McDave

It's probably a Gran Tour I or II since those top tube decals are the first to fade away. What does the frame sticker say, 1020 Hi-tensile or 4130 Chro-Moly steel? 1020 = GT-I. 4130 = the later GT-IIs (not Professional).

ollo_ollo

Hi all:
I added some pics (to my original post back on page 1) of a Ross Professional Super Gran Tour frame (Hi-Ten frame) and the bikes that the Shimano 600 components eventually migrated to. Don

McDave

Ross made some fine mountain bikes back in the mid-80's too...

'84 Mt Whitney


'86/'87 Mt Hood

mijome07

Hey McDave, those are some nice looking bikes. Well, I did a little research and found out I have a 1982 Gran Tour. The 2nd best out of Ross' top 3 models. What is the difference between 1020 Hi-tensile and 4130 Chro-Moly steel? This bike is going to need some work. There is rust on the frame, the seatpost is frozen, maybe a new paint job, etc. Still, it was a great find and I am glad I bought it. Thanks a lot guys for this thread. It was very helpful.

mijome07

I meant to say Gran Tour II. But I'm still in the top 3.

brandenjs

I know I'm fairly new,but is there a right and wrong side and if there is why? I've always put them on that side. I am left handed but that should'nt make any difference.

Mos6502

Not mine, but I saw it on the street:



It's been converted to a singlespeed.

Stacey

There's no reason mechanically, it's just always been that way. Q/R levers go on the left. I'm sure there's good reason, maybe one of the sages will tell us.

sykerocker 

On the rear, you put it on the left to have room to turn the lever. Putting it on the right would be a nice way to pinch your knuckles on the dérailleur.

On the front, you put it on the left because it looks nicer, matching the rear.

Well, that's the best reasons I've ever found.

brandenjs

Well that's good enough reason for me.. I don't have QR on the rear so I did'nt catch it.
O.K. the next pic you see of it will be right I mean left , well you know what I mean. Looks don't always
concern me when I riding. As long as it stays on..Thanks for picking apart my bike Stacey..

Stacey

It wasn't picking your bike apart, it was constructive criticism

You wouldn't want to go to the bike shop and have them laugh, would you.

brandenjs

OK..I can take it..Thanks.. My bike shop will laugh at me anyway if I bring a good piece of classic cycling history to them. If it weighs more then 13lbs. they need help putting it on the bike stand..

Al Criner

mijome07: It looks like my Gran Tour, is the wheelbase around 40 to 41 inches? Take the "dork disk" off the rear wheel, lube it up and please replace that "comfort" saddle with a saddle like it deserves. Then ride it because it is a real decent bike. You did well - especially because it looks like it is in excellent condition.

T-Mar

There's more to it than that, as you can always adjust the tension by turning the nut, rather than the lever. The practice stems out of race situtations, where having a flat and how quick you can change the rear wheel is crucial. Placing the lever on the drive side would cause all sorts of potential problems. While inserting the wheel, the lever itself is likely to get caught on the derailleur or cable housing, causing delays in getting the wheel in place. The lever also has to be carefully orieneted once in place to avoid fouling the derailleur or cable. In a worst case sceneario, it may be inadvertently closed onto the rear derailleur andd thus may not be fully closed. In a race situtation you do not want to worried about thinking about such things, as they rob valuable time.

Another race driven practive relating to QR skewers is the convention of having the levers pointing into the middle of the frame. If a rear lever faces backwards, or a front lever points forwards, there is the possibility that another rider's wheel could become placed between your wheel and lever. If that rider tries to steer away from you, he could unlock the lever and/or crash in the process.

The levers particularly the rear, is also often pointed upwards, as a rear lever that is horizontal or pointing downwards would be below the chainstays and could catch and come unlock when unloading bicycles from car racks. This could be disastrous if it occured during a bicycle change in a race.

The practice of having the front lever on the left is, as far as I'm aware, simply to match the match the rear. However, there is practical standpoint in the modern era. Most computer manufacturers instructions state to mount the magnet and receiver on the right fork leg (probably because of the convention of mounting the QR lever on the left). Having the lever and receiver on the same side would increase the possibility of knocking the receiver out of position. If nothing else, keeping the lever consistently on one side ensures you replace the wheel so that the magnet is on it's correct side too.

brandenjs

OK..OK..I'll change it !!... Just kidding..T-Mar. Thanks for the info..That's alot of things I did'nt even think of..

T-Mar

Well, you wouldn't unless you are a competitor or long time avid cyclist. And it wasn't meant as a dig at you or anybody else. It was just a little more background for stacey and sykerocker. After all, that is one of the main reasons for this forum - to enlighten other cyclists. You can't be expected to know everything.

brandenjs

Yeah..This forum is awesome. The Ross was my first road bike ever and I just got that last summer. Now I've got three road bikes and have learned tremendous amounts of info to help me do my own maintenance and upgrades from all of you guys and gals. I think I'm hooked...

JunkYardBike

For the fans of high-end Ross frames, I saw this listed on my local CL, among other offerings:

https://newjersey.craigslist.org/bik/549407165.html

oreo173

Hi , This is Randy Ross. WOW!!! Seeing those Mountain bikes brings back great moments for me. I am back in the business. You may see my new product at. www.RandyRossStepper.com If you watch the videos you will see our new steppers in action.

brandenjs

Thanks Randy, those look awesome. I'd love to take one for a test ride. Glad to see someone from the Ross family keeping in touch with the forum, makes it more special to own one of the bikes from that era...

10speed

I was always told your QR was on left pointing left right or up . This way a passing cyclist could notice if its loose and warn you.

10speed

I paid $50 and to fishing poles for mie and I had to add extenders.

oreo173

Thanks for the comments. I enjoy hearing from people that are still riding our bikes.

brandenjs

I think for the loyal owners, we should all get our own Stepper to do some product testing and reviews..
Just kidding..or was I ?? I just had my Gran Tour out this weekend for a nice 10 mile ride..Still one of my favorites...

McDave

Thank you Randy, I get a lot of enjoyment out of them. My first Mt Whitney was a 23" frame and was just a bit too big for me. When I showed photos of it to a lady friend she told me she used to work in a bike shop and had a Ross too. Weeks later when she finally sent me a photo, I was floored to see she had the same bike in a 21" frame! Long story short, the 21" bike is now mine and the 23" bike is now in a Vintage Mountain Bike Museum in Zürich!

PS Those Steppers look like a blast!

The 23" Mt Whitney https://buggytexas.com/23mtwhitney.html
(it's chrome too, just reflecting the blue sky)