randyjawa 

This is the first bike I ever spent time, money and effort restoring or building up. The bike, a Canadian made Sekine SHC (I think) that was bent (didn't know), in great do not paint it shape and much too big for me. How about other forum members? Do you recall your first restoration. If so, share a picture and brief commentary...

Fahrenheit531 

I had a couple of bikes before it, but just bought and rode them. So this 1984 Schwinn Tempo was the first that I really worked on:



It's funny now realizing just how much too small for me it really was. Anyway, it had barely been ridden when I bought it. I did new cables, tape, regreased the cup-and-cone hubs, all for the first time. Then I added the 105 aero levers and got rid of the wretched yellow and white decals that were originally there. Some would say that last part was a bad call for originality reasons, but it ended up a pretty cool bike and when I finally sold it the buyer was clearly happy with their find.

tricky 

Slightspeed

This old Raleigh has been on here before, but since you asked ...
My brother in law found the frame in a pile of scrap metal bikes. Turned out to be a '73 Raleigh Super Course with Capella lugs, 531 frame. I stripped the spray paint, freed the stuck seat post, had the seat stays re-brazed, and had some braze on cable guides replaced. I sent it out for paint and decals. I rode the finished bike in this past Eroica, and even though I have more $$$ in it than I can ever recover, I'm loving the bike, and best of all, l built it myself. First build, and I'm really proud of it. I was able to clean up the chrome rear stays, but the fork is a NOS Ebay replacement. Bikeforums was a great resource in deciding what parts to hang on this frame and complete the build. First build turned out great with a little beginners luck.


As found.


New paint and decals.


Its a great riding bike.

sdn40

88 Criterium 3.0
I got a vision after browsing these forums and my first build escalated as most things I do. I started with a beat up white Criterium and ended up using nothing but the frame. Powdercoated flat black - and the rest of the pieces scrounged from ebay and craigslist. I went the budget route and got the vinyl from ebay who did some custom stuff. All said and done, probably a size too small, but live and learn

Aubergine 

texaspandj

Excerpt from one of my first post here on BF..
"Here's my story. I wanted a centurion ironman the first time I saw the ad in the May 1986 issue of triathlete magazine. I hung that fold out on my bedroom wall like a pin up in a mechanics garage and lusted just as much. When my LBS put one on display I wanted one even more but sadly it was out of my price range. So I got a panasonic dx 3000 instead. In 1988 I had enough funds for my dream bike however I didn't love the 80s paint job. So I bought the blue pinarello frame in the window and spec'd it like the r/w ironman I always wanted but with a few improvements".
So the '86 Ironman came with 600 SIS group. So the upgrade was Dura Ace. The Pinarello frame was a treviso SL tubing. I ordered everything from catalogs (remember them?). I hung dura ace front derailleur, rear derailleur, 6 speed shifters. I put a 600 aero s
eatpost and turbo saddle on it. I ordered some 600 hubs wolber 32 spoked clincher wheels from performance for training and some aero 28 spoke radial laced sew ups (tubulars) for racing. I guessed the perfect size stem by luck and got some 42 road bars. The crankset and aero brake levers and calipers were shimano 600. However, the bottom bracket. Headset. and chain were Dura Ace and installed by the same LBS I bought the frame from. At the time I didn't have the tools or experience to install bottom bracket and headset, in fact it was only through the encouragement of BF member Markwesti that I'm capable of doing it now. Back then it was always said get the the adjustment right or you could ruin your headset or bottom bracket. So I stayed clear of it. Oh I forgot to add the only thing Italian on my pinarello was the campagnolo seat post bolt.
Unfortunately I regrettably sold that Pinarello and i don't have pics of it anymore but, I do have it in the background of a VHS home movie of two of my kids. I think I'll try to take a pic of it off the tv. In '88 in put the first generation aero bars on it along with gripshift. The weirdest part is that I built a Red White Ironman (in 2006) exactly like the Pinarello that I built trying to build like the Ironman. So here's a pic of the Ironman, imagine it Cobalt Blue with chrome forks, chain stay and braze on FD, and flaky Pinarello decal and you have my First built bike.

iab

Cinelli by iabisdb, on Flickr


Cinelli_Model_B 004 by iabisdb, on Flickr

markk900

AZORCH

At least a decade ago and this was my first, what I believe to be a 1984 Peugeot P8. This is kind of how I began with this bike. Before this photo was made, I'd already replaced the ratty bar wrap with some leftover wrap I had hanging around. I also cleaned up the wheels and replaced the rubber with the good stuff depicted here. The frame had numerous chips, scratches, and cruddy, faded decals. Much as I hate to mess with the original "look" of a bike, I HATED the 80's-era graphics package even worse. I gleefully powder coated this sucker in wanton abandon! In my case, so many decisions that I made wound up working out entirely from pure dumb luck.


After having tried various configurations and tiny changes here and there along the way, this wound up being the final build. The stem shifters - which worked flawlessly, by the way - were held together with a bolt and what appeared to be some kind of furniture bolt. I replaced it with bar ends, left off the rubberized covers, allowing the metal of the shifters to show. This is one that fit me perfectly and rode REALLY nicely... one that fell victim to the "grass is always greener" syndrome. I sold it a few years ago and still regret having done so.

As I recall, I found the frame and a few parts at the end of some guy's driveway.

Honusms 

seedsbelize 

First frame set purchase was a 92 Paramount PDG 7. I'm not the restoring type; rather I prefer the frankenbike route. But this one is full 105, with the exception of the hubs and crankset, which are 600.

gearbasher

My first build was back in '83 (alas no pictures). I just got a "real" job and treated myself. A brand new Guerciotti SL frameset that came with a super record headset and front derailleur. I finished the rest with Nuovo record parts. Cinelli 1A stem and Mod. 66 bars. A Brooks pro team select saddle. Ambrosio rims with Clement Criterium tubulars. Regina Oro freewheel and chain.The most memorable thing was when I bought the crankset. I went to the LBS and asked for a NR crankset with 49/45 chainrings and the kid working there looked at me like I was crazy. I had to explain half step gearing to him.

BTW: That frame became my first restoration also. It went from dark blue to anthracite with no decals. It was a rattle can job that came out very well.

SJX426 

I don't know if you would call this a restoration or just attention to details after years of neglect. Maybe it is the same thing. My interest in returning to cycling included wondering the value of my bike of 30+ years. BF got me going and I went through it. A bit ignorantly but ridable. Too bad it only lasted a couple of years with the end being a result of an accident. Excuse the obvious lack of esthetics and mis-applied parts.

2008-06-01 15.25.53, on Flickr

If that doesn't fit the criteria, then this would if you consider replacing parts with period correct and "group" consistent. Contributors included BF member DD.

1983 Colnago Superissimo, on Flickr

clasher

As found, for 80$:


All cleaned up:


Currently:

I put a huge gash in the rear tubular but had built up another set of campag hubs on clincher rims so I tried the bike out with 32mm compass tires and the ride is almost as good as the tubies. The other change I made to the bike was to put a red clover triplizer on the bike and a long cage shimano crane on the rear since I like the low gears. If I ever get around to doing an Eroica type ride this would be the one I take.

nlerner

All I have is this terrible photo, but this Empire middleweight was given to me by the husband of a student of mine when I lived in Maryland. I tried to rehab it (and had done lots of rehab at that point, particularly Raleigh 3-speeds), but it was a rusty mess. All I really managed to do was sheer off the non-drive side pedal when I tried to remove it. The reason why I'm posting it here as it's the first bike I tried to sell on eBay and, for the most part, introduced me to eBay as a whole. IIRC, it did sell, but I then cancelled the sale because there was no way I was able to ship the thing, particularly if I couldn't remove the drive-side pedal. Instead, I sold it on CL (or maybe gave it away for free), and that likely first introduced me to that C&V portal. It's been a rapid N+1, N-1 world since then.


Empire

wrk101

When I retired, I pulled out my old college bike (which I bought new after my original college bike was stolen), that I had been dragging around the country through multiple moves, stored poorly under decks, in garage, wherever. What I ended up with was a nice low end bike, that was always too big for me. Taught me to pick better projects to work on. I did find a $10 donor bike that provided the three piece alloy crankset and French bottom bracket. I had a buyer come to look at another bike I had to sell, a 1971 Schwinn Super Sport in a 25 inch frame. It was too big, so he started looking around and grabbed my Peugeot.

I had a lot of history with that bike, having built a set of alloy wheels in my dorm room. Rode the heck out of it in college.

I don't have a picture of my very first build. At age 11, we stripped down my best friend's brand new 1967 Schwinn Stingray, to every single little part. Even took the wheels apart, as well as the two speed hub (mistake). We spent the next two weeks trying to figure out how to put it back together. We finally got it to work.




Peugeot Dun Comp 1 by wrk101, on Flickr

The Golden Boy 

That's a 1984, right?

Don't you mean you "looked too intently at the decals and they flaked off?" (as 1984 Schwinn decals are prone to do...)

WGB 

I had a too small Kabuki I traded for $45 and a League Fuji - but the League was just a frame without a front wheel. It was a big step as I had never sourced a replacement wheel, never rebuild a BB, etc.




I tried to rebuild faithful to the original specs and feel I came reasonably close. Gatorskins, not "SSCR" whatever they were, KMC chain not "DID Lanner", Cane Creek hoods, tried MKS Sylvan pedals but now have MTB bike pedals. I scrubbed dirt off and then bought an ultra sonic cleaner. I polished parts with wheel paste and started the rebuild with alot of help and patience at the Co-op.




"One day" I will repaint it but for now I simply touched up with model paint and I rode it all summer long to the point that my Gatorskins are almost gone. I recently started a part time job and can leave it locked to a post outside, at least until they start salting roads. It has Pinhead wheel locks and will be harder to steal and so I hope it's safe. Will need to bring a plastic bag to keep rain off the suede seat when working. It has been my entrance exam to the College of Bike Knowledge, I am certainly not knowledgeable but I am holding my head above water.

What did I learn from the experience?

Don't ride around the block, tighten up the bolts and assume your new build is ready for a long ride. All proud of myself, I rode it 8km (5 miles to town). By the time I got there my "pre-stretched" brake cables has stretched to the point that going down a steep hill I was using my shoes to brake like Fred Flintstone. I borrowed a wrench at the hardware store and tightened my brakes only to have the headset loosen after I left. I had to stop at a local bike repair man and have him tighten my locknut, he threw in the safety lecture for free.

The Golden Boy 

I got a Raleigh Sprite with the intent of making "more."

I learned a ton of stuff working on that bike. Swapping out parts, working on bearings, working on chains, cottered cranks... learning the difference in steel and alloy parts... in the end, I never got it "right." The whole BB/bent chainrings/cotters stuff threw me off... but I learned so much from it.

Fahrenheit531 

Actually they were quite solid and came off nearly intact using a blow dryer to soften the adhesive IIRC. The new decals, on the other hand, were waterslide with no clear over them and might be on the fragile side.

ryansu

Schwinn Varsity, picked it up for $25 on CL with no rear brake, didn't think to take a before pic but here it is after. Learned alot, a nice lady in her mid 40s came to test ride it and came back with a huge grin and said "that was like being 13 again" she snapped it up and I was hooked.

The Golden Boy 

2cam16

After reviving my bike craze a few years ago, I started off with this one: 1962 Huffy(Raleigh) Sportsman.
It went from this:

DSC_8090 by 2cam16, on Flickr
To this:

1962 HUFFY SPORTSMAN (made by Raleigh of Nottingham,England) by 2cam16, on Flickr

jlaw

I've already posted these this year - but I just got into C&V bikes last March. So....

My first - a 1985 Trek 410 purchased locally from CL in mostly original condition.

Before:



During:
I am not a traditionalist and as such I removed everything except the headset and seat post. I built 650b wheels with a 10 speed rear end and 10-speed indexed DT shifters, a MTB crank, long-reach brakes, off-road drop bars with a threadless adapter and threadless stem



After:
After about 1100 miles this summer. I love this bike. The only thing I might change is the adapter/stem - replace them with a classic threaded stem.




I'm currently working on my second project - a 1984 Trek 620.
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