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grand bleu

By latron on 10/24/2006. Bike tags: Mountain bike | Commuter | fenders | mudflap | saint | more tags >>
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1984 Schwinn Sierra, 23"

integrated "bullmoose" bar and stem, steel, no name (stock)

steel, with forged sloping fork crown (stock)

"Made in Japan" hubs with high, solid flanges; Araya rims (stock)

Same as front, with six-speed 14-28 Shimano freewheel

Sugino double crankset (stock); Shimano sealed bottom bracket

Serfas Cosmo saddle, generic seat post

old MKS road pedals with toe clips, SRAM chain

Shimano mountain (stock)

Shimano Deore XT cantilevers, Dia-Comp levers (stock)

Tubus Cosmos rear rack and Nitto M-12 front rack, SKS fenders, Continental T&C tires

Zip

My winter bike. Got it dead stock and barely used for next to nothing. It's a first- or second-generation mountain bike, Schwinn's mid-range offerning, but it has some nice details: fastback seat lug, forged ends, sloping fork crown. Took it down to the bare frame, got one of the fork's cantilever bosses brazed (thanks, Toby!), applied Frame Saver, then built it back up. Rebuilt the front and rear hubs (they had the original grease, which was more like adhesive than lubricant); narrowed the stock bars; upgraded the bottom bracket and brakes; put on Continental tires; added fenders, mud flap, and racks.

Update: As related elsewhere, this bike was stolen Dec. 13, 2006, in Boston. Tried like all getout to get it back, and when that didn't work, applied myself to re-creating it exactly. After several months of searching and work, did just that, and the new bike is now up on Velospace for all to see. Remember: Secure your bikes well!

People who friended this bike mastronaut, audioel, Fedzilla, junket, jared dylan, srkredliner, bio9, stinky pete, Dario, cramer9, van, sibkis, redbeard, VictorKnox, Fasteryoufool, cobrabyte, vqstaphbeard, FAT TIRE RIDER
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Lovely bike

Submitted by Fasteryoufool on 04/30/2013.

Sorry to hear it got stolen. I've got one of the same year that I at a thrift shop to be a beater I rode while I rebuilt my Univega... liked how it rode so much that I never got the rebuild done on the Univega.

It's since been relegated to back-up bike due to my beautiful bride buying me a new Giant Cypress for Christmas last year, but I did put 4,000+ miles on her beforehand.

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thanks

Submitted by latron on 05/05/2013.

Lovely indeed. I try to not think too much about where it ended up. But I did manage to build an identical twin, and we're together still, a big U-lock always at the ready.

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Pure functional elegance…

Submitted by stinky pete on 02/14/2009.

Man, it’s a shame some lowlife lifted that from you! Pure functional elegance, front splashguard and all. At least now you know what to model a replacement after, and so do I.
THANK YOU for this fine example, I plan on copying it. Can you tell be what type of rack you used? It’s got nice looks…

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Tubus Cosmo

Submitted by latron on 09/23/2009.

It's stainless steel and not quite as strong as Tubus's non-stainless models, but I love the look and the fact that it'll last forever. Love the high-low setup, too, as I use panniers every day and am always bungeeing things to the top. I think I got 100-some pounds on this bike once. Oh, and passengers too, no problem.

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Nice!

Submitted by montclairbobbyb on 01/17/2008.

Nicely done... It's got that look that beckons you to ride it. (A nice Brooks B17 brown saddle would push it over the top!)

Peace,
MontclairBobbyB

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thanks!

Submitted by latron on 07/24/2008.

Definitely have my eye on a Brooks some day. Will update when the time comes. Ride safe!

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Stolen?

Submitted by hamburger on 01/22/2007.

Was this bike stolen recently? I thought a post was put up on Boston's Craigslist in the past couple of weeks. Keeping my eyes open.

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sadly, yes

Submitted by latron on 01/27/2007.

I bought this bike as my beater, and because it was totally obsolete, I thought no one could possible want to steal it. Well, I was wrong. I guess I did a little bit too good of a job in rebuilding it, plus it had the snazzy front and rear racks. Just too tempting for some weak soul out there. So yes, it's gone -- for now. Am doing my best to get it back, and at the same time am working find another *exactly* like it. Fortunately Schwinn was cranking out the Sierras in the mid-'80s; have come close a couple times and am getting closer. Will post the new bike when I get it. Thanks for the note, and take care, L.

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Handlebars

Submitted by mastronaut on 10/25/2006.

I have a set of the 'bullmoose' bars on two of my bikes, I love em, very comfortable..nice ride Cambridge Mass?

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bullmoose

Submitted by latron on 10/25/2006.

Definitely comfortable. I was wondering what the term was for this type of bar was -- knew it was out there, just couldn't remember what. ("Bullhorn?" I thought.) My first mountain bike, in the early '90s, had a set, but alloy. The real difference though was that it wasn't an integrated stem-bar; instead, it was like a standard road stem, but siamesed. Crazy look, am still on the hunt for another.

Yep, Cambridge, Mass. You'll find me rocketing down Mass Ave most weekdays. Wish me luck!

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