Tag Archives: old-school

Bridgestone Eurasia Sportif – Part One

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It seems as auspicious a start as any to kick off the revival of my bike blog with this recent restoration project that took me down the rabbit hole of Bridgestone’s Japan-only line of touring bikes of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Touted by Bridgestone as the “All-in-One Sports Bicycling System,” the Eurasia line consisted of touring, sportif, and road models supported by a cornucopia of racks, accessories, and apparel all designed specifically for the Eurasia. Click below to continue reading about the Bridgestone Eurasia and my experience restoring one!

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My Second Hand-Built Bicycle

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simonframe2_01

I completed this frame last summer when I was between jobs.  Like the first frame I built, I used vintage lugs and traditionally-sized steel tubing.  The size and geometry of this frame was based on the famous Bridgestone RB-1, of which I owned a 1990 edition, and which had the best handling characteristics of any steel road bike I have ever ridden.

Read on to see more of the build process and results!

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Bianchi Backstreet Townie Commuter Bike Restoration

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I restored this little blue Bianchi last year, starting with just a beat-up old frame and fork.  It was a Bianchi Backstreet from 1990, an early “hybrid” that combined the frame of a hard-tail mountain bike with 700c wheels.  It was constructed from good quality Tange tubing and was fully lugged.

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After sandblasting the frame, I re-painted it a deep blue and gave it matching fenders.  Then I added a brand new 26-inch wheelset with a Sturmey-Archer S-RC3 three-speed internally geared rear hub.  I also added a brand new crankset with a single chainring.  The handlebars were NITTO brand, and I added cork grips wrapped in deep red cloth bar tape to enhance the grip.

The result was a classy townie bike / commuter designed for cruising around the city in style.  Mechanically, it was extremely simple: no brake levers, just a coaster (“kick-back”) brake and the gear shift lever up front.  It sold to a petite girl at the beginning of the spring season this year, and I hope she’s still riding and enjoying it.  

Click “Read more” to see a gallery of hi-res photos of this bike.

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Mercier Service des Courses Road Bike Restoration

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mercier_SDC_01

The pink “Service Des Courses” is the iconic Mercier racing bike of the 70’s and 80’s, as ridden by the famous Tour de France rider Raymond Poulidor.   I restored this particular one from a faded, battered frame and rusty fork to like-new condition.  Read on to learn more… Continue reading →

1970’s Peugeot UO-8 Restored

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peugeot_uo8_01

A couple months ago, I found a Peugeot UO-8 frame by the side of the road in Brooklyn.  I lugged it home in the pouring rain, eager to strip off the MAFAC brakes and leather saddle, which have become hard to find.  After I cleaned up the frame in my workshop though, I realized that it was in fantastic condition!  Immediately, I knew this Peugeot was going to live again.  Read on to learn about the restoration process…

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650B Sporting Randonneur Bicycle

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sporting--08
Here’s a lovely French 650B randonneur bicycle from the late 1940’s – early 1950’s that I restored over the winter months.  It’s a rare marque, called “Sporting.”  I haven’t ever seen or heard of this brand before, but it’s very similar in design and components to French brands like Mercier, Motobecane, Automoto, St. Etienne, etc. etc.  Update (11/02/2015) – I think the brand may be “Sironval“, after seeing a photo of the Sironval Sportplex bike in Michael Embacher’s wonderful Cyclepedia book.  Both bikes use the same Star of David logo and color schemes, but I haven’t been able to confirm the connection.  Read on for more details on the bike, the restoration, and components…

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Univega Alpina Uno Rivendell-style townie cruiser

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Inspired by the Rivendell "Bombadil" bicycle, I revisited the vintage mountain bike-as-a-townie concept with this build, starting with a 1983 Univega Alpina Uno hardtail frame.  Made of stout cro-mo tubing and featuring a gorgeous "biplane" fork crown, it makes a handsome base to build up a fun "around town" bike that can also handle gravel paths, fire trails, and the rough roads of New York City.  It has a 47cm c-c seat tube and 56cm c-c top tube, making it a good choice for riders 5' 5" to 5' 10".  Read on for more detail and pictures…

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