).

Thanks for the advice- with that in mind, I'll probably just go ahead and order the parts and build up the shogun-- putting it together should be an adventure, and if it all works out well I'll be able to ride the product of my own blood sweat and tears.

Glad to hear it. I think fixing up an old-school frame is definitely in the single-speed spirit, too. It'll definitely be 'yours' if you build it yourself. You'll probably learn a lot, too.

Be sure to come back to this page and post a photo of the results!

hackybiker,

Your Shogun 200 sounds like my Shogun Custom Sport. Ca you post some pics?

You can see mine in this thread:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ghlight=shogun

Mine is not a Shogun 200, but a Shogun 500 (my old photo link is dead from earlier in the thread). I like that this thread is still picked up as one of the few "shogun" threads under a search of BF. It's tough to find info about this little known brand.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...Shogun_500.jpg

Detail photos of the Shogun 500 (for others searching for Shogun info in the near future...):

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...uggedFrame.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ngShifters.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...3-TangeNo5.jpg

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/shimano1982/images/26.jpg

I was actually referring to hackybiker's 200 but it looks like he sold it from his blog. Your 500 is certainly a nice all-arounder bike capable of anything. Funny thing is my Custom Sport has mostly Shimano but has Sugino cranks... I guess at that time, Shimano was not into making cranks.

Bumping it up again :).

Weird: my Shogun Cr-Mo 500 has front and rear rack braze-ons, but none for a water bottle holder. Hence a badly scratched frame from the loose clamps for the current holder. Huh. I want water bottle braze-ons <stomping foot>.

My seriel number is M2E19918, so I'm assuming it's an '82. Why no water bottle braze-ons? I will now pout.

I know, it's the wrong side of the bike, but here you can witness the lack of braze-ons. I'm going to make this bike purty, but in the meantime, here it is... braze-on-less.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/...6c4b79f1c0.jpg
shogun9 by snarkypup, on Flickr

My 500 has one set of braze-ons for a water bottle...
 

That's odd. My Shogun 500 has braze-ons for a single water bottle. You can see the screws in post #34. Look just below the last 'N' in Shogun on the downtube. For long rides, I sometimes wish the bike had two sets for two bottles. But I guess I should be grateful for the one! Otherwise, the frames look similar, though I can't tell if your seat stays are attached near the seat post with a flattened part that is welded on... Wish I had a picture handy. EDIT: Found a better photo online. This is what the seat stays look like.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1393/...2f7ce1a7_o.jpg

Mine don't look like that at all! You can see them more clearly here (if you blow up the photo a bit). They look like the stay just sort of ended at the down tube. Weird. I wonder if mine was some odd custom build or something. But who would deliberately make a touring bike without a water bottle braze-on?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/...9563742784.jpg
shogun3 by snarkypup, on Flickr

Yes, yours is definitely a different frame based on the seat stay welds. You've got pin-stripes on the top-tube, too. And very different chain rings, along with a chain guard.

The other components in the photo look the same (Deore derailleurs, Tourney crank arms). And I can see the side of the Tange Champion sticker on the frame. So yeah, I'm going to guess it's a model-year difference. Or different "batches".

Either way, enjoy the ride - bottle braze-ons or not!

Be sure to post a photo when you "pretty it up". I'd be interested to see what kind of changes you end up making.

Oh I will, don't worry. I'm going to be too thrilled to keep them to myself! :)