Can anyone tell me about my bike?
 

Hey everyone,
I maybe should have posted this here earlier instead of in the introduction section. Anyway, I recently discovered a Ross Professional Gran Tour II bike in the garage. Since I know absolutely nothing about bicycle mechanics I took it to our bike shop here in town and had them give it a tune-up and get it lubed.
It works fantastically, and if i'm being honest it is probably the most fun i've ever had on a bike. I've been using it to get to campus, work, and for local trails and recreation.

There's a Shimano FE for the front derailer, and for the rear it says Shimano Eagle II. I don't know if those are good, bad, or somewhere in-between. They work great though.

Anyway, all I know about this bike is that it was made by a company called Ross in the early 1980's and that the company went under before the end of that decade. If anyone has any information about this bike, I would love to hear it.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y6/...s/DSCF0767.jpg

Jaraldo-

Search for a thread on this forum called (something like) "anyone know the history of ross bicycles." You can probably find out a lot there.

Your bike is low end, and your drivetrain components are nothing special or valuable, but, as long as they work, who cares?

It has that classic look (and solid-steel feel!).

Great to hear that you're enjoying it so much!

Welcome to the C&V forum. Don't hesitate to post here if you have any other questions.

Eric

It looks like your bike has steel rims (you can check this with a magnet). You might keep your eye out for an inexpensive set of 27" wheels with aluminum rims. It would make a big difference.

As mentioned, maybe nothing valuable from a profit perspective, but definitely not bad either.

Shimano made very reliable and durable components back in the day (and I think probably today too) so as long as it is working, there is no way I'd call it bad. :)

Is the FE in large letters or small?
If small, it's probably a date code for 81 (F) May (E).

They're larger letters. The word "Shimano" is on top with "FE" directly beneath it in larger letters. It's hard to tell in the picture, but i'll put it up anyway.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y6/...s/derailer.jpg