Out with the old, in with the new

During the last couple of months there's been some changes in my stable of bikes. I recently sold the SR Apine Sport for $125. I returned it to its original 12 speed, using the original Shimano Altus LT drivetrain. The buyer was quite happy about how clean it was. Here are some pictures I took for record:

1980 SR Alpine Sport - With the gears and the derailleurs added back on (4/11/11)

1980 SR Alpine Sport - Shimano Altus LT rear derailleur (4/11/11)

1980 SR Alpine Sport - Shimano Altus stem-mounted friction shifters (4/11/11)

I also sold the frame, fork, and a few parts of the 1991 Trek 6000 for $35. I was thinking about turning into another single speed, but decided to sell it because there was a big scratch on the drive-side chainstay from chainsuck. I kept the Suntour XC Ltd parts and the wheelset though.

1991 Trek 6000 - How it looked when I first brought it home (1/16/11)

1991 Trek 6000 - What I sold (2/16/11)

I also bought/sold a few other bikes, but most of them weren't very noteworthy. I did pick up a pair of Suntour bar-end shifters and a few other parts from a beat up 70's Centurion Super Lemans. I also got hold of a 1984 Specialized Stumpjumper. The Stumpjumper is too big for me, so I've taken off the parts and am planning to sell the frame and fork. I'm also planning to sell the Schwinn Cimarron frame and fork. I had planned to build it up to be a commuter/light tourer, but I picked up a 1984 Univega Alpina Ultima that's in a much better condition. I've forgot to take pictures of these bikes, so they will come in a later post, hopefully.

Here are the new bikes for which I do have the pictures to show, though. First is the 1987 Terry Despatch for my sister. My sister's only about 5'3" with not very long legs, so it's quite difficult to find a vintage bicycle that fits her. (And I wanted her to have a lugged steel bike, but I can't really afford to buy her a new one). I already knew that Centurion made some of their Ironman models with a 24 inch front wheel to allow for a very small frame, and had missed a couple of chances to buy one at a reasonable price. I also knew of Terry bicycles made for small women, but I just assumed for that the company wasn't so old. So when I picked this one up for $125 on Craigslist, and was pretty surprised that it wasn't gone by the time I contacted the seller. I was told that it was ridden only a few times, and it seems to be true. There are nicks and scratches, but it's overall clean for its age. It's got Tange 1 tubing, Suntour Cyclone 7000 drivetrain, with about a 27 inch stand-over height. More details on this bike will follow after I give it an overhaul.

1987 Terry Despatch - Drive-side view (4/5/11)

1987 Terry Despatch - Front view (4/5/11)

The second bicycle is the most recent addition, and it's a Univega Alpina 507. I don't quite know the model year yet since I didn't have time to look at the parts' date codes or the frame's serial number, but it's most likely from the early 90's. I picked it up at the Goodwill auction for $71 (although with the gas prices now, it probably cost me more like $100). I bought it because it's a got decent components (Shimano Deore LX/XT), and it had bosses for racks and a third water bottle cage under the downtube. I am thinking I could turn this into another commuter/tourer. From my quick inspection, everything seems to be in a decent condition. There isn't much information on this model on the internet. But from one picture that I managed to find, the Rock Shox Judy XC fork it has on now may not be original. I don't have any experience with suspension forks, so that aspect of the bike will be a new learning experience for me. Also, the rear shifter/brake lever was a Shimano Acera and made for V-brakes, so that will also need to be changed. It's made in Taiwan with Formula 969 double-butted chromoly. I couldn't find anything on this tubing, but the bike seems sufficiently light.

Univega Alpina 507 - Drive side (4/18/11)

Univega Alpina 507 - Front view (4/18/11)

1995 Trek 2120

Here's a 1995 Trek 2120 with a 57cm frame (center-to-center). I acquired this bicycle on Craigslist along with a small 1987 Centurion Accordo RS (see last picture). Both of them together were posted at $120, but I had to offer $130 for the seller to hold it for me, and then drive about an hour to pick them up. I had planned from the start to trade the Centurion with my friend's bike which I had helped pick out earlier, because I felt that I wasn't able to get her that great of a deal. But I was planning to flip the Trek for some extra cash, until another friend of mine said her brother might be interested in it. So I will probably not ask for much more than $65, just to cover the gas fee and the time I put in to fix it up a little bit.

It's got bonded carbon tubes with aluminum stays, headtube, and fork. I was a little worried about its reliability after reading about older bonded carbon frames, but as you can see, this frame appears to be in a pretty good condition. There are no creaks or visible movement at the joints. Only parts that I put on was the saddle, cheap pedals, chains, and NOS tires. I couldn't get the shifting to be ask crisp and I wanted, and I didn't want  to spend too much time figuring out the problem. The left STI shifter had a loose spring that I had to put back into place, so hopefully that won't turn out to be a big problem either.

Here are the specs as seen on photos:

Frame: Trek design uni-directional carbon (internal cable routing through headlug and seatlug)

Stays: Easton tapered aluminum alloy

Fork: Trek epoxy bonded tapered aluminum alloy

Headset: Tange Seiki Levin CDS

Crankset: Shimano RX100T 30/42/52

Front derailleur: Shimano RX100T

Rear derailleur: Shimano RX100SGS

Shifters: Shimano RSX STI Dual Control

Cassette: 12-28 7-speed

Chain: KMC "Narrow"

Hubs: Shimano 105SC

Rims: Matrix Titan Tech

Tires: 700 x 23c Avenir Discovery (front); 700 x 28c Performance GT2K (rear)

Brakes: Shimano 105SC

Pedals: cheap Union resin pedals

Stem: Kalloy

Handlebar: System 1

Seatpost: System 1

Saddle: San Marco Ponza

Accessories: Bontrager bar tape; Trek water bottle cage in matching Ice Violet color

1995 Trek 2120 - Drive-side view (1/19/11)

1995 Trek 2120 - Front view (1/19/11)

1995 Trek 2120 - Seat lug and stamped seatstay (1/19/11)

1995 Trek 2120 - Seat tube & bottom bracket (1/19/11)

1995 Trek 2120 - Headtube (1/19/11)

1995 Trek 2120 - Aluminum fork (1/19/11)

1995 Trek 2120 - Top tube (1/19/11)

1995 Trek 2120 - Rear dropout & RX100 derailleur (1/19/11)

Here are a couple pictures of the Centurion Accordo RS. I've already given it to my friend a couple months ago, so the specs are from my memory. This one was also in pretty good condition, although the frame had a few spots of surface rust.

Also, they had put a 7-speed thumb shifter with 6 speed freewheel, and a 3 speed indexed thumb shifter for a non-indexed front derailleur. So I put a NOS Shimano 600 EX downtube shifters. 

Specs:

Frame: Tange Infinity double butted main frame, lugged

Derailleurs: Shimano Light Action

Shifters: Shimano 600 EX downtube (6 speed, indexed)

Stem/Handlebar/Seatpost: Delta, alloy

Brakes: Shimano SLR

Hubs: Maillard (front); Sovos (rear), 6-speed 12-28 freewheel

Rims: Mavic MA2 (front); Sun CR18 (rear)

Tires: Specialized Turbo 700 x 20c (front) 700 x 28c (rear)

Crank: Sugino, left and right didn't match, but both were 165mm; 38/50 chainrings

Saddle: Serfas

Accessories: Forte cork bartape; Forte in-line brake levers; Centurion bottle cage

1987 Centurion Accordo RS - Drive-side (12/7/10)

1987 Centurion Accordo RS - Front (12/7/10)