Picked up the first Ross I've considered keeping! Going to be a tough decision to keep a vintage mountain bike I don't need, or move the component group to one of my vintage touring bikes.....

CHROME Ross "Mt. Tech" (I think) all Shimano with Elk Head derailers and Tourney XT (Tagaki) triple crank. Shimano retrofriction thumbies. Chrome and decals are great; Ishiwata MTB tube decal on the frame, Tange Champion decal on the fork. Shimano high flange hubs. Two sets of bottle bosses on the top of the downtube. Looks like 1983 by the component date codes.

Looks like everything is original and CHERRY except the pedals, grips, and missing seat/seatpost. BAD NEWS is that one of the ears had sheared off the seat clamp. Looks like I have a modern wrap around clamp that would work fine if I cut off the other clamp ear and flatten out the top of the seat tube.

What to do?

https://mombat.org/1984_Ross_Mt_Whitney.htm

Even with the damaged seat lug, this one IMHO, is a keeper. Overall, it's in great shape and salvageable. It's an Allentown, PA made Ross. Ross made some really entry level road bikes....but not their mountain models. This one has some quality to it, and to some, collectible too.

That's it - the Mt. Whitney (I've tried to change the message title) - I was getting confused by the remains of the HI-TECH sticker on the top tube!

Does still have the original XC pedals after all - they still have the size stickers on them, so I thought they were replaced.

Allentown? I was thinking it was a badged import. Gotta keep it whole if it's a Pa. made bike - it's nice.
But there's a string on MTBR that says it was welded in Japan.

Any opinions on the seat tube ear? Who ever had done the brazing must have been asleep that morning, because it's snapped off (and gone) pretty cleanly.
Which would be better - grind off the other ear and add a clamp, or ruin the chrome with a welded repair?

Real nice score Chuck. Your COTD pictures show a $5 sticker on the bullmoose bars, if thats what you paid, WOW!

To address the clamp ear without seeing pictures, if it was my bike, I would try to carefully file it smooth and find a clamp that will cover the whole area after the bare metal was polished and sealed to prevent corrosion. And the other bits that are starting to rust, I'd get right on them as well.

Definitely a keeper!

$5, wow talk about scoring!
I'd elect to grind off the ear and prep the area to use a standard seat tube clamp.
Least amount of work and cosmetic damage to the seat lug. Some primer, aluminum silver paint, and a polished aluminum clamp.

Here's a repost of the photo I posted to "Catch of the Day" and a photo of the "Link-Lock" chain

And here's my semi-final pinup pictures:

Shimano Deore deer head drivetrain with Takagi Tourney XT crank


I replaced the seat, seatpost, tires, grips, bottle cages and added the seat clamp - as far as I know the rest is original.
Everything came out of the parts bucket - so investment is $5.

man all these old chrome MTB's are making me jealous, my buddy recently acquired a chrome Diamond Back, with almost full XT componentry.

Sorry it's covered with mud, we had just gotten back from some epic single track, this thing climbs like a beast...

Wow Chuck, how can that not be a keeper? It would look great(er) with a Brooks saddle, but almost anything does.