DMC707

I've loved doing build (rebuild) threads and so far this year have done a couple of easy ones --- but i will add , easy ones by a lot of you guys' standards . I am suffering from depression this year and i need the easy projects to keep my headspace correct

I have a '69 GMC that i need to begin the proposed frame modifications to in earnest, ----- but its just not that ambitious a winter for me yet and it felt real good to get to get some old road bikes back on the road.

(my garage babies)
Rejuvenated Litespeed - Bike Forums
Build Thread -- 1991 Marin LTD Road bike - Bike Forums
Another new build ! -- neglected USA themed project - Bike Forums
another winter project bike (this one was easy) custom steel single speed - Bike Forums


Sourcing parts and bolting them together is easy work for a lot of you guys' i know, but as said -- i have been finding it pretty satisfying to finally start seeing some floor space as i clear some of these out

So now for the next one ---

The Baby Ironman --- I dont even know why i bought this one but it was languishing on Craigslist for a long time several years ago. I figured i could use the tri color brifters and 8 speed rear wheel for something else if the price was right , and , due to the typical CL non drive side shot, i did not know it had a first generation XTR rear derailleur on it, --- those will definitely be used , ---- but i cant strip 2 or 3 components and toss the rest, ----- especially when its a neat little niche market bike

Plans?
Restore it to a semblance of its factory spec utilizing parts i already have on hand from a couple of other Ironman's i stripped down and modernized for friends over the years ---

jdawginsc 

Creativity and making something tangible and concrete is often the elixir for what ails us. Glad you found that elixir.

DMC707

Thanks !
i havent started the teardown yet (probably tomorrow) - but tricking something out for somebody else to use ---- just feels really cool to me

Ive never shied away from buying odd sized bikes ( at 5'8" im a 53-55 myself - anything over 60 is "weird" to me ) to strip for parts, but there are some - like this one - that are so one-off that you think -- "Somebody can use this and really like it !"

Korina

There's a Fb group for small riders, and Terry-style bikes are very popular there.

DMC707

WOW -- did not know that ! Perhaps i should take my time and check that out ! They might help me get a sale number that this lil' one is actually worth , rather than what i was speculating

Korina

Here's a link.

dedhed

I picked up a St.Tropez Terry knockoff that I went through. It sat on CL for about a month until some young lady drove up from Chicago saying it was the perfect bike for her.

DMC707

Now ive got a mission !

DMC707

Thank you so much !

icemilkcoffee 

That is a pretty color. The only thing that looks out of place is the mismatched rear wheel. If you could put the matching rear wheel on there would look a whole lot better.

canklecat

Serving suggestion.

Pix snagged off craigslist in 2019, after this hipster gal's cruiserized Centurion Ironman Expert women's model was stolen. It was so stinkin cute I had to save it.

Who knows, with my neck rapidly deteriorating (most of my cervical vertebrae are a mess), I might even convert my Ironman to a lightweight hipster city rocket, swapping my lightweight aluminum Nitto albatross swept bars over from my heavier Univega Via Carisma. It'd be kinda fun to try a 24 lb hybrid. Beats what I've been doing -- hardly riding at all in 2021, and not at all for more than a month due to neck pain.

Korina

Wow, that really is adorable.

canklecat

I know, right! I do casual group rides with a few clubs that are loosely connected through members in common. The best part is watching the younger folks riding just for the sheer joy of riding, with bikes that reflect their free spirits. One fellow in his 20s or 30s rides a similarly hipsterized old school steel Trek touring bike, refitted with upright swept bars and Selle Anatomica, the hammock of saddles. He looks trim and fit enough to race, but... nah. He's just having fun. The young lady with that hipsterized Centurion Ironman could be one of 'em -- she looks just like a couple of folks I know locally.

It's a great reminder that the future is in pretty good hands, despite my tendency toward cynicism as I approach my curmudgeonly dotage.

repechage

It’s Terryific

these are interesting bikes.
that said not for the inattentive.

friend way back bought a Shogun version and had three gravity storms with it- something with the small front wheel contact patch?
fit her better than her traditional bikes but was not a good match.

Korina

I'm in my curmudgeonly dotage, and I think I'm going to hipsterize the garage queen '93 HardRock Ultra step through I just received in the mail. It has two eyelets in front and I feel obliged to take advantage of them. Just have to figure out saddle and bars. Do you think my beloved B17 could handle something that upright?

canklecat

Only one way to find out... go for it.

Seriously, though, after losing a bunch of weight since resuming cycling in 2015 I have so little padding on my sitbones that I'm pickier now about saddles and setup. My usual saddle on my upright hybrid is an old fairly wide Bell with Lycra fabric stretched over some kind of soft, resilient foam. Every few months I try another saddle, narrower and firmer, but keep going back to that Bell.

But on my road bikes I prefer narrow saddles with minimal padding. Just a difference in the angle and distributed pressure. But I wear padded shorts with the road bike, while I wear casual clothing on the hybrid. Just a difference in where the padding goes.

noglider 

I did the same for my daughter in law. She didn't like drop bars, as she is an inexperienced rider. The bike is still too nimble for her taste. It's because of the small front wheel. The tire size is rare, and I think it comes only in a 25mm width, making it twitchy. But it works mostly.

noglider 

Speaking of my daughter in law, she gave birth on Tuesday, November 30, 2021. I'm a grandpa now.