CO_Hoya 

Bike is now SOLD

Offered here is a 1992 Bridgestone RB-1 frameset. The catalog .pdf can be found here. These bikes have a mythology about them, but the frame isn't my size so I'll have to take others' word on that.

One thing to note with this frame is the relatively long top tube (57.5 cm c-t-c) versus the seat tube (56 cm c-t-c). I typically expect a 56cm/56cm base frame size and then increments of +/-2 cm seat tube and 1 cm top tube. I think the RB-1 has the same sort of geometry one encounters with many Lemonds. The buyer should be aware of this.

The bike came to me from my next-door neighbor, who decided he needed a more modern bike. It was originally purchased for his son, who raced it for a season. It came to me with a mishmash of parts, some of which I've re-purposed and some I've lost track of.

Asking $SOLD + shipping, via PayPal. I'll charge cost, about $40 shipping to the lower 48, more elsewhere. Local pickup always welcome.





The bike has cosmetic issues with damaged decals, paint scratches and paint loss around the seat lug and binder (I'll explain about this last one below). However, I don't see any dents or dings and there are no rust or structural issues.

Specs

• Material: Ishiwata 022E frame and 019E fork, double-butted
• Seat tube (ctc): 56 cm
• Top tube (ctc): 57.5 cm
• Head tube: 15.0 cm
• Chain stays (ctc): 41 cm
• Dropout spacing: 132 mm
• Threading: Standard
• Seatpost size: 27.0 mm
• Dropouts and frame (via Sheldon string test) confirmed straight

Price includes

• Frame & Fork
• Headset: Shimano 600, feels a little bit rough
• Seatpost: Kalloy, 27.0 mm black (very long)
• Frame fasteners as shown

Issues

• About the paint loss at the seat lug: At some point my neighbor decided he needed a new seatpost, and somehow ended up with a 27.2 mm rather than the spec 27.0 mm. The new post was very tight, and he surmised that the frame must be damaged. He's a petroleum engineer, so he and a co-worker decided to MagnaFlux the seat lug to find the problem. This involved removing some paint. They didn't find a problem. Finally, he came to me to ask if he should (and how to) ream out the seat tube to make the post fit. I explained that seat posts come in 0.2mm increments and he had been sold the wrong size. [I wish he had talked to me first.] I decided to leave the paint as-is rather than try to touch it up - that will up to the new owner.
• The rear dropout is 132 mm rather than 130 mm as expected. I don't see any alignment issues via Sheldon's string test and the dropouts are straight. Dunno why the extra 2 mm.

Please ask if there's anything unclear or you'd like to see additional or better pictures.

More pics (Flickr album here):














Shown with 700x25 tires.

ThermionicScott 

Oh man! If it weren't for the long top tube, I'd be getting in line. GLWS!

CO_Hoya 

First potential buyer passed, so the frameset is first-come now.

tmh657

Very tempting since the tt is just right but HT length is a bit short and I would need like 8" of seat post for proper leg extension. Is this an odd geometry or am I just uneducated about this type of fit? BTW this is THE color RB1 for my tastes.

BluesDaddy

Great looking frame! I bet a Shimano 5500 group would look sweet on that. From the description it sounds like it would fit someone who usually would ride a 58?

CO_Hoya 

A few responses on this:

• I believe Bridgestone measured bike height as c-t-t seat tube, so this bike is a 57.5cm per their standard if you want to look at their geometry chart (pg. 47 of the catalog linked in the first post). I'm used to thinking of bike sizes in c-t-c measurements, so reported this instead.
• Elsewhere in the catolog (pg 32-33), Leonard Zinn offers a two-pager explaining the benefits of the longer top tube and slacker angles.
• I also faced your dilemma, although I prefer a 58-59cm top tube. I decided to pass the frame along because of this.

Yes? I can't say for sure since I didn't spend more than 5 minutes riding it before deciding I should take a pass. You can see the seat post set for me in the last pic in the Flickr album (ignore the stem height, I was screwing around with it when I took that pic). FWIW, I like a 60-ish c-t-c seat tube.

ThermionicScott 

The pictures in the catalog make it look like they are measuring the seat tube C-T. In that case, this frame is most likely their 57.5cm size, not a 56.

EDIT: @CO_Hoya beat me to the punch!

Dougbloch 

Beautiful frame. Where are you located?

CO_Hoya 

I’m in Colorado, near Boulder.

CO_Hoya 

Price drop. This one has got to go.

nlerner

You’re killing me with this iconic frameset in my size! Have you tried the iBOB list/google group?

CO_Hoya 

I have not.

While I receive the emails, I’ve never bothered to figure out how to post to the list. Just send an email to the iBOB address?

nlerner

I think you just go here and click on New Topic.

CO_Hoya 

Sale pending . . .

CO_Hoya 

And now sold.

nlerner

Woot!

CO_Hoya 

I’m flying into Logan on Sunday - I could have dropped it off on your porch.

nlerner

You’re killing me!

The Golden Boy 

How TF was this not sold immediately?