Avid track cyclist and fixed gear road cyclist.
Always wanted to venture into gravel cycling and was early to an appointment and saw this guy hanging out at a garage sale. Stopped by and they wanted $100. Didn’t argue and snagged it. Looks mostly stock. Needs some tune up and a few replacements but other than that, a really solid and clean frame.
Any tips or advice on upgrades or replacements? I’m not seeing too much about this era breed online so I’m coming to the pros for advice.
Happy riding!
by Shkmstr
7 Comments
You can’t beat a 100$ SS cross bike. clean it add some new tires and enjoy!
I mean… you will need a new bottlecage I guess
Gotta love the neglected bike with a gel saddle cover. Every time, it’s someone who bought a “racing” bike because it looked cool, couldn’t be bothered to figure out how to set it up so it fits them, slapped a gel monstrosity on the saddle because they expected it to feel like sitting on a couch, then let the bike languish in the garage for a decade.
Nice SS! Reminds me of when I picked up my Specialized Langster for $150 at a yard sale a few years ago. That has been one amazing ride.
Well done!
Ditch the seat cover & you’re ready to party. That’s a great score.
I’m about to turn my canti brake CAADX into a single speed just like this.
Upgrading the brake pads can be a huge performance improvement for minimal dollars, kool stops are the go to recommendation.
Nice find! Would love to find one of these in my size.
Like others have said, there’s stuff to be replaced, including the brake pads. Standard advice about checking bearings for wear and adjustment applies, as does checking the wheels and the drivetrain for wear (the chain looks rusted in any case), but it sounds like you likely already know that.
You’ll likely want to replace a bunch of other things while you’re at it, including the brake cables and housing and the bar tape, which looks pretty ratty. Be sure to check the handlebar for corrosion under the tape.
New tires, and better quality ones, will make a huge difference. They’re probably the best bang-for-the-buck upgrade you can do. Since it’s an older cross frame, it may not have as much clearance as a more modern gravel frame, especially between the chainstays.
You’ll also want to figure out what gearing you want to run. I generally run a lower gear for gravel fixed riding than I do for road fixed riding.
You can probably do a lot of this pretty cheaply if you have bike wrenching experience and the necessary tools, or if there’s a local bike co-op or community bike workshop.