Before




After

Good work, mtnwkr. The previous "mechanic" was an idiot.

Here is my Ross Gran Tour II that I got for free.

Before
IMG_1789..jpg

And After
IMG_1996..jpg

Before:


After (single speed):

Was gracious traded the frame from a friend. It's an unknown frame complete with dent, Drew'd shifter bosses, less than stellar paint, and a slight wonk from a frontal collision. Despite all this, this bike gets ridden the most and I adore the patina. The Suntour freewheel is currently dead so the bike is taking it easy as I look for a replacement.
Before:
Generic parts and dull with dirt.

After:
It's nice to have a parts bin.
Parts: Suntour Superbe Pro (polished) cranks with BB, SR LaPrade fluted seatpost, Avocet Racing saddle, Cinelli handlebars, Win stem, MKS Sylvan pedals with Christophe clips, Cyclone MK II derailleur, Araya 700c bronze anodized wheels with Michelin tires, Campagnolo Record headset, Fondria Columbus chrome fork, Shimano Exage brakes, Gran Compe levers
Pictures:






Bought a nice chromed KMC chain just for this bike.

Tidy fastback-like seat stays.

Polish, polish, polish.

Suntour ratchet shifters. Shame about the braze-ons but that won't keep the bike down.

Stunning Cinelli BB with the patina'd metallic blue paint job.

Suze hubs that are also bronze anodized.

Gorgeous bronze 700c Arayas. I wish more of these were made.

This was practically the only thing of the bike that was kept from its previous form.

Polished CYclone MK II. It's an okay performer but not as pretty as some of the older Suntour stuff.

These seats are extremely comfortable but I never see them for sale.

"Compact" Gran Compe's. Hoods are excellent. Shame that no company makes levers like this anymore. The Bike Ribbon white vinyl is the best white bartape ever. Classy and oh so easy to clean.

The exceptional "S".

a little Dahon folder from last fall....

1988 trek 560 before (100% stock):





and after (non-biopace chainrings, fenders, shellacked bar tape, brooks saddle, bell):

Handsome looking Trek southpaw.

Late 70's Centurion LeMans that came and went with a few subtle changes.

+



+ this for inspiration. (A Suspension fork may come later... I'm thinking Rock Shox Dart 3.)



=






It's a 1996 Bianchi Nyala
Bianchi Superlug construction with Tange DB tubing
Modern 27 speed Shimano Deore/SLX drive-chain
Mavic X rims laced to Coda Expert sealed bearing hubs

It is my first real mountain bike, it needs repainted though.

Here's the bike I found in my Garage, it had been there 20 years or so without any attention.
101_4373s..jpg

Here is the same bike with only new paint, tires, cables, tape and headset.
build1..jpg

Before: Lowly Campania Concourse with nice geometry, good chrome, bad paint, and 27" wheels.


After: Less lowly, better paint ($20 rattlecanned), better chrome (cleaned/polished), and 700c canti bosses for massive tires. Touring/commuter friendly.

He certainly had no clue how to thread up a chain.

Does the top headset cup/race say "McIver & Sons, Van Nuys, CA" on it? If so and it was built in the summer of 1973, I might have been one of the guys that assembled it.

bigbossman, it's just one of those generic headsets with a matching toothed lockring/spacer. i think i would have noticed the engraving putting it back together today, but i'm afraid it isn't there.

i hope you didn't do any of the brazing

No - the brazing was done by an alcoholic Brit WWII vet. He was a fun guy to hang around with, but pretty cavalier with the torch.

She cleaned up nicely.

Rescued on ebay for $150. Woodrup (Giro?) made Reynolds (butted?) 531 frame/fork.

Excuse the non-drive side shot, but since there's not any drivetrain, I think we're good. As received but during the first mock up:



First completed incarnation. I needed a road bike, so I built it up with DuraAce I had sitting around. It served me well for two seasons



I moved the DuraAce 7400 group to a proper road bike, and I was finally able to build it up mostly proper! Still a little bit of a mishmash of parts but much more suiting to the style of the bike.









-Woodrup 531 frameset
-Chris King headset (mid-80's, no obnoxious "KING" on it)
-Cooks Brothers Racing 52/38 E2 crankset. I like how it seems to pay homage to a Stronglight 49D, which would be an appropriate crank set if I had one.
-Velo Orange bottom bracket
-Campagnolo pedals (from their mountain group I believe)
-Schwalbe Marathon 700x28 tires
-Mavic Open Pro rims with Ultegra Hubs
-Nitto Noodle 44cm with Fizik tape
-Bruce Gordon Chicken Neck stem
-Dura Ace 7400 seat post and brake levers
-Ultegra shifters
-Ultegra FD
-Sora RD
-Tektro R556 brakes
-Bluemel Popular fenders
-Brooks Competition Standard B17

Now that is a nice looking ride.

Picker her up Saturday morning on the bad side of town...







After a little lovin'... and there is more to come.



Original 635 tyres...


New 22 tooth cog...


Gave the saddle a little oil and a gave her a rubdown...


Had a spare Raleigh reflector...


Looking much prettier...


Gonna be a lot of small touch ups to do on the frame and fenders but mechanically the bike is absolutely perfect.

Wow that Tourist is something else!! Nice clean up, and those tires are the icing on the cake!,,,,BD

-Woodrup 531 frameset
-Chris King headset (mid-80's, no obnoxious "KING" on it)
-Cooks Brothers Racing 52/38 E2 crankset. I like how it seems to pay homage to a Stronglight 49D, which would be an appropriate crank set if I had one.
-Velo Orange bottom bracket
-Campagnolo pedals (from their mountain group I believe)
-Schwalbe Marathon 700x28 tires
-Mavic Open Pro rims with Ultegra Hubs
-Nitto Noodle 44cm with Fizik tape
-Bruce Gordon Chicken Neck stem
-Dura Ace 7400 seat post and brake levers
-Ultegra shifters
-Ultegra FD
-Sora RD
-Tektro R556 brakes
-Bluemel Popular fenders
-Brooks Competition Standard B17

most excellent! How about that stem! yowza now THAT is a proper build indeed. That parts list reads as a bike nerd bible lol I love it!

Before:




After a week or so:







1994 Bianchi Premio. I couldn't help myself when I saw the rack attachments on the stays...
Suntour Blaze components (with Alpha 5000 RD), compact 40-30 crank, 7sp 13-28. Tange superset. American Classic hubs with what I think are Matrix rims (could be Mavic, no stickers left). About 23.5 lbs as is. Too small for me, will be used by pretty much everyone else at home as a day touring bike. The tires bug me, as well as the white brake housing, but they are practically new so they stay for a while. Things in its future will be 28mm tires with some knobbiness and fenders. And if anyone at home likes it particularly well as a trail bike, might add a different saddle than the Specialized Revo I added.

Sorry, I don't have a 'before' shot - suffice to say the frame was your basic Krylon Flat Black Special before it became this:











I'm waiting on French threaded thin cups so I can add the third ring to the triple and a set of cantis is being added right now. Finishing up with fenders so I can keep somewhat dry when she goes out for her intended use: crap-weather/winter bike.