Tag Archives: townie

Univega Alpina Uno Rivendell-style townie cruiser

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univega1

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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Bridgestone MB-2 commuter townie

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This is a cute lil' commuter / townie bike I built up in the winter of 2011 for my girlfriend.  I found an old Bridgestone MB-2 frame, a high-quality lugged rigid mountain bike from the early 1990's.  It had a lot of scratches and small dents so I gave it a new coat of paint and a built-in top tube protector made of shellacked hemp twine.  Read more after the jump…

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Centurion Pro Tour all-chrome 650B townie

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This bike was a Centurion Pro Tour originally, a high-quality Japanese-made touring bike from 1978.  One of Centurion's top-of-the-line models, the Pro Tour had some cool features rarely seen on a production bike: brazed-on centerpull brake calipers and a fully chromed frame.   Later iterations of the Pro Tour (from 1980-1984) had more common cantilever brakes, making the early editions quite rare.

I won this Pro Tour on eBay recently, and it arrived in fairly dismal condition.  The paint had numerous scratches and rust, and the parts were a haphazard mix of original components and later replacements.  I decided to strip the paint off to reveal the original chrome underneath, and while I was at it, to convert the bike to 650B wheels instead of using the original 27" ones that came with it.  I also made many more changes and additions – read on to learn more…

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Vintage “Townie” single-speed

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townie side shot

This is my third bike build, a vintage “townie” style bike built on a 1970’s-era Schwinn frame.  The frame came with leather-wrapped handlebars, which inspired me to build it out as a classy around-the-town bike.  I replaced the heavy steel 26″ Araya wheels with lightweight 700c deep-v track wheels, and put Nashbar’s “Duro” tires on them.  The dark brown sidewalls match the leather nicely.

The seat is a riveted leather Brooks copy, taken from from a Masi Soulville bike.  I installed a 68x107mm Miche bottom bracket, red KMC single-speed chain, and built the single-speed crankset from a new 170mm Campagnolo Mirage set.   It has a 42-tooth chain ring up front and a 16 tooth freewheel in back, with a flipflop hub & fixed gear cog & lock ring.  Pedals are MKS Syvlan touring, brakes are new Tekro side-pull calipers, and I added a set of Planet Bike “Hardcore Road” fenders for all-weather riding.

Full story and more pics after the jump…

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