So I see so many amazing rebuilds on here and I wanted to add my project bikes as I go. I have been tinkering on bikes since I was young following my older brother around to parking lot criteriums, acted as a bike mechanic part time in high school and some college, twice built HPV racers for engineering school, and stumbled back into a garage mechanic when I was humbly unemployed during the recession. I repair and restore for both fun and profit, it what I do to wind down. That being said, I travel a lot for my job, and I have a 1 year old at home and another on the way to pretty much take all of my extra time. There isn't lots of extra time push these bike projects, but I sneak it in when I can. So my word of warning is that this may not update often, but I intend for this thread a gathering place for my projects.

My wife always says that she wants a fast rolling bike, which I think mean bigger wheels and skinnier tires than the 26" wheeled city cruiser she has now. She is very pregnant now and will be in recovery mode here in a couple months so I took the whole get on and get off easily thing to heart this time.

I found a roughed up Mongoose Dynametric 325 Hybrid for a song, with a mish mash of components from a former used bike dealer. The components I could care less about, as I was going to grab from the primo bin this time. The frame 4130 Cromoly and has the same geometry as modern Trek FX series bikes.

Before:


In Process, pictures as of yesterday, post powder coating and some build up:

Velo Orange headset, stem adapter, and seat post, original rear brake pulley, 32 hole 105 hubs laced to Mavic Open Sport rims, Panaracer UrbanMax Tires 700x32c, Origin 8 compact crank...so far

...This is the Bruce Gordon Chinook that I purchased a couple years ago with good intentions. It came with some heavy rust areas and in need of a new paint job.

Before:



After Powder Coating:

Welcome to the C&V Forum! The projects look to be off to a very good start.
Looking forward to seeing them finished. I like the color of the BG.
Meanwhile, pull up chair and enjoy.

Thanks, Matt. Many of us do not have the resource to create amazing bikes but want to do the best we can with what we have. You're doing great and we'll enjoy watching the progress and learning from you.

Looking good! I think I liked the BG's original color better myself. Your wife's bike looks like its going to be a great ride too. Do you do your own powder coating?

Bikes painted by Groody Brothers in Kansas City.

Bad picture of the paint, I will post better pics at some point with a real camera. Looks great in person.

Also thanks all.

I like the unusual new paint color for this bike. Kinda reinforces how uncommon the bike is. The new PC should help keep the "tin worms" from coming back too.

No big progress on the other two but my Trek 560 road bike received a 10spd upgrade to 105 STI shifters, rear derailleur, and cassette (from 9spd downtube shifters, lx derailleur, and SRAM cogset). I think it looks awesome and road it after the swap meet this weekend with a friend. Really like how lugged steel rides.

In progress, my first attempt at a 38 speed bike (kidding), from last night:


After completion, this morning, yeah I worked on this instead of the bikes I need to flip:

Did some more work on my wife's Mongoose, Simichrome for the levers and some barcon surgery to convert 10spd to 9spd (I had the parts).

Well I spent my lunch break at the near by park and almost finished my wife's bike. I have to find time where I can and spent a nice calm lunch switching the front derailleur and trying to install the front brake post into the fork, but found I need to drill a hole in the back of the fork to get it to work. I was thaaaaaaat close. Anyway thought I would give the forum a chance for some scrutiny.

Mongoose Dynametric 325 by Mechanic Matt, on Flickr

Mongoose Dynametric 325 by Mechanic Matt, on Flickr

Mongoose Dynametric 325 by Mechanic Matt, on Flickr

Mongoose Dynametric 325 by Mechanic Matt, on Flickr

So just people know this was the inspiration for the color on my Bruce Gordon.



Here is the better pictures of it post-op that I have been meaning to put up. The frame was powder coated by Groody Brothers in KC in the color daffodil with red accents, I thought it came out pretty great.

I can't help but notice just how striking each of your bikes is, and that trek is absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks bud, I try real hard to get them looking good. They don't always come out this nice, I'm more of a mechanically perfect person, but when I try real hard, they seem to come out nice.

You still like the old color better?

For the most part I as well only worry about the mechanical end since that ends up equating performance and I think that's why I find your bikes so striking, it's not like most of the collections around here chalked full of Italian and French thoroughbred's etc etc with your Chinook being the non rack exception of course but they're all immaculate and aesthetically pleasing at least to myself, and yes I really do like the old color much better but that doesn't matter since you like the new one.

Thanks for the compliments. It helps to motivate.

Wife's bike is complete, front brakes were all that were left.

Whole project picture set: https://www.flickr.com/photos/438829...7635708937946/

If you work slow, I work at a glacial place and I don't even have kids.... yet.

Great builds and i LOVE the new colour of the bruce gordon. What brand of bar con adapters are those? From VO? They look great.

I'm back to glacial, boy #2 was born this weekend. The blue Mongoose and my Trek will probably be it for awhile. It took me 2 years to get my wife's bike done, 4 off and on for that Trek, and the Bruce has been setting in my garage for 5+ years from the original owner. So this progress looks good, but in the scale of things, it took awhile.

Thanks for the compliments, and the barcon adapters are from VO, they work pretty good, I am not a fan of the lowest or home position. It seems like a click too far towards the middle. Otherwise nice, I wonder if the Paul Components version is different. I chose these because they have spacers for every type of bar.

Congratulations on son #2 ! I think the bikes look great, I have a Trek somewhat similar to yours, and am considering the same drivetrain.

The Tag a Long and Burley trailer will be the next projects!

I've got the burley, I guess the tag a long is next.

Thanks for the congrats, he's a pretty good baby so far, much easier than our first.

I have the full 105 crankset instead of the SRAM Apex but that black seemed to match the rest of the shimano stuff better. Anyway it all works together well.