frantik

I saw this Univega listed for $80 the same day I had just come home with another bike, and initially I wasn't that interested. It had the same component level as the bike I had just picked up, and I couldn't tell which model it was. I didn't need another bike, I had just bought one! And besides, this one has a ubrake, which are kind of a PITA

... but it nagged at me, and as I did research, I realized it was most likely an Alpina Pro with Tange Prestige triple butted MTB tubes. MTBs from the 80s with prestige tubing are rare to find, as not a lot were sold and even fewer survived. If this was really an Alpina, I would be foolish to miss out on it. I googled the name, even image searched looking for any Univega with a similar color, but nothing matching turns up on Alpina Pro from the time of ubrakes and thumb shifters (late 80s). Only hint is a 1988 Alpina Ultima for sale with the same decals.

The bike had been up on CL for a few days at $80, which was priced low enough to sell no matter what the quality level. I called the seller hoping to come look in the morning after I figured out what the likely model was. He says 1pm the next day, and didn't seem to be in a big hurry nor indicate he had any other interest. I thought maybe people just didn't know the Univega name, because good deals rarely last long around here.

So today I go and check out the bike. My suspicions are correct.. Alpina Pro with Tange Triple Butted tubes! I take a test ride and everything seems fine, though the front derailleur isn't rerailling, even though the shifter and derailleur are moving fine. I figure it just needs some adjustment, but try to use that as an easy way to low ball the guy. "Will you take $60?".. "Sorry, someone else is planning on coming in an hour from now and says he will buy it for sure" It could have been a line he always uses, but honestly it just made me happier to know I beat out someone else interested in the bike! I hand over his full asking price of $80 without hesitation..

Here's some pics "as found"..





Almost immediately when I get home I realize the frame has been repainted.. it's not a horrible job, but it seem unnecessary. It looks like underneath the finish is some kind of anodized or chromed body (exactly like the pics of the 1988 Ultima actually) . Someone also went nuts with a sharpie on the logo decal.. I'm not sure if both the paint and sharpie were deliberate attempts to make the bike "ugly" and hide the fact it's actually really nice, or what. Who ever painted the bike took the reflectors off and put them back on.. that is kind of funny to me. I'm hoping I can remove all of the green paint with acetone or something without damaging the decals or the finish underneath. I know I can take off the sharpie on the decals, hopefully it didn't stain.







The fork has a cool reinforcement lug.. (can also see the Deore logo peaking out from under the black paint on the headset)



In the pic below you can see the 3 spoke chainstay protector just like Diamondback Apex and some Scott bikes.. it seems this frame feature wasn't quite as rare as I once thought





Frame is Tange Prestige triple butted MTB tubes, components are Deore including headset and hubs. Araya "Super Hard Anodized" rims with almost no wear on the braking surface. This bike seems all original (down to the wheel reflectors) except the saddle and seat post which are ultra low end.. i'm guessing the seatpost was stolen at some point. The cheapo plastic pedals also don't seem to match the quality of the rest of the components. Weight is just over 30 pounds according to the bathroom scale.

I suspect it is a 1988 model year, mostly due to process of elimination. It's not an 1989 based on the 6 speed Deore components and ubrake, and in 1987, the Alpina Pro was offered with Deore XT. In 1988, the Alpina Ultima was offered with XT, while the Alpina Pro carried 'regular' Deore. The decals also match the decals of the Ultima being sold as an 1988.

This is the lightest MTB I've owned and the handling is very quick without feeling "twitchy" at all. I went out for a quick test ride and photoshoot, came back an hour and a half later, not wanting to get off the bike. The way it rides reminds me of a massively upgraded version of my 86 Apex... still kind of "cruisery" but with a more nimble, smoother ride. This is in contrast to how my 1989 Apex rides, which feels like a totally different beast completely. The 89 Apex is actually kind of "aggressive" and feels better off road, while the 88 Alpina Pro feels like an ideal base for a "roadified" mtb.


Earlier this week I was a little concerned about buying yet another bike, but I'm very glad I made this purchase. This is the bike I've been wanting for the last few months, I just didn't know it yet! I think it may be easier to n-1 now that I've made an acquisition that I'm so pleased with

I'll update this thread with changes and other progress. Gotta remove all those reflectors.. i bet there's like 1/2 a pound right there!

JPZ66

Nice find and great investigative work ! Also, thanks for sharing the whole story, not just the end result.

Joe

calstar 

Great bike. I had one(red) for awhile but sold it, wish I still had it, large frame, wouldd havb been a great conversion to commuter/city bike. The two braze ons near the top of the st and just to the left on the top tube were for a carrying strap, slick! Pictured as found with minor wash and tune. Picture it with drop bars, nice road tires and a decent seat.

frantik

nice! I'm guessing yours is a few years earlier than mine since it's rocking Sun Tour components and doesn't have a ubrake

frantik

this is what's under the green paint... the paint is so thin you can scrape it off with your fingernail in a lot of places. I was a little too aggressive and started taking the clearcoat off too but seriously why did anyone ever paint over this frame?!

and I was right, just over 1/2 pound of reflectors removed.. i wonder how much the paint job weighs

Bianchigirll 

Nive bike!! Lots of Univegas were chromed back then, then even had this great black chrome which I understand was very caustic, toxic and few other 'ics so they had to stop in '91 or so.

Your FD looks high to me that might be causing you shifting issue. Lots of bikes both MTB and tourers had the spoke thing going on back in the day.

frantik

Yep, that was my assessment too. I think whoever built the bike back up after it got painted didn't really know what they were doing. The brakes are set up a little funky too. I'm gonna tear the whole thing down and build it back up after i get all the paint off

This bike might have the "black chrome".. it looks pretty dark. hopefully it's not too deadly. the chromed finish looks amazing actually.

jbchybridrider 

I remember riding BMX's to school back in the mid 80's. Anyone "and there were a few" who rode a black chrome bike had the hottest bike around, mine was was just plain chrome with red tires cables seat and grips.
I also remember competitions to see who could clear the long jump sand pit by the longest distance. Those were the days.

Vonruden

Awesome deal

3speedslow

I just snaged one of the black chromed Univegas as well. It came to me frame only so parts are not original except for the unibrake. Pics later today I hope, it is still raining on us here.

3SS

mainstreetexile 

Nice score. No idea why someone would want throw an ugly diy paint job over a beautiful black chrome frame. At least it looks like it should clean up pretty nice.

The Alpina Pro models seem to be adventure touring oriented (maybe just for extended back-country / off road riding) with the low rider mounts and the chainstay spoke holders. I have an early Alpina Pro frame that has three bottle cage mounts.

wrk101

That's what I have as well. Based on the UBrake, I am guessing mine is about a 1988 model, +/-.

Got mine from a DKO flipper in Charlotte a couple years back, with no wheels, but everything else was there.

Decal work on mine is a little different.




Right now, mine is set up with drop bars.

frantik

I suspect yours is a 1987 model year based on the decals.. there's an 1987 Univega catalog on MOMBAT: https://mombat.org/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPages/Univega.html but in 1987 the bike came with Deore XT.. looks like you may just have Deore? Maybe they changed the decals midway through the year. My serial # starts with "A8".. I'm assuming the 8 is for 1988.. what's your SN?

3speedslow

Had lousy weather but had to get some pics up for those interested. As I said, only the frame came my way so everything cept the unibrake is from other sourses. Ridesa nice tho'. Would be great if I could find some front brakes for it but the things got a weird set up. The 3 holes for the springs adjustment tension are on the outside of the post, not the inside , where all the canti brakes seem to be. The frame paint is showing a hard life but this smokey chrome is one nice looking finish anyway. It looks to have full chrome underneath the smoke cover. The old store decal, hard to see above the seattube tubing description , is from Costa Mesa California.

Cool thing here is 2 screws that hold a carrying strap for the bike. Old leather belt does the trick.... From other s pics I see theirs have the spoke holders on the chainstay. Those are cool ! I wish mine had that !

some other shots. This one stays in the keeper fleet. It is a perfect size for me and just looks awesome !

frantik

^ pretty sweet.. I like the strap brazons

3speedslow

Ditto to yours too Frantik ,the spoke carry on the chainstay is cool ! lucky for you to have all the original components. When that paint comes off you will be pleased with the results. Don't worry about the smokey chrome being dangerous, it was only nasty in the manufacturing process.


How does the thumb shifters work for off-road ? most of the parts on mine came from a mint Fuji that I posted on BF a while ago. Loved it but the frame size was just too small to keep it together. Others stem,handelbar and seatpost came from a local trade.


For now, I limit the rides to bombing around town before and during lunch breaks from the bikeshop. I plan on using it during the winter to build some more conditioning for next riding season. What do you plan for your steed ?

frantik

the thumb shifters work fine, though they are a bit "stiff" compared to the cheapie shifter i have on my main ride. I actually would prefer them to be smoother, especially in friction mode, not sure if that is possible however.

i didn't do a lot of off roading in my initial road test. I am thinking of turning it into a drop bar hybrid/city bomber with fat slick tires... i think it will be perfect for that. I live in a city and have learned MTBs handle the varying road conditions so much better than "road bikes". The Alpina Pro has a pretty steep head tube for a MTB (im thinking it's 71-72) and it handles really well so i think it's going to be a great road machine

JPZ66

Regarding Univega.....anyone have an idea when they did Carbon main triangle and Kevlar stays ? I don't have the frame in front of me, and I'm just curious if anyone knows the year those came out ?

Cheers,
Joe

3speedslow

Sorry Joe, nothing here. I'm just finding out about this bike model/manufacture myself.

James1:17

Thanks for posting this thread, frantik. A few weeks ago, I picked up an Alpina Sport that I have had a hard time identifying, but from the looks of yours, is probably from the same year plus or minus. It's got u-brakes, chainstay spoke holder (with all 3 spokes mind), and full rack and fender support. It was stored outside, so I'm in the middle of a thorough restore. Came with nice Suntour Accushift thumbies and Suntour XCD cranks, pedals, and derailleurs. Looks pretty much stock except for the crazy ugly Wald handlebars. I immediately threw on some old True Temper straights because they were bothering me so much. For now I'm keeping it in mountain mode to use as my urban assault rig (thanks 65er), but I may do the drop bar thing if I ever decide to tour on it or hit up the local gravel ride. I will be publishing a thread about the restore, but here's a sneak preview on the before status:



Thanks again and I wish you luck on your paint strip. Can't wait to see the finals. Peace.

frantik

Yeah i think you've got an 88 as well based on the decals and components. is the frame also triple butted tubes? nice handlebars

as i was tearing the bike down I noticed the cable routing for the RD *through* the ubrake boss.. kinda cool



Drop outs seem to be (possibly) 128mm.. not even a full 130. The rear wheel has a uniglide cassette on a deore hub. There is a spacer on the axle which makes me think the hub could also be used on touring bikes with 126mm dropouts.

The ubrake and ~130mm drop outs are both things i could do without, but I'll live.. I'd prefer rear cantis and 135mm drop outs like my 89 DB Apex. The dropout spacing isn't such a big deal right now since I've got the original wheel but it's a pain finding old wheels that match the spacing. Some shimano 135mm hubs in the early 90s have spacers which allow them to be converted from 135 to 130, but redishing the wheel is a pain too


as far as the paint, at this point i'm leaning towards a complete paint strip and either just leave it with the bare chrome or clearcoat it again, possibly with some decals, possibly not. I'm not sure how easy it would be to find the correct replacement decals anyways; it's a weird squared off version of the univega logo. I'm thinking if i did add some decals maybe just the older style headbadge and seat tube badges, but not the downtube/top tube decals. on the other hand i'm thinking a totally bare chromed frame could look pretty sweet..

James1:17

^You know I didn't even think to measure my dropout spacing yet. Yeah I thought that derailleur cable routing was pretty cool too, and yes my Alpina does have triple butted Tange. I do think however that mine may be a little older than yours because it has a 6 speed Suntour freewheel, and the wheels are definitely original equipment.

As for bare chrome, here's an idea of what it may look like:



edit: oh but yours is kind of a black chrome correct?

3speedslow

Frantik,

What are the front calipher brakes on your pro? I have to go looking for some and I don't know what to call them. Crazy orientation for the spring holes is all I know. Again, luck with the project !

Thanks for info, 3SS

frantik

My 1988 has a 6 speed uniglide hub, but the Alpina Sport is one level down so a suntour 6 speed freewheel isn't totally impossible

and yeah i've got the "black chrome" which looks kinda like bronze more than black. I hit it with paint stripper this morning and took off most of it, gonna do round two later today and hopefully get it nice and tidy.

They are Deore MT60 Cantilever brakes

wrk101

I believe my Alpina Pro has 126mm rear spacing, which is quite narrow for a MTB.