Monday, August 23, 2010

Andy and Ron...


if you see this bike in the Madison area and the rider on it isn't named Conner, please remove the rider so that the bike can be returned to it's rightful owner. Thank you.



Since I haven't been able to ride, I started catching up on some builds. This was one of them on the list. Went to a neighbor's college son who moved off campus for his sophomore year. He had originally brought up a 24"-wheeled Roadmaster MTB that needed about $30 dollars in parts just to get anywhere close to being reliable. He hadn't ridden it for what he figured was about 6-7 years. Not to mention, Conner is just a hair under 6' tall. I wasn't about to let it go down like that. After a brief chat, and asking for his trust I started the search. For less than the value of the parts needed on the R-master I found and picked up this old steel steed that had been sitting in someone's basement for the last 5 years. Added fenders, picked up a lock and a seat leash and replaced the derailleur cables. Even had some leftovers on the shelf from previous projects to seal those two cable systems. The shifters were pretty gummed up, but got them working well. I had forgotten how many parts were in those trigger shifters.

Took it for a spin and it was working very well. I was quite pleased with the outcome given the small investment. Sold it to Conner for pretty much my cost. He was blown away with what he got for the money. The cost was equal to or less than what a lot of people are listing their used department store bikes. Was happy to help out a "poor college student" who is working hard to put himself through school.

Happy commuting, Conner!

6 comments:

CTB said...

Big Steve - nice work! That is a smokin' find. Now, see if you can find any of those missing Madone's from the Postal/Discovery years in the garage of some home in Wausau. If you do, I bet there is a motor in the seat tube, EPO stuffed in the handlebars, HGH in the saddlebag, a picture of Sheryl Crow on the stem, and the top tube has FLOYD LANDIS inscribed on it.

Big Steve said...

Not bad for what you called a POS when you saw the picture of it hanging on back o' the Outback. This was one of my more rewarding builds.

CTB said...

That picture was a POS...the cell phone camera didn't do that Trek justice. Nice commuter ride!

Big Steve said...

Nice back pedal. Except now my phone is a POS... whatever.

CTB said...

That's why I don't ride a Fixie.

MrDaveyGie said...

I'm thinking bike thieves should be hung from a rope like horse thieves were.
Good luck on the back, been there, it sucks.