inkandsilver

Fun.

shoota 

I'm jealous. Mostly jealous that you live in Utah

inkandsilver

I grew up in Florida -- I feel your pain.

frantik

Fit is pretty much dialed in on the Jamis.. this thing is FAST Though it's not quite as stable as my Univega

Gravity Aided

I do love that Jamis, Frantik.

Bikedued

You guys broke me down. Once I get my black chrome High Sierra back here, I think I am going drop bar on it. After all I do have two 90's mountain hardtails, and two rigids, plus a 29er for the real rough stuff. I have a set of TRP Retro levers that would send it over the top, only got to pick a decent bar tape color. I have a few sets of Specialized classic black vinyl/leather, or maybe some Salsa brown would fit the bill, since I am back in the reality of Houston. There are a LOT of shops here.,,,,BD

frantik

I don't ride anything extra rough, but i feel more in control in the drops than on a flat bar

looking forward to seeing your build i'm partial to black chrome myself...

Gravity Aided - thanks

shoota 

Frantik let me know whenever you're ready to pass that Jamis on ok.

frantik

btw guys if you ride mostly on roads you really owe it to yourself to try out some Compass tires.. I swear I'm addicted to them! they make such a HUGE difference in ride. In group rides I have no problem keeping up with the "fast bikes" and rolling downhill half the time i'm passing people while not even pedaling. https://www.compasscycle.com/tires_comp_26_175.html

hairnet

Is anybody getting out there past sunset?

frantik

i ride pretty much only at night, though not off road

hairnet

Same, but so far all my trail rides have been early morning efforts. It was very refreshing.

arfrhmn

Finally, finished my project. It's a Panasonic MC Comp + Nitto DirtDrop bar + stem

wrk101

MC Comp, now that's a good one for sure! I would like to add a high end Panasonic mtb to my mainly Schwinn-asonic fleet.

Finally got my Cimmaron LE dialed in. I backed off some of the weight wienie parts, particularly pedals and saddles. Swapped out the barcons with a set of 7 speed indexed Shimano bar ends I picked up. Love the VP beartrap pedals! Can't afford Frank's tires, so I have a set of Nashbar 26 - 1.25 city tires on the bike.

Original parts: crankset, RD, seat post (I think), stem, brake calipers. Started with a neglected garage sale bike.




As acquired, look closely, and you will see the quad crank setup:





Closeup of the quad MacGiver setup:




I kind of wish I would have taken it for a spin with that quad on there.

bill

frantik

looking good.. tires look so skinny though!

Bikedued

So that was a factory Nitto stem? Just wondering how it felt fitment wise, with the drops? I am always worried about it being too far out there, since you're going past the usual flat bar gripping reach. At least on the hoods anyway.,,,,BD

frantik

on my univega i'm also use the original stem and it fits great. but on my jamis the original stem was crazy long.. the current one is probably 50mm shorter at least. i don't ride the hoods much on my drop bar bikes.. i put the brakes lower so i can easily use them in the drops, but that does mean the hoods arent as usable.

the stem you're going to use all depends on the bars and your fit.. it's kind of a pain but the only way to really figure it out is by trial and error

wrk101

Yes, that is the original Nitto stem. I have super short legs, and a long torso, so it works for me. I've measured the distance from the nose of the saddle to the bars, and this one is the same as all of my road bikes. Frame size is smaller of course, the Cimarron is about 20 1/2 inch, versus 22 inch on my road bikes. Definitely helps to have a pile of stems on hand. And you can always go with a shorter road stem, but I like the bars higher up, which you get from a mtb stem.

Bikedued

Hmmm, that may work out for me too then? The High Sierra is almost exactly 2 inches smaller than the road bikes I ride. I'll throw a set of drops on it, and compare it to the measurements on most of my road bikes.,,,,BD

pstake 

Here's my 1993 Jamis Dakota. 105 Flight Deck STI shifters. Cranks are Truvativ Rouleur GXP road cranks with the middle ring moved to the outside (42) and a 38 bolted to the middle, and nothing on the inside (not enough clerance). The front der is a Suntour ARX. Works perfectly with the STI, at least for shifting back and forth between a 38 and 42.

Rear cassette is an 11-32 shifted by M952 XTR. I built the rear wheel using an XT 9-speed hub laced to a vintage, Ritchey double wall rim. The front is an xtr hub with a single wall rim but it's held up just fine.




Wearing its commuter outfit


With kitty


Pulling grocery duty

kehomer

I sent in a request for help to contributors to this thread a few weeks ago and got some good answers. I bought a very clean 1989 Panasonic MC-5500 expecting to check it out and pass it on to another person but that didn't work out. So I figured that I might be able to make a few changes and use it myself. My limited bicycle experience, acquired since I retired 8 years ago, has been with vintage steel road bikes. I like Panasonics. The two bikes I have right now are a Panasonic Tourer and a DX5000, both cherry. The mtb has a Tange Infinity, lugged, double butted frame, a little on the stout side but ok.

I was lucky that I found this great thread. Some very clean looking bikes pictured here. So, what I've done so far is use an old 80s drop bar, a Periscopa Nitto stem that had some blems, Panaracer T-Serv 44 mm tires and a couple of sets of cheap, well used Deore thumb shifters from ebay. I couldn't get the Deore thumbies to work to my satisfaction, maybe they are TOO well used. So I pulled out the original "Mountain LX" shifters. So far I have fabricated a base from a P clamp to attach the right side shifter to the handlebar. Doesn't look terrific but appears to function ok. The Cane Creek brake levers are identical to the ones I put on my DX5000.

I lubricated everything. Had to replace the drive side cup on the bottom bracket and the headset. New cables. I'm not an expert like some of you guys. Having a little trouble getting it to shift consistently. I may install an old white leather saddle. Also may install an old rear bike rack that fits the bike perfectly.

What do you think of the electric blue Lizardskin handlebar tape? Kind of clashes with the purple paint but I like it. Let me know what you think.

pstake 

Looks sharp to me, Kehomer. I love the color of the frame and the bar tape works nicely. Sounds like you overcame some obstacles with the shifters. Hope you're able to get them tuned in just right. Cheers, Phil

RFC

I dig this bike! Totally geek inspired and designed!

jowilson

Lots of wicked bikes on here! I just converted mine to drops about a week ago, but I'm waiting for a cloudy day to take better pics. I have a few from last week but my camera was not cooperating very well so the focus is out a bit.

Before the drop conversion:


After:


The brake caliper is an Arai caliper. I haven't heard much about Arai other than their Drum Brakes, are they a good brand?



More/better pics to come.

Bikedued

Not to sound preachy, but I would get cantilever brakes back on there, and fast! Thanks to the booming popularity of cyclocross, there are MULTITUDES of canti's available again. Tektro 720's are one of my favorites, and you can use those very nice brake shoes on them.,,,,BD

https://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn....jpg?1341939926