Found this old bike with a frame in amazing condition for $25 on FB marketplace, so I decided to bring it up to speed. I’m not a fan of skinny tire setups, so this was my attempt to make something within that realm.
Original parts: Takara frame, fork, headset, and seatpost, Suntour front derailleur, derailleur hanger, dia-compe brakes
Upgraded parts: Mavis wheelset on Ultegra hubs, ultegra 28t cassette, ultegra rear derailleur, ultegra chain, ultegra bb and crankset, Shimano spd pedals, cockpit upgrade to modern brifters, wtb saddle. This bike wants tanwall tires, but the WTB Exposures in a 36c in black were 75% off.
I’m pretty happy with this first iteration, although the plan is to eventually change the fork to something stiffer and go with tanwall tires, saddle and bar tape.
Thanks for looking!
by Scvmmibear
7 Comments
I love a good 90s mtb conversion as much as the next person, but boy howdy a good road bike restomod is very welcome.
Supple!
Forks with chromed tips or rear stays with chrome tips that line up with the rims? Absolute artistic perfection.
Very nice, well done.
Was this originally a 126mm frame and if so did you cold set to 130mm for a more modern wheel set?
I’ve cold set frames before but I’ve got intrusive thoughts of building new wheels with NOS 126mm high flange rear hubs laced to 700c rims for the ultimate in both retrogrouch cred and tire selection.
Classy!
36c! I’m loving the tire width and steel tube combo. Looks like you have some room still too. I ran as much as a 32 on a Trek and it was already comfy, so you must be rolling smooth.