andrewbross

Andrew Ross here posted on this forum 20 years ago scroll back if you can; I am the grandson of the founder of Ross Bicycles; Albert Ross; Company originally in Far Rockaway(Queens) NY; moved to Allentown PA in 1977; father Sherwood Ross (google to read obit in NY Times which I wrote) took over as CEO in 1969 until the company went bankrupt in 1987 due to onslaught of cheap bikes from Taiwan 🇹🇼 (Schwinn , Murray & Huffy all went bankrupt too. For many years Dad was the head of the BMA (Bicycle Manufacturers of America. Dad died in 2013 with Jap bullets in both legs from tour on Guadalcanal in 1942-43. During the oil embargo’s of the 1979’s the company churned out 1 million bikes a year. If you need/want any further info you can email me at andyrossesq@msn.com. Tidbit; Donald Trumps dad bought my bikes fro my Granfather

IdahoBrett 

Great thread! I read the entire thing! I found my way to this site while trying to educate myself about Ross. I met a “collector” of bikes and he has a Ross mountain bike that he believes to be an ‘83 model. I’m picking it up in a few days. At some point in its life it had a SR mt-100 a.k.a. “slingshot” installed and it looks like a suspension seat. New here so I guess I have to have 10 posts before I can post pics. So instead I did the album thing in my profile.

Anyways I look forward to giving the Ross life and doing some riding….

IdahoBrett 

Received a bunch of pics. I’ll post them in my vintage album. Turns out it is a 1983 Diamond Cruiser. Not a Mt. Hood.

Should I still get it?

Velo Mule

When I worked in Schwinn dealership that also sold Ross, our Ross Rep' got excited about the direction that Ross was heading in the early '80's. This bike was a key reason. They hired Tom Kellogg and this was one of his designs. While I was impressed with the bike overall I was a bit disappointed with the crimped seat stay. I asked the Ross Rep' about it and he said that it was Tom's design and it was not exactly easy to do right. I guess that would be a signature design element.

The other thing that I was disappointed with for a bike of this statue was the modest paint. I didn't know what Taupe was at the time. I had to look it up. Like in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. @JoeBass , your bike seem to be original down to the cable housings (brown) and the seat (also brown). I was young at the time and would have favored paint more like what Fuji was using. Yea, a little flashy. The good points about this bike was it was made by a well respected custom frame builder, it had lightweight Ishuata tubing, the lugwork and workmanship were excellent, especially for the price this was selling for and it had good Shimano 600 components. This bike was aimed at more mature audiences, but it got my attention and it was a clear indication that Ross was getting serious about better quality bikes.

Given those things, after all these years, I still remember this bike well. Better than perhaps any other bike in the shop at the time. From there, Ross went on to embrace mountain bikes and made a series of well designed and executed bikes. It couldn't have been easy being Ross then. Imports were getting better and Ross still lacked the identity of Schwinn, Raleigh, Fuji and Trek.

JoeBass

Thanks very much for sharing your remembrances of the bike, VM! I've recently been switching between two rides- this bike and a 1975 California Masi GC. The feel and ride characteristics of both bikes are remarkably similar so Ross and Tom were definitely doing something right.

IdahoBrett 

Here is a 1983 Diamond Cruiser I’m contemplating buying;

JoeBass

The Ross Super Gran Tour XV climbs Mt Hamilton (with a little help from me).