Wilbur76

Cheap hi-ten steel GT Palomar. Fell in love with the ride and geometry was perfect. Had to give it new life. Shame I lost the full side profile pics of it in before state.
BEFORE - Rust everywhere but nothing structural. GT saddle was nice but torn on the other side.

AFTER - Only frame and forks are original. Budget parts but rideable.

merziac

Not normally a fan of these but this is stunning, great work.

jim dandy

Merziac,
Thanks ... JD

deux jambes

Before:



After:

Dylansbob 

How do you have that much quill extended? I haven't seen a labeled "Black LIghtning" stem that wasn't a short insertion.

jim dandy

Dylansbob ...
Well,
The BL is a 56cm. I needed a 58cm. BLs in this condition don’t show up everyday-soooo! My 77yo back complained, so found a longer Nitto, powder coated it, and reproduced the Black Lightning decal. My back thanked me ...
A better life for a 33 yo bike and a 77 yo fat man ...
JD
​

bwilli88 

When I got it.

some upgrades

New wheels

Brifters...

Brooks Pro

Repaint because of rust

Flat bars

flat bar shifter for the rear, DT for the front





As I am right now... Bar cons, 9 speed Dura-Ace with 105, Shimano 600 brake levers with 105 calipers. 105 hubs, SS spokes, Mavic A319 rims,Schwalbe Racing Ralphs, GB 90mm stem and Randonneur bars.

romperrr 

Yes! I was thinking about doing the exact thing. Was the cage swap difficult?

Johno59

Before broken nose Swallow


After Nickel studs

After new leather and extra reinforcing bridge

B33 repaired probably 70 years ago with horse saddle leather and coach bolts!


After B33 new skin, rust convertor

After B33 nickel plated 15mm headed studs

BEFORE B135, insane number of bits. Leather was squashed flat and nose torn off.



AFTER B135 New skin and nose piece

AFTER New skin 8mm nickel studs

The 3 amigos ride again!

deux jambes

For me, it was simply a matter of disassembling the mechs as shown below, then swapping the bodies over to their new respective cages and pivot bolts, and finally reassembling. No challenges here. Note though that the short cage and long cage have different fixing bolt mechanisms. And setting spring tensions was a cinch since each derailleur only reqired winding its cage around once (all they would allow if I remember correctly) prior to reinstalling the cage stops.

I did find the following thread helpful prior to jumping in however:
First Generation Suntour Cyclone Cage Switch



I've got the "new" black bodied GT installed on a '78 Trek with a 13t-30t Ultra 6 in back and a 28-42-46 triple in front. Its handing the job pretty well, though I did have to relieve the high limit screw nearly all the way out in order to access the first cog. A matching 1st gen front derailleur handles the 18t chain drop without a hiccup.

Overall I'm pleased, and feel the operation was worth the minimal amount of effort it took in order to have a wide range derailleur set up in the colorway I wanted.

Triplecrank92

jim dandy

One more Before and After ...
JD

Before

After

Roger M

genejockey 

1982 Lotus Supreme found on Craigslist earlier this month.



Same bike, this afternoon

malcala622

Just a tire swap on the Tete Lemond




I like the gumwall look more so it stays.

Johno59

Brooks refuse to sell/replace the leather on their saddles, all of which are very expensive new or second-hand. Consequently the world is awash with broken Brooks saddles.

BEFORE A familiar sight to all.

BEFORE Still structurally sound after 50 years , even the dreadful spring mattress version.

About 30 US dollars of leather each.

AFTER Was a bit concerned about the strength of the leather but after ride yesterday had to slacken the tensioner as the leather was too stiff.

AFTER. Used rust converter rather than rust remover so the undercarriage is much darker.

AFTER. The youngest saddle is 50 years old and the oldest more than 70 years old (the B33 front and center). For some stupid reason they use proprietary nuts and bolts both size and thread so I got well upset when I mixed fittings up. I had to enlarge some of the holes to accommodate metric versions of unserviceable fittings. Pleased to say 95% of fasteners /fittings did not need replacement.
Not including the copper rivets of course. They were all cut off.

bfrasersmith

Great work throughout! I'm amazed at the bike wrenching skills of everyone on this thread. How did you get such a polish on the frame of Schwinn #2 bikedued?

bfrasersmith

After--Driving into the garage with the bike still on the rack? Been there, done that!

Andy_K 

My entry from the 2020 Clunker 100 Edition, recently upgraded with some things that didn't fit in the Clunker 100 budget like a chain and freewheel that weren't worn out, a front derailleur, a double crankset, and SunTour shifters.

Before (as found):


After:


It think it has finally attained the state where I wouldn't be ashamed to give it to someone for daily use. I took it out for a ride today, and it was very smooth.

Also worth noting: the brakes, brake pads, brake levers, and skewers came from the Box O' Crap.

GeoffroyFromLux

Bernard Carré frame

Before :






After :

delbiker1 

GeoffroyFromLux , that is very nicely done. I love classic bikes like this with modern components.

JaccoW

Here's my 1992 Koga-Miyata Traveller, now nicknamed the "Graveller".

I got it for cheap this March as a touring bike with worn parts and rebuilt it using some parts I had lying around and some new stuff.

Build thread here, starting at page 3.

Before:


After:

victorm

CABELLOJO

Before Mongoose Dolomite.

After. Same cranks, wheels, tires, & powder coated frame.

CABELLOJO

Before Schwinn BMX.

After.