luker

you should of course show it to us. No one will appreciate it more than the Pic Ho's here, and a Signature needs to be seen!

brandenjs

+1 on the PIC HO's...We must see pics in order to appreciate it...

YoKev

A guy posted is in the photo gallery on my clubs website. Cool poster

cycleheimer

When I was twelve, for no particular reason, the top & down tubes on my Ross stingray decided to separate from the head tube. I bought that bike used for $25 from money I earned on my paper route. Luckily, my dad had gotten me a Schwinn for Christmas ... a really, really, really indestructible "Chicago" Schwinn! Apparently those Ross frames were a little "dicey" in the old days.

DavidW56

A while ago, I promised photos of a Ross Signature 290S I bought at a garage sale last summer for $10. It needed a lot of work. About $110 at the LBS later, it still needs a lot of work. Here it is: (sorry, the decal in the last photo is unreadable due to the flash washing it out -- it says "Cro Mo triple-butted tubes Ishiwata).

brandenjs

Not bad for $10, drop bars and a new saddle and it's ready to go..What exactly did the LBS do for $110. It looks like they did'nt even clean it up for ya. I wipe down every bike I work on, even if it is one of the neighborhood kids bikes, just gives you that good feeling to have a clean bike..I do like that frame. Have fun..

DavidW56

R&R crank and arm, new pedals. I need to find the receipt. I'd rather have moustache bars than drops, but in either case, where do people usually get replacement handlebars?

brandenjs

I guess if there were replacement parts involved thats where the price came in. I usually find some deals on ebay or you can even check Bike Nashbar, they had a set on there a while back that looked pretty good and at a good price. I know the fixed gear guys like the moustache bars. They might look pretty cool on there. Like these:

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...B%20Handlebars

DavidW56

Thanks for the link, those are cool. And now that I've seen the photo, I realize I didn't know what moustache handlebars really are. What I want are the type of bars usual for touring bikes.

sonatageek

Do you mean trekking bars? Again Nashbar sells a house brand and Kalloy makes one. The Kalloy ones come in shiny alloy rather than black and would look better on your bike.

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...B%20Handlebars
https://www.wallbike.com/oddsnends/kalloybars.html

I have the Nashbars on my mountain bike 'all rounder' and they are pretty nice. Much better than a straight or riser bar.

DavidW56

er, no, I didn't mean trekking bars. I've never seen those before. Very interesting! Man, have I got a lot to learn.

I like the bars on my 1972 Schwinn Suburban, pictured here:

seventythree

Very cool poster KevinSubaru, If anyone is looking for a Ross Force 1, I know where to find one.
Black and gold like the picture but without the bullmoose bars.

I have a 290S as well, it looks just like DavidW56's. Maroon and silver.
drop bars and original seat though.

sonatageek

North road bars -- Niagara Cycle Works sells Pyramid brand alloy one for under $15.00.

https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ducts_id=11135

They are pretty nice. I am setting up a Nishiki mixte with a set right now.

reelfishin

The Pyramid North Road bars work well but be aware that they use a 1" clamping diameter at the stem. Some older bikes used various smaller diameters. French bikes were good for 23.5 and 25mm clamp sizes and I've seen some British bikes with 26mm stem clamp diameters. The Pyramid bars will work with most modern bikes but not always on some older bikes.
There are also some early over sized mountain bike stems out there too.

DavidW56

Could you please post a photo of your 290S? I'd like to know what my bike is supposed to look like.

DavidW56

Oh, and the rear wheel was bent -- the bike shop worked on that, too, and could not get it round again.

OREO1757

Guess who the guy in the poster is? Patrick Cunnane the president of Fuji Bikes.

seventythree

here ya go DavidW56
sorry it took me almost a week.



Sugino GS crank
no pedals pictured, but I've been riding with my GR-9's on this bike and my fixed gears.
WINPISTA road handlebars.
no name seat, all i can see is a "made in italy" underneath.
oh... and the front wheel is not original, it's a rigida rim with malliard hub as the original
was destroyed at a local bike shop this past summer.The kid working at the bike shop was filling
the tire and the tire exploded with a magnificent BLAM! destroying the tube and rim in the process.

The rear rim i believe is an early Mavic and it has a sunshine hub.

It had a brown rubber covering on the brake "hoods" as well, but they were so dry rotted
I had torn them off.

I'm torn as to what to do with the bike.

I love the way it rides, it was my first lugged steel bike, coming from a aluminum MTB and an
aluminum fixed gear.

I really don't want to sell it because Ross doesn't get the same respect as say a Bianchi would
even though they both used the EX 4130 Ishiwata triple butted tubing.

I could convert it to a singlespeed or fixed gear bike but i already have a Bridgestone Kabuki conversion
and a Raleigh 29er singlespeed.

It may end up as a 3speed city bike with racks.I had a schwinn suburban with a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub 2 years ago and loved it.

It could always be converted back.

FirstFlight

I have been scanning in some early Ross mountain bike ads @ https://mombat.org/Ross.htm

We have 2 earlier bikes:

1983 Force 1:


and a 1984 Mt. Whitney:


One more newer to post but I haven't had time to do pictures yet.

mkeller234

I just picked up a 292s off of craigslist today, It has the Shimano 105 golden arrow components. It needs a good polishing, but is in otherwise great condition.

brandenjs

Very nice find...Tall, but nice...I like the Golden Arrow group. Those bikes are surprisingly light..

cleveland joe

I was at Fridrichs bike shop in Cleveland a couple months back and they had (nos) Ross for sale it was a steel lugged frame I didnt pay much attention to it. I will stop in again and take a picture and get more info.

Bikedued

Found this Mt Hood this morning! Looks 100% original from end to end. When I get done the only things non original will be the tires and cables. The tires are okay, but the sidewalls are cracking up.
Tread is fine though, no dry rot there. Even with all the old grease and cables it rides great. Of course I did have to grab the RD cable on the downtube to get the cable moving, lol. The paint test polish area looks wet and glossy. It rides as good as the Fuji Sundance I just finished this evening. Should look sweet.,,,,,BD

Update:::Freshly bathed pic added.....

roccobike

This is a 1987 Ross Centaur that I picked up after someone left it in the trash. I added an alloy seat post and saddle, added new bar tape, tires and cables, and replaced the totaled rear derailer with a Shimano Exage 300. This bike has 27' wheels, a chromoly frame, Shimano SIS index shifter mounted on downtube braze-ons. The original brake levers were Shimano, non-aero with turkey wings. I replaced them with a spare set of Shimano RX100 aero levers. Ross is known for its entry level bikes. This one is pretty nice for an entry level bike. Probably nicer than most Ross bikes. But still not a Signature!

mkeller234

Another excuse to post some of my Ross pics. It's a 1985 Ross 292s with Shimano golden arrow components, It's one of the prettier bikes that I have owned.