Yep... this thread needs to be sticky.

What a difference a day and a bunch of new parts makes...

+1 x 50,084

I took a chance on this Bridgestone MB-5, as the previous owner, for some reason, wrapped most of the frame with black electrical tape. The frame felt undamaged, but I assumed I would find something he felt the need to conceal. Peeling off the tape reminded me of pulling up the carpet from our hardwood floors after we bought our house--a sense of the unknown that made each bit of newly revealed frame somehow more exciting than it should have been. After all was said and done, I thought touch-up paint looked a lot better than black tape . Since it already had a nice set of slicks, and I had a Blackburn rack lying around from another project, I decided to commuterize this one...

I have that exact same MB-5! Longest top tube I have ever run across on a MTB. They definitely look cool though. Nice job!

This '79 Sekai 4000 Professional was a COTD find a couple of months back. Really would have liked to have kept it but the size wasn't right for me. High quality Japanese built frame with Tange Champion tubing, setup for all day sport touring.

It's gorgeous (again). What'd'ja do with the fenders?

Thanks Tom.

The fenders are still sitting here. It seemed like too much trouble trying to fit them back on to sell. I thought about including them off the bike when I sold it, but the bike sold fast, so it wasn't necessary.

For a minute I had an idea of putting them on my Opaque Blue Sports Tourer, but the shades didn't match.

Got a blizzard happening here and I'm in my shop building a road bike... I figure that all I need is the bar tape and to find the rear brake pads and this old Italian girl will be ready for a shakedown ride.

Swapped the stem and bars to normalize the reach which leaves me with a 120mm Cinelli stem I will never use (but a good catch in itself) and replaced the Campy / Ambrosio tubulars with nice clinchers (Ambrosio 19 and Alesa wheels) but other than that she is original and has all her shiny Campy bits.

Thinking those Campy hubs will be sweet when they get built into some nice clinchers... no-one seems to want tubular wheels in these parts.

Was borrowing the brakes but decided to use these old center pulls I had kicking around and am wondering if these Zeus 2000 things are any good... they sure are light.

For anyone who is wondering... she already has a new home and understand she will get used for summer commuting and some brevets which is a fine purpose for such a nice old Italian girl who's racing days are 25 years behind her.

That Sekai turned out great!

And the Bianchi is once again a classic beauty. I will always have a soft spot for a celeste Bianchi, my first Italian love.

+1, this thread deserves a sticky!

Will take some pictures when the sun comes back and I can get out for that shake down ride... the light in the shop is not all it could be for pictures and I have been polishing parts until they glow.

'87 Miyata 912
Before:

After:


Trek TX700
Before:

After:

This Traveller was given to me by someone who purchased another bike from me. Not quite where I want it yet, but better.

.

jamesss, nice job on both.

Probably need to add shellac and fenders, but couldn't wait. So adding my new ride!

the white one in the pile

The humble '76 Gran Prix I found on CL for a net $20. A couple hundred bucks and a mild obsession turned it into my favorite daily ride!

I love the green. Nice job!

+1

love, love, LOVE that green Trek, great job!

Very good job!
Bravo!

The red frame, on the left, it`s nice looking.

Before

After

Here is my Murry cruiser I threw together over the weekend to cruise at the beach. The frame has been in the corner of my backyard for years. I finally decided it was time for it to see the road again.

I'm digging that cruiser frame! I have been thinking about a beach bike myself

Yea they are fun to play with. Options are limitless and it's something a little different from the norm.

The "after" never ends around here... sometimes I wake up thinking hey... the Pug needs gears... and they have to be French... and not the crappy ones it came with.

And then... voila.

[IMG][/IMG]

Am also restoring an Ideal Professional saddle as that English saddle just won't do on a French bike and there will be some before and after for that too... thinking I took a pic of this saddle when I got it.

This one is not as collectable or note worthy as the nice bikes posted here, but it's one I'm happy over...
This came from a late bike advocate/recycler in the East Valley. His yard was full of bikes and old stuff. He'd fix the bikes for kids in the neighborhood. I picked up a handful of parts and some frames. My wife wanted a bike and selected this old school 26x1 3.8" wheeled "Galaxy II 10-speed" for $15. It had sat in the AZ sun for years. She loved all the chrome! So, with some parts from the yard, plus my parts bin, I overhauled it and replaced everything I felt needed an upgrade. I converted it to a towny bike.
The crank didn't spin smoothly, and turned out the bearing cages were in backwards. I replaced the Falcon drivetrain with Suntour. But couldn't remove the Falcon freewheel to complete the job with a Perfect freewheel. All the chrome got polished, new pedals, cables, "Schwinn Approved" alloy calipers, MTB brake levers, an SR aluminum stem, plus a upright bar. I have a springer seat too, but it requires refurbing and de-rusting. Only extra expense was $3 for the BMX style red grips from Niagara.
She's estatic over it, which is why I'm happy, and wanted to post this little milestone in C&V.
I may strip it down and repaint the frame later on since the finish is quite faded.

Schwinn Super LeTour
As purchased -

Repainted and detailed