jish1969

I should have been looking for a fork for my Seven-ten, but I have been lusting for one of these for a while, but oh well. It was a nice trip to Erie PA, and the wife and I spent the day at Presque Isle before picking this up so it made the trip worthwhile.
ROSS Signature 292s, Ishiwata EX triple-butted tubing, Shimano Golden Arrow group-what's not to love? Its too bad that ROSS figured it out too late in the game, because by the time they got it right, their reputation was already shot.

The tires that are on the bike*(700x25) are way too small for the rims, which I believe take 700x32-I am thinking of getting Michelin City tires, but if anybody has a better recommendation please let me know.

I am thinking dark gray var tape, and silver cables, but recommendations are welcome!

jish1969

Decals are silver along with the head tube, which is why I'm thinking silver and gray, I was also debating reflective stripe tires to kind of make it stand out, but I guess this would just continue keeping it two-tone...so opinions are welcome!

P.S. I already got some brown Cane creek replacement hoods from the LBS...

roccobike

Folks, Might want to check some history on Ross. They did not fail because of their bicycle division. They failed because they tried to diversify and took on a government contract with little experience in that area. They did not fulfill the contract to the satisfaction of the inspection and the cost of correction was substantial, eventually leading to their demise. Ross is an interesting company. While they did lose interest in top end road bikes, they shifted much of their emphasis to a new emerging side of cycling, Mountain bikes. While Schwinn saw mountain bikes as a fad that would soon pass, Ross was a leader in this area fielding a team that was championship quality. According to one of the local bike shops, there was a brief period where Ross was seen as one of the top names in mountain bikes. They could not hang on to that as other brands, like Trek, shifted into mountain biking.
If it hadn't been for that government contract, I wonder how Ross would have turned out. Would it have been a more successful brand, playing a second role, but nevertheless profitable? IMHO, there was plenty of room for Ross at the LBSs for a budget priced good quality road bikes and mountain bikes. I think Ross could have made it if they outlasted Schwinn. But thanks to a bad business decision, we'll never know.

jish1969

ROSS had Government contracts since their inception, they got into the bike industry after WWII. Sure they were pioneers in the MTB biz, and yes, they blamed one gov't contract on their demise, but it was mainly their failure to compete with both their domestic and Asian counterparts that led to their demise. They filed bankruptcy, were bought by Rand, and then suffered a massive MTB recall that they couldnt reconcile, and then ceased to exist.
Aside from that, I picked up some gum colored Cane Creek brake hoods from the LBS yesterday, one fits good, the other is a little wonky, but I am hoping that will work its way into goodness as time goes by.
I picked up some dark gray Cinelli bar tape from EMS today as well, but nobody has 700 x 32 tires instock, so I guess I'm gonna have to order online. I am leaning towards Pasella TG's, but some of the Conti's look good to-suggestions welcome-I will be ordering tonight.

auchencrow

Whatever the reason for their ultimate demise, the late efforts by Ross were positively top-notch riders so congrats on your new Signature292, jish!

Zinger

+1 Gumwalls rule the '80s.

bikemig 

Just built up one of these for a friend. It's a good rider. I ended up using bontrager 700 by 32c tires; lots of room for a fat tire on this bike.

thinktubes 

I had a chance to buy one of these for $30 about 10 years ago. I passed, not realizing the quality of these. Still bugs me.

jish1969

I ordered the Pasela Panaracer TG's, but the rear wheel is going in today to get trued, running new cables and housing tonight...

jmbrewer31

Hi all,

I would like to know the value of this bike if anyone could offer some advice. I can't seem to find much information online about these bikes or even the brand. I understand the condition of the bike plays a major role in determining its worth. It's been in storage for a year, so I'll have to pull it out and take a look.

Thank you so much for any input!!

P.S. I didn't realize I replied to this thread which is the only place I found a little info. Again thanks!