dying to see the rest of the pista. please.

^That 1420 looks like a terrific rider! I'd love to have one myself, the 1XXX series Treks seem to have great riding characteristics compared to other Alu. bikes e.g. Canondale...

Nice scores TB!

Do not open until Christmas on the Pista? :)

Nice, looks like it's in great shape, I just sold mine in a large lot of Schwinns on CL and out of everything I got rid of I sure do wish I was able to keep my Spitfire 5. Also since I got rid of it a few have shown up here on BF and when I had mine there were little to be found around these parts.

Glenn

Gotta be a Paramount with that stay end treatment. After all they came with a lifetime guarantee.

http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1387723999

Just picked up this one, I believe it's an 85 Raleigh Marathon with Raleigh 502 tubing. Seems like a pretty sweet bike, according to the Raleigh catalogs this was a middle of the line sport touring bike for the year. I really like the paint jobs on these 80's Raleigh's, it seems like they were going for a bit of a retro look when they made them new.

My dad has an '83 Olympian which I think also has 502 tubing, and seems like basically the same thing as the marathon. I overhauled my Dad's last year, and have since put a hundred or so miles on it while visiting. It is a really fun bike, and has a surprisingly fast feel. These bikes seem to be overall nice with a few hints of lower quality sprinkled in with good quality. I'm excited to get my marathon on the road.


The marathon also came with an '83 Schwinn World (no pics due to dead battery in camera). I wasn't all that enthusiastic about the Schwinn as it is their bottom of the line model and has steel rims, but the guy wanted to sell them together, and at $40.00 for both I figured I might as well take it.

I had actually gone to look at these bikes a few weeks ago but at the time he was firm at $40.00 each, which I thought was a little high considering they would need $80.00 in parts each. I noticed he never removed the ad so I sent him a text and politely asked if he would now consider selling them both for 40, obviously he accepted.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Looks like you could slide off the main seat to the rear seat for "more power".

!! Wish I would have thought of that before I threw the back seat in the dumpster!

It's seems like they tried to make the bike look as undesirable as possible before advertising it. Turned the bars up, lowered the saddle all the way, kept the broken child seat on.

Thanks. This is not a keeper. While it's one of my favorite Schwinn models, I'm pretty tall and unfortunately any standard sized Schwinn cruiser is murder on my knees after a couple of miles. My only Schwinn cruiser keeper is a 1962 King Size American.

"Every Picture tells a Story".

When I saw Your Raleigh, a nice catch BTW, my mind wandered to what kind of life this bike had. Did a "racer" turn "unracer" and turn up the bars and add the child carrier? The original reflectors still look to be in place. How many owners, short or tall? Seat is slammed really low.

Anyone else ever wonder about stuff like that?

It's a solo seat. Uhh, so low seat? I'm having trouble visualizing what the seat clamp looks like under there.

Yes I do sometimes think about what kind of life bikes have had. I could be wrong but I had imagined that this particular bike and it's partner the Schwinn world had not had much of life at all (largely due to the rotten tires probably original, were lightly used). I kind of figured these bikes were originally purchased by a young couple with a new child who were hoping to have cycling become a regular family activity. After a few rides the bikes were neglected and left to waste away, probably stored indoors at first and eventually relegated to a semi sheltered zone, such a carport or under the eve of a shed. The guy I bought them from inherited them because they were abandend on the property when he moved in. I kind of imagine myself as a bit of hero to the bikes, giving them a second shot at the life they never had. Kind of reminds of that 80's movie, "The Dirt Bike Kid", where the kid rescues an old motor cycle that comes to life after some TLC.

We usually refer to them as saddles, just to let you know...

I have the same bike, 85 Marathon is correct. Great paint and the panto's are a nice touch. I think I stopped at 16 the number of times I could see Raleigh on it. I went SS with mine. The 502 is great feeling and seems the right stength for a S speed.

Nice work!

A lower en Sekai, it doesn't look like much at first, but then I took a closer look and found it had a Chris King headset and bottom bracket, Miche Primato flip flop track hubs laced to Mavic open pro rims and nicer cane creek levers and tektro brakes. It turns out it was bought by the previous owner from a bike shop owner in Seattle who built it for himself as a commuter. I think that's exactly what I am going to use it for as well, but I don't plan on leaving it locked up outside too often so a new saddle, paint and bar tape are in order.

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6a5e6062.jpg

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps25d757c5.jpg

http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ba704a1.jpg

After pics of the Raleigh marathon above:

http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc605fa43.jpg

http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1387990603
http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1387990601

Definitely a nice riding bike, could be really nice with a few upgrades.

When I was younger, I would have cringed at the stem shifters, turkey wings, etc. on the lower to mid-ranged bikes. Now when I find such a bike, I generally clean it up, refurbish what is there, and ride it for a while. I have found that I can appreciate most of them for their qualities.

I currently have a Schwinn Continental that I seem to like more every day. It's a tank, but a comfortable tank, and a pleasant ride - just glad I don't need to carry it upstairs when I get home. It seems that people have a lot of love for old cruisers and 3-speeds, but not for the bike boom 10 and 12 speeds.

Yes, normally I wouldn't get to excited about a bike with stem shifters and turkey wings, but I'd ridden one of these Raleighs before so I knew they are pretty nice riding bikes and I really like the look of them. I have to admit though after riding that bike around today, ~ 25 miles I am not loving the stem shifters. I did hit them with my knee a few times while sprinting away from stop lights, and the shifting is pretty sluggish on the rear cogs. I'm not sure if the slow shifting is due to the shifters being further from the derailleur and having more cable than with down tube shifters, or if it's the rear derailleur or both. I have had bikes with down-tube friction shifters that are much more precise and quick. I do like the bike, as it rides fast and smooth once in gear so I might end up modifying to down tube shifters and/or a better rear derailleur. As for the turkey lever's I actually kind of like them, aside from the dorky look; I got the wheels trued up pretty good and the pads adjusted reasonably close so they work, I can stop with them fine.

Here is what I found today - a Centurion Accordo Mixte. It came with a Sugino RT crankset and Dia Compe 500 sidepulls. Paint is in bad shape, but I'm not going the repaint route. I'll touch up what is there. If my wife doesn't like it, perhaps a student at the local university will.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=356930http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=356931http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=356932http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=356933http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=356934http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=356935

Found this Miyata 310 Mixte on Craigslist for $50.00. (I did however sell a Red-Line BMX frame/fork that was given to me for $50, so the Miyata was virtually free!). My wife was very happy with her new project :thumb:
It will be receiving a new saddle, fenders, North Road Bars, and maybe a rear rack.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/velo-a-gogo/11614820626/

I bought one in rough shape about 3 months ago, I have been riding it almost daily since. It has been what I have been riding this winter.

I also have a Cruiser 5, that might have a mile on it,,has everything original even the tires with the nibs still on .

very nice.

Yard Sale
 

$35 dollars for frameset. 1998 Bianchi Trofeo Ofmega Vantage cranckset ,ITM manubri and handlebar,Miche headset,Campagnolo Avanti groupset. Wheels are Araya 700 with cheap Czar tires that I will replace with Vittorias.I paid $80 bucks for them.Here is the question.Should I dump some money into it?Thinking of painting it Celeste and getting a decent wheel set.
Please advice.

Looks fine as is?,,,,BD