cooperryder

DPhilips,
Your Univega looks terrific!
Those fenders really dress it up.
I'm using what looks like that same double legged kickstand on my Miele bike
and thinking I will order the Velo Orange scissor style double legged kickstand for another bike.

I've had a couple different Univega mtbs and thought they were great riding bikes.

I wish I had hung on to the chrome one.

I share similar thoughts with 'dqrider' on these vintage mt bikes.

They are like a palette lending themselves to a myriad of build up applications, functions and self expression and often can be found for a reasonably modest price.
The ability to take fat comfortable tires is a big plus!!!

Three are currently in my stable, the Miele, a Schwinn and a Trek.

Korina

Boy, if I had a spare $3000 lying around, I'd grab that Rodgriguez and take off, never to be seen again.

Clyde1820

Yeah, they can be pretty sweet.

Next time I'm in the Seattle area, I'll make a point to visit them and tour their shop. It'd be a custom-geometry job, for me, though, to get it right, although their 3S or 4S sizing might work. Still, their UTB starts at $3400 (frame + parts, outfitted). Custom geometry extra; low-step frame extra; etc. Could easily go with just a frame+fork, custom geometry, low-step, then build the bike myself. Already have a great set of hubs/wheels, cranks/derailleurs, passable brakes. Wouldn't be cheap, but it'd be less expensive than the full bike price.

Post-Covid, we'll see.

BicycleSafari

Picked this thing up off of Craig's List last spring with plans to turn it into my winter commuter. New bars, stem, seat, tires, derailleurs, a pair of VO fenders, a basket, glow in the dark grips, and a couple bags later my wet weather commuter came to life. Been running riv's rain poncho and fishing hat in the rain, paired with some knee high rubber boots, and I get to work dry as could be without having to have rain pants. Our rainy season where I am is relatively warm (mid-high 40's most the time) and if I try to run a rain jacket I just get sweaty right away. The poncho gives great airflow. Both the bags are waxed canvas and keep my work boots, lunch, and other bits totally dry. I've been really lovin the SR MTS-120 quill stem too. Seems like it puts the bars just a little higher than some of the other stuff I've been running with.

djj7

Hey Safari,
Very nice. Looks a lot like the way I outfitted my Trek 850. How do you like that seat?
I'm torn between getting a Brooks Flyer or a B67. And my bars are a little lower, pretty much level with the seat.

cooperryder

That's a great looking commuting bike or whatever endeavor you care to try on it.

I need to go check out Rivendell's
Rain Pancho.

BicycleSafari

The seat I put on this is the Selle Anatomica R2. The seat is specially designed for folks with prostate pain or who want less pressure on their taint. I don't personally have that issue, but I wanted to see if I would feel a difference. I do feel a minor difference, it might be the difference between pain and no pain to someone who this seat is actually for, but I don't know. I've been hoping to get my father-in-law on it to tell me if it works or not, but that hasn't happened yet. It is comfy, but the jury is still out for two reasons. The first reason is that if you are wearing lighter colored pants the rubber will leave black marks on your butt. They come off in the wash, but it seems like a pretty big design oversight. I contacted the company and they assured me that this will subside with time. The second thing is that the slit down the middle has a spot towards the back where the two halves come closest together, they rub together sometimes, and it doesn't pinch or anything, but I can feel the rubber kind of clicking on itself (attached is a bad photo). I have yet to contact the company about this. The seat can be tightened, but they do not give specifics about how much or little to tighten, and seats can be ruined when over tightened and the company will not take back over tightened seats. Next time I'm in the market for an all weather saddle I'm going for cambium.
With all that off subject info, here's some on subject.
One of the guidelines for wide vs narrow seats is how upright your riding position is. The more upright you are the wider the seat can be and remain comfortable. As you start to lean forward more, a narrower seat will interfere less with your movements. I have a B67 on my 1984 Ross Mt.Whitney. The bars are somewhere around 3"- 4" higher than the seat. I've put a lot of miles on that seat and have really enjoyed it. HOWEVER, I put my old B17 on another bike and my butt got used to that really quickly. Now going back to my 67 feels way too wide, and I notice a feeling of rubbing on the highest part of my back thigh/lowest butt cheek area. I'm personally going to keep my 67 but for a super cruiser bike that has at least 6" difference between the seat and handlebar height (might settle for 5", we'll see). I do miss the springs though, I am super excited to try out a Flyer one of these days!

BicycleSafari

I honestly I can't recommend it highly enough. It is a total wet weather revelation. One of the nice things is that the material has a little more weight to it, so it resists blowing up in moderate gusts of wind. The hat is super nice too, but it's a standard model you can get outside of Rivendell's site for a few $$ cheaper.

Wilbur76

Tiny Cannondale SM800 frame with 24” wheels needed an upright stance. Repainted bmx bars, 1x5 drivetrain, new cables, gumwalls and a wax and she’s good to go.

DQRider 

She's the perfect mount for trail riding, so smooth and comfy.




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tombc

Clyde1820

Just did some tallying of what it would cost to migrate a bunch of parts over to a new VO Polyvalent Low-Kicker, but acquiring a Paul disc brake package and new cabling. With my labor and a couple steps at the nearby shop, it'd amount to $2K. And that's using the existing wheelset, derailleurs, BB, crank, headset, stem, bars, grips, seatpost, saddle. Adds up quickly.

That Rodriguez, with the step-thru and custom geometry and them supplying the full build? It'd be north of $4K, plus tax and shipment of course.

C'mon "sevens" ...!!

Clyde1820

That look works really well. Funny, how nicely the Maxxis DTH tan sidewall tires set off the darker+silver colors.

Korina

I hear you. I finally noticed that they're threadless stems; I prefer quill. It's semi-custom; I'm sure I could find something amongst the 20 sizes they offer. Doesn't matter, I'm getting this beautiful, rare, Araya mixte for a lot less.

cooperryder

I've been riding my Miele mtb quite a bit as that rear rack, large Wald basket and elastic net to hold everything in place is so useful for grocery shopping and just carrying stuff. We're getting some fall colors down here in central Texas.

Melon Baller

I've toyed with the idea of building up a steel MTB as a 1xX gravel-ish bike. This is a great example

Jeff Neese

I just finished this build for my wife. It's a '95 Rockhopper Ultra. Except for the obvious (stem, handlebars, and grips) it's all pretty much stock. The tires are Panaracer TServ 26x1.5" so this is made for smooth roads or paved trails. So far she is loving the high and wide grips. She had rented beach cruisers in Florida and that's what she wanted for this bike.

Her regular mountain bike is a mid-90s Rockhopper (set up and used as a MTB, as intended) and she's a very capable rider. This Ultra popped up on Craigslist for $120 and it turned out to be a real time capsule. AND, it was the exact same size frame as her other one, which fits her great. I'm glad I was able to re-use almost everything. It looked like it had very few miles, judging by the wear on the chainrings and the rim braking surfaces. All the bearings looked great. I put new shifters on it and used some brake levers I had laying around, and it all works very nicely. It still needs new pedals and a few other finishing touches, but I felt like it was ready to show a picture or two.

DorkDisk

That's one sweet swoopy mixte.

Smokinapankake

Lots of pics please when you acquire this beauty. So so nice...

Korina

Absolutely. Merziac's photos show more touch-up paint than you'd think, but that's an easy fix. The seller very generously threw on some Kool-Stop salmon pads and a new brake cable.

ofajen

Here’s a photo and update on my RockHopper. At the moment, it may not qualify as a proper “upright”, as the bars are a bit below saddle height.

I’ve been riding my road bike more lately and mixing it up, and it feels better to have this bike feel more like riding the ramps on the road bike, which is about 1 inch below saddle level. Still very comfy and better when riding faster.




Otto

OutnBack

That Blue Peugeot looks fantastic! Which Maxxis are you running on it? DTH?

DQRider 

Thank you for the complement!

Yes, DTH. I saw them on someone else's bike here on this very thread, and had to try a pair. They are every bit as good as people say, so of course the price went up and they are hard to find now.
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SpudBoi

What tires are those? They look great on that ride

cooperryder

Thank you SpudBoi.

They are Continental Contact Speed in a 26x2.0 size.

They roll pretty darn nice and have good flat resistance.
So far...no flats in 600 or so miles...maybe a bit more.

They also come in 700c and 27.5 sizes.

I have 2 pair of the 700x42 as does a good friend and we've had very good luck with them on Dallas,TX streets.

At one time Rivendell carried them and referred to the tread as basketball tread,
I think.

The 26x2.0 are listed at 550 grams which are comparable to the Tioga Power Block and Maxxis DTH tires I've been running.

At one time they were only around 30 dollars or so but they've gone up as has most bike parts it seems.

All in all a good tire, I think.