dickbandit 

Yet another update on the Univega Alpina Uno. This bike has been getting a lot of mileage lately and I felt it was time to give it some well-deserved upgrades.

I built a new wheelset with 36 hole Sun Rhyno Lites laced to an 8/9 speed LX hub in the rear and a Kasai dynamo hub in the front. Stock wheel was a 6 speed so I had to cold set the dropouts from 130 to 135.

Changed the rear mech to a modern Deore to handle the 8 speed cassette.

Wired up a Busch and Muller IQ-x headlight and a secula plus tail light.

Threw on some SKS fenders for the fall and winter. Outfitted the front with a Velo Orange mudflap.

I'm really loving where this is right now. No build is ever "done"... but this feels damn close.

wintermute

Like others have said, take a bike you're already comfortable on, measure the stack and the "cockpit" reach (saddle to hand position on the bars). Now, pull up the specs on 1990 Hardrocks (shouldn't be hard to find), and do a lot of trigonometry. Using the head tube and seat tube angles, and top tube and seat tube lengths, calculate how much reach and stack the frame itself gets you. Figure out how high your saddle will ride above that and calculate the additional length in x- (reach) and y-dimensions. add those stacks and reaches together, and subtract them from your "comfortable" stack and reach. Now you know how much reach and elevation you need to make up with the stem. Start looking at the specs for different stems, the most important being quill length to max insertion, angle, and length. Play around with those until it matches up with your comfortable bike. Trigonometry, trigonometry, trigonometry!

-This coming from the guy with the ugliest bike on the board that needed around 9" bar elevation above the frame!

fishboat

Lest we scare anyone off here..working up a trig solution is one successful path, but not the only path. While I'm comfortable with trig(minor in math), I didn't need it to make an accurate estimate of what would be needed to reach a comfortable bike. The process I described above only requires a few simple measurements and the web stem calculator.

mattk42

I just kinda went for it and seemed to luck out. The Rockhopper I bought is a few inches smaller than my road bike frame. With a short 30 degree riser stem, I have a pretty small saddle to bar drop and it's quite comfortable. But, had I been more familiar with bike frame geometry I likely would have gone through the steps to ensure I could have a reasonable setup.

ZudeJammer

18" Stumpjumper Pro 1992, top tube 22", got rid of the old Deore LX 175mm 48-38-28, brakes are setup pretty tight right now and the indexing is working great (thanks xenologer for the tip! I didn't even need to file anything down: https://www.bikeforums.net/14179409-post9.html). I'm 5'9.75" and the bike really feels much more upright and closer but I just built it last night so need more time to test it. Stems at full extension in both pics. Shoutout to RJ the Bike Guy and BikemanforU, I could not have done it without their help.
Crust Towel Rack 645mm $120
Stronglight Impact 165mm 48-38-25 $105
UN-55 73x113 $30
Nitto MT-10 100mm $70
MKS UB-Lite $37
Soma Striated Bar Tape $16
Sunlight Cable Hanger $10
Cane Creek hoods $11
Dia-Compe Red Dot with Safety Levers, used $10
Sunour α-3000, used $15
+ some cables and housings
Total = quite a bit more than I paid for the bike

suttonjp

Thanks for this reply (and the link to the calculator). Very helpful.

Padgett

My current college commuter. Finally made the conversion. Loving this bike. Absolutely eats up the gravel around here. (bar end shifters, FD & RD are incoming. plz do not look at my zip tied thumbie)

ofajen

Nice tires! 👍 I run Race Kings on my drop bar RockHopper when conditions warrant.

Otto

bOsscO

Looks rad.

Padgett

They're phenomenal tires for the money, IMO! is your rockhopper in this thread?

dunkleosteus

Making some progress on my 84 Trek 850 build! It started as just a frame and fork and I finally got it to a state that I can ride it around the block. I did this with some temporary parts so I could test the fit and because I was impatient. The seat tube is about 54cm and the top tube is 58cm. I tried to reduce the reach with a short reach stem and bars. I think it could be improved with a zero setback seatpost (holy seat tube angle batman!) but it feels pretty good so far. The ride is very very smooth and surprisingly zippy on these big tires. I can see how this thing would make a fun (though terrifying) mountain bike.

The full build will eventually include gears and two entire brakes!

bOsscO

Another great build sporting these Maxxis DTH tires. I've been trying to order a set and they're either sold out or super pricey.

dunkleosteus

Thanks! Yeah it's hard to find tires these days. I think you can find these in 26x2.3 around for ~ 40 each, which is a decent price for any folding tire and a lot cheaper than RTPs. Still pricey, but I consider them a key part of the build.

due ruote 

I have a pr on the way from Bikeinn. $74 for the pr with shipping, which didn’t seem terrible to me. I ordered black but I think they also had skinwall.

bOsscO

Dude you are my SAVIOUR!!! I just ordered a pair (26"X2.15" skinwalls) from BikeInn for $86 shipping included. Should arrive mid-October.

due ruote 

Well cool; I hope we both like them!

fishboat

PR? I got nuthin..

due ruote 

pair

fishboat

Ah..I knew it was obvious, just was drawing a blank.

I'm tempted to pick up a PR of the DTH tires, though their website is confusing. On the blackwalls they list the wheel size as 26-650". On the gumwall page they say the wheel size is both 26-650" and Etrto: 52/54-559(which should be the correct size). Confusing..

ofajen

Yes... here’s a recent photo. I have the smooth tires on since it’s still warm and relatively dry conditions.




Otto

SergueiGatorski

Updates !

Campy Record 10s shifters & RD
11-36t cassette & 38-24t crankset
-17° 110mm stem
ITM carbon seat post
Ultra light (315g) 1.95" tires with some knobs
Purple bottle cages ;D
Total W : 22lbs

I know, my drivetrain is a bodge, my that's just what I had in the shed (except the shiftmate). I'm thinking about replacing it with Deore 1x12s, but I don't know how to mount the shifter on the bars... Any suggestions ?

bOsscO

Pic of said updates?

SergueiGatorski

You can't see the picture ?

dunkleosteus

Looks like a fun ride! What's the frame?

SergueiGatorski

Massi tange prestige, that's all I know..