I built this bike over the winter from parts I had laying around. The company I work for moved offices over the Christmas holiday to a building that doesn’t allow me to bring my bike up to my office. Instead, we have to store our bikes in a shady loading dock that’s open to 43rd street / Times Sq. So I needed an inexpensive “beater” to commute on every day. More on the bike build and additional pictures after the jump…
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…
I just finished up this new fixed-gear, based on Origin8’s Del Pasado track frame. The Del Pasado is a true urban / street frame, built of sturdy chromo-steel and with comparatively relaxed geometry (not much toe overlap) and mounting points for racks and fenders. The front wheel is an Aerospoke and the rear is a Velocity Deep-V with an IRO fix/fix hub. The crankset is a Suntour that I polished up, with matching Origin8 track pedals and Soma double-gate toe clips. Race face stem, Tektro front brake & cross lever, and a Vitesse saddle.
I took the Del Pasado for a spin last night and it is a very easy rider; the geometry gives you a stable base and the thick chainstays deliver a smooth ride on rough streets. With a set of riser bars, this would also make a good trick rider. The Del Pasado frame is one of the best deals around right now (selling on eBay for around $180 for the frame & fork, with shipping) and I think my build shows that you can make a pretty sweet bike out of it.
More pictures after the jump… Continue reading