PugRider

What tire/wheel combination is that, if you don't mind my asking?

striknein

Panaracer T-Serv Protex 1.5" wrapping Sun Rhyno Lite rims with Sapim Race spokes and 36h Tiagra 4500 hubs. The original wheels were toast.

PugRider

Thanks! Nice-looking.

Bikedued

Man, if you were careful with the heat, and prep work beforehand, you "could" weld a new set of studs on that fork? Grind it down to the base of the mount, drill them out, and weld in a new set of screw in studs from the back side. The chrome might foul the welding up though, and turn blue if overheated. Anything would be better than the weakness of that caliper on the front. That pretty much killed any offroad riding that bike would ever see. I'd hunt down the person that did this, and rub their nose in it.,,,,BD

Gravity Aided

Or maybe just get a new fork with cantilever studs, or a better front brake.

Bone Machine

These conversions are fun. Here's my second attempt. I used Sora brifters, and 105 triple crankset with the large ring removed (it interfered with the Ubrake). I like this one better than the Grizzly I posted earlier. It's a smaller frame, and fits me better.

Bone Machine

RFC

Very, very nice. And the cracked paint is beautiful.

scozim 

+1 - great looking paint

bobotech

Well here is my parts bin special. I got the frame from someone on CL from whom I got a pile of other parts. I had the STI shifters, and then just dug around and found other bits and odds and ends to put it all together. The paint is not the best but now that its all together, it doesn't look half bad. I am going to find a better set of doublewall rims but these work for now.












Yeah, yeah, I know, I didn't trim the cables yet. I will do that. I just leave them long until the build is completely finished and tuned up, then I trim.

Bikedued

True, but somehow the value of these Ross mountain bikes is at an all time high. Originality being key, a repair might keep it original, and fix the horrible brake problem at the same time. A quality caliper brake in that size doesn't really exist anymore, and it's debatable that one ever has? Replacement fork is certainly an option, but case in point the horrible luck I am having at selling my Grand Record. Replacement forks are severely frowned upon, even if nothing is wrong with the frame.,,,,BD

Chris_in_Miami

I'd probably replace the fork if it was mine, but the caliper brake is beefier than it looks and it stops very well.

frantik

do you ride in the drops much? looks like braking would be tough anywhere but the hoods..

frantik

looks like fun.. and loving that paint

SeanBonham

Are those Small Block 8 tires?

Bone Machine

They are 1.8" Kenda Dred Tread folding tires.

Sixty Fiver

Love those Kuwaharas... built up my new touring wheels on Friday and just have to build up a freewheel.

striknein

I'd love to know more about those front racks. I have a set of Axiom Journey lowriders that are canted way off-axis due to the mounting setup.

Sixty Fiver

Mine are Blackburns... took me a while to complete the trifecta and they fit up perfectly with very little trouble and have been great.

Was thinking that I might build custom racks at some point and if I ever decide to refinish the frame (it is 26 years old) will integrate them into the rear and improve the front by using our own design that sets the load farther back and makes for an even more stable bike.

bobotech

No I do not ride in the drops much at all except for when I'm going down a long hill which isn't often. I normally just ride stretched out on the hoods. However these pics were taken just after I finished the bike and the handle bars were still turned up too much. I will lower them and then I should be fine.

wrk101

+1,000,000 Its a stunner!!

WNG

This weekend, I joined you guys with my own drop bar creation. It's still pending completion due to the need for a shifter solution.

I started with a circa 92 Specialized Hardrock Cruz in my size. It was terribly neglected and left outside for a long period. All the rubber and plastic/vinyl bits were cracked. And the mostly steel parts were all rusted orange. Only the spokes were without rust. I was asked to throw it into a trash bin, and gladly agreed since it looked terrible. Front rim warped, frameset scarred with rusty scratches, stem and bar covered in rust. I was ready to give it the heave ho, when someone noticed it has horizontal dropouts and said I should keep the frame since it would make a nice single-speed. That caused me to take a 2nd look. Saw a Direct Drive Tange Cr-Mb tubing sticker, found no dents, and next...loosened both steel seatpost and stem to determine if they were seized. Nope. So I took pity on it and dragged home this orphan 2 months ago. Stripped it of the ruined Suntour parts and seized chain and tossed it aside.

This thread is a bad influence on those inflicted with N+1. :-P
I started with the limited parts on hand that were donated and scavaged, and came up with a build plan.
The hubs were still good. The rear rim true and the front I managed to straighten out.
This heavy beast needed to go on a diet. So, it got an aluminum bar and post, a Ti railed road saddle, and a Sugino 94mm BCD single crank running a 42t ring. It's going to run 1x6 or 1x7. I had a bunch of 6 speed Shimano freewheels on hand, and a 6-speed uniglide chain. It sports a 14x28t now, because I only have a 80s 105 road derailleur donated from Doc Cannondale. Unfortunately, he forgot to include the tension pulley. I will need to scrounge one up. This and the shifter are the only hold up to completion.

I needed a 1" stem appropriate to a drop bar. The aluminum bar came with a matching Zoom aluminum stem with a 90 degree offset....perfect, BUT it's missing its binder bolt. Darn! So, I defaulted to the original stem. At first it didn't appear to fit a road bar. Disappointment set in. Dug out a flat bar.
I sanded and wire-brushed the rust off and clear-coated it. (It will look pretty for a few months and then rust again.) When it dried, I tried the road bar and behold, it got on there! I mounted a pair of brake levers off a GMC Denali, mounted Deore DX cantis from a Diamondback Apex that was ran over by a car.
Wrapped the bars with yellow Cinelli cork tape from Gomango. Installed Mavic clipless pedals from Doc Cannondale. But stalled on shifter...as the Deore thumb shifter won't mount on road bars. And a NOS Shimano SIS 6spd stem shifter is missing its mounting hardware.
(I may drill and tap the steel stem and bolt it directly to it.)
It has a pair of used 1.95" gumwalls on there now. Front being a Specialized Crossroads III.
I will swap on a pair of yellow cages to accent the yellow theme.
Total cost = $0.00

(Thanks to irvri for the freewheels, bars/stem/seatposts, cages, stem shifter.)

I've nicknamed her the Specialized 'Hardlife', due to the way it looked when I got it. It's full of scars and I'll probably leave it that way. Itching to discover how this Frankenbike rides.
It's noticeably lighter than stock. Will take it to canal paths for testing.

Pics to follow...flickr isn't uploading this morning!

edit....

frantik

^ nice.. you could use that thumbie on the drop bar.. the steel band can be bent to fit the larger size. i'd put it under the bar wrap tho

jdefran

While that shifter picture is right there...anyone know where to to get the black plastic cover piece the housing feeds into?

This velobase photo shows it more clearly:

frantik

you're probably going to have to find a whole new shifter or a broken one for parts. one thing to keep in mind the 6 speed and 7 speed shifter mounts are very similar but the plastic part you're looking for is shaped differently depending on if it's 6 or 7 speed. I learned this when i went to put 6 speed shifters on 7 speed brackets