I’ve had this bike for a couple of months now, but I only recently got around to taking some pictures. It’s an original Grant Petersen-designed Bridgestone RB-1 from 1990, and when I found it on eBay, it came with all the stock parts: Suntour GPX drivetrain, Hatta Vesta headset, Dia-Compe BRS 400 brakes and levers, and Sansin hubs with Wolber rims.
A month ago I switched the groupset to a NOS Shimano Santé group I pieced together. Santé is a rare and misunderstood groupset – in 1987 Shimano created it with the idea of appealing to consumers who wanted pro-quality parts with a slicker design. Perhaps due to the cheesy name and white powdercoated parts, many people assume Santé is low-end stuff – not so! Mechanically, it sits between Ultegra and Dura-Ace., and the Disraeli Gears site enthusiastically calls it “most innovative and influential derailleurs in recent history.”
Santé performs beautifully – after switching the groupset this bike went from “very good” to a truly remarkable and amazing ride. It’s now my favorite bike, the kind you look forward to riding, regardless of the weather. The shifters are set to friction and it shifts and coasts smoothly and nearly silently.
I held onto the original parts for the RB-1 in case I ever decide to sell it, but it will take a pretty special bike to replace this one. More pictures after the jump…
Allan is the real hero of this project. His work is impeccable – from the paint to the decals, he did a truly perfect job on the bike. It took about seven weeks from when I shipped the frame to him to when I got it back. He was great about communication, updating me on the progress of the restoration and even sending me pictures. The price for this work was very affordable as well – about 50% less than all the other quotes I got! He gets my top recommendation and I will certainly send more work his way in the future. Check out the pictures after the jump to see lots of up-close, hi-res shots.