unchosen

Hello everybody this is Michele from Italy, it's my first post
I was given this Vintage MTB from a friend and I am now in the process of restoring it and use it as an everyday bike.

I wonder if anybody could tell me more about this bike and especially how old that is.
I googled for it but never found anything which looks the same, I mean, for example: same stickers, same straight fork and colour.

I would attach pictures but I can't yet because of the amount of posts, how can I show the bike?

T-Mar

Welcome ot the forums. The photo resolution is quite low but it looks like it may be a very early 1990s version with Shimnao 400LX. We may be able to determine the exact year from the serial number.

CO_Hoya 

Pic assist:

unchosen

Yep, thats an Exage 400 lx with biopace crankset, I will post the serial number as soon as I manage to get home.

I like the geometry of the frame very much which really fits me, so I am not going to sell it, but I wonder, what could be the value for this mtb?

Chris Chicago

100 euro plus or minus 50

in america anyway. it's a nice bike but not a big demand.

have no idea about your local market

gugie 

Hello Michele, and welcome to the forum! My family has roots in Samolaco and this beautiful area.

I worked at a bicycle shop many years ago that sold Ross bicycles, do you have a fully chrome model? If you can put the address in "spelled out", such as replacing "." with "dot" I think we can post for you.

Alternatively, go to the Introductions thread, post, reply to others, etc. and get your post count up.

Or just have a conversation with me about Lombardy!

gugie 

In Portland, Oregon, much more than 100 Euro, but we're not supposed to discuss appraisals here - forum rules.

If the picture is the OP's bike, then it looks like it just needs some grips, and if the shifters are sticky, spraying some WD40 in them usually cures it. Other than that, the picture looks like a rider as is.

T-Mar

I don't think it's chrome but rather the faux titanium finish that was popular in the early 1990s. Shimano 400LX places it no earlier than 1990. I've got product lists for 1990-1992 at which time it had a retail value of $450-$500 US, depending on the exact year. Ross' ATB line-up fluctuated quite a bit during this period, so I can't provide a position in the hierarchy until we know the exact year .

unchosen

Thank you for the warm welcome


here is the serial number: TJ004087

Actually I was given the bike with flat tires and just swapped the wheels with a pair that had in the garage just to ride it and try.

Then spent one afternoon cleaning everything, disassembling, greasing and assembling again. I also replaced the handlebar and still had to get a pair of grips when I took the picture, thats why they were missing

btw, I'm not sure the chain is suitable, seems too thick to me especially because the front derailleur's cage looks very narrow and the sticker on the chainring says: for NARROW chain only...


Samolaco is not far from were I live, it's just up to the North, top of the lake!

unchosen

I think T-Mar is right, it's not chrome, I mean, to me it looks as if it has a greenish cast, it's not just perfect silver and shiny
(sorry for the maybe bad description, my english vocabulary isnt so detailed)

gugie 

My nona and nono were born there. I've been twice, but back in the 80's. Both times I travelled through Lecco on the way by train, it's a beautiful city without the pretentiousness of Como. Someday I plan on returning! I had a second cousin that lived north of Chiavenna up near the ski resort, but she passed away a few years ago. I'm not sure I could find any family there anymore...

You write with "no accent". Are you an expat American?

T-Mar

That's not the typical Ross serial number format, so I'm assuming it was contract manufactured, probably in Taiwan. Is there a country of origin sticker? An educated guess based on my experience with serial numbers would be that it's from 1990. If so, it was 4th in a product line of 8 ATB models that year.

unchosen

Yes, there is actually a sticker that says made in Taiwan, so your guess could be right. Sorry for the maybe stupid question but what do you mean by ATB?

T-Mar

ATB = All Terrain Bicycle. I prefer it over MTB.

unchosen

As most foreigners you have problems with double consonants: it's noNNo and noNNa nono and nona means 9th in italian, masculine and feminine respectively ))
You should come again for a visit, it's rather affordable nowadays, and trains from Milan till Chiavenna are cheap and rather fast. You could even take your bike with you and climb up the Maloja pass, getting to Switzerland, then ride till St. Moritz and get on the Rhaetian Railway to reach Tirano and then again by train to Milan.
Last summer I was crazy enough to do that with a folding dahon than I use in Milan to get to the office, I just had a detour and rather than take the train in st. Moritz, I climbed the Bernina pass as well and then went down till Livigno and spent there a couple of days with friends It was great!

Does your cousin live in Madesimo maybe?
As for me, I am totally 100% italian, so I take your comment on the way I write as a compliment! Thank you!

gugie 

It's not that I'm a foreigner. I don't spell well in any language!

My cousin lived in Campodolcino, which is almost same as Madesimo. My nonna was born in Samolaco (tiny village), but her family moved to the US when she was only 3 years old. I grew up on a dairy farm, for many generations back my family was in this business. They had a summer house to watch the cows grazing in the Alps that is now on the ski runs at Madesimo. It had a door outside on the first floor, they built a second story with another door on the second floor. In the winter it became the front door because of all the snow!

Do you commute from Lecco to Milano on the train and use the Dahon to get to and from the station?




I remember the road from Chiavenna to Madesimo with many switchbacks, and see that it is this way all the way to Splugen - this would seem to be a wonderful ride, especially downhill!

unchosen

Yep, I mean, I use the folding bike instead of the subway to reach the office in Milan and ofc I carry the bike with me on train :-)

gugie 

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Three more posts and you can add pictures!

unchosen

Yes

Btw, I need to replace the brake pads of the Ross.
It mounts Shimano cantilever brakes model br-m351, can anybody suggest which pads I could get, I cant find anything suitable Amazon (amazon.it), they look more like pads for road bikes than usual vintage cantilever

ryansu

Kool stops are nice , check the post on the brake pad threaded or unthreaded, most likely not threaded.

unchosen

In the end I decided to replace the brakes and bought a set of Tektro cr720: they work great, even with cheap and ordinary v-brake's pads