DVC45

Before


After

bikemanbob

Great looking bike. Great color scheme!

droobieinop

Really like those Paramounts but, is that bike fit to you? It doesn't appear to be the proper size.

DVC45

Its not professionally fitted, but I'm very comfortable on it.

Anything I should change?

Thanks!

toytech

getting closer..

bigbossman 

Damn.... wanna paint one of mine?

toytech

It is a 3-4 foot paintjob... but it came out great for rattle cans. If I were to do it again I would have the frame soda or plastic media blasted instead of chemical stripping though, I think the results would be better.

Chris_in_Miami

Very nice job so far toytech, what kind of paint did you use? I love that color!

stien

When the seat is that low it usually means you could stand to lose a bike size.

Roger M

I found a pair of these at a garage sale this summer. Both were dirty from sitting in a garge for many years, but in very good condition.



I havent done anything with the smaller of the two, yet(it will be my wife's bike). the 'bigger' one came apart last week. My daughter has called dibs on it(she wont fit it for at least another year). Here it is prior to tear-down





I repacked the bearings and cleaned it up. It didnt need any parts, other than grease. The original owner switched out the double for a triple. I'm sure my kid will like that when climbing the hill we live on.



I rode it before I tore into it, and it rides great, although too small for me. It seems to be a pretty well built bike. My daughter wants the rack back on along with some silver sks fenders.... we'll see

toytech

Automotive paint in spray cans, Dupont. The gold is from some Chrysler product, and the clear coat has a cyranoacrilate component to it so it sets up real hard. Both coats dry very fast too. At an some auto paint stores they will mix whatever color you want in spray cans, kind of pricey, but way better than Krylon!

JRider

This is actually my first "before and after" so I'm more excited about it than I might otherwise be in terms of the actual wow factor of the transformation.

And this was a surpise gift for my girlfriend for her bday and she loved it. So much, in fact, that she already used it as part of her morning commute this morning and was thrilled to cut her travel time in half. Always good to see someone get excited about being on a bike again.

1989 Bianchi Brava (or thereabouts).
Japanese-made model.

Updates...
From: super-short black quill stem
To: Silver 80mm quil stem

From: Avocet gel saddle with loose cloth
To: Selle Italia White Turbo saddle

From: Crappy old celste bar tape
To: Cinelli celeste cork tape

From: Suntour GPX brakes with sticky grey hoods
To: NOS Exage silver brakes with white hoods

From: Wellgo "I just flipped this bike" pedals
To: MKS Touring pedals with MKS chrome clips and white straps

From: Having wheel and front reflectors
To: Not having those

And then a lot of clean-up, rust removal and sealing with clear nail polish, and I made the wheels/tires all nice and shiny. There is still some road paint on the frame that is going to be a beast to get off. I tried in one place with some paint removal stuff but it started to strip the clear coat so I stopped.

Before







During the transformation


The Lemond Zurich is mine. Just hit about 6000 commuting/riding miles on it!



After






With the "night biking" options package added...

tashi

JRider, that looks great. A LOT of celeste, but in a really good way. Not too much of it.

noglider 

Yeah, it looks edible, like pistachio ice cream.

Chris_in_Miami

Very nice work Jrider, great transformation! I'm not a big fan of white saddles, but sometimes they really look perfect, this a good example of that.

jtgotsjets

I dunno, it's not as though the seat is slammed. I'd say that's well within the range of good taste, and if your goal is to get your handlebars up to a less aggressive position, that kind of fit might be preferred.

mazdaspeed

Changed a couple things

noglider 

Is there anything you DIDN'T change? It looks excellent.

mazdaspeed

Thanks, the only original part is the seatpost binder bolt.

Bikedued

Yes it does! Looks like some retro version like the manufacturers are putting out now. I am also wondering what happened to those dark anodized rims They would look great on my soon to be built up 1985 SS.,,,,BD

noglider 

What crank is it? It's very handsome. What tires are you running? The whole bike looks like a lot of fun. I flipped a Prelude this summer, and it was a sleeper of a bike: not great looking but amazing riding.

mazdaspeed

I have them around somewhere but the rear one is separating where the rim joins... lol

mazdaspeed

The crank is a truvativ elita 2.2 GXP (external bearing BB). I'm very happy with it considering how cheap it was (~50 shipped for the crank + bb). I guess it's made by sram but for whatever reason they can be had for dirt cheap (with an english BB and only in 172.5 though). The tires are vittoria rubino pro slicks. I would highly recommend rubino pros because they have a high TPI for the price, and have quite a bit of grip while remaining extremely durable.

(different tires in this pic, it was a while back)

stefan s

this thread is awesome!!! i just read through about half of it.

my first question is - why do i see so many pie plates in the "after" pics? especially those huge chrome ones with the quarter-sized holes? IMHO classic road bikes look a lot better without them and the chain ring guard.

also i saw a handful of forks that looked bent which to me would be a concern.

nevertheless, there are some amazing restorations in here. keep up the good work! i think my two favorites were the repainted (lime green) colnago and the blue/yellow jack taylor. the bike pr0n is very strong with those

ColonelJLloyd 

They serve a purpose.