Friday, September 2, 2011

Some interesting bicycle finds / arrivals around the shop/garage these past few weeks

Hello and Welcome,
For some unknown reason the "Bicycle Gods" have smiled down on me these past few weeks with the arrival of some very interesting bikes. I found this Specialized Rock-Hopper FS (Below) parked out in front of one of my "usual stops" late last week.
Left click on Image to Enlarge. Left Click on Back(<)Button to Return

Above: This is pretty much the condition in which I found this Rock-Hopper FS. At the time this pic was taken all I had done was given it a good cleaning. The asking price was $79.00 cash. I was able to close the deal at 65.00 cash . That is a little more than I would typically pay for a used bike. But this is not the typical used bike I normally run across. I have already started to make a few changes but I will save that for a latter post.
Above: I am very fortunate to have acquired this bike from my friend Rick who spotted it at a garage sale. This Fuji is almost identical to one I restored back in the spring of 2009. The finished bike was voted "10 Speed of the Month" on the Old Ten Speed Gallery. The Fuji Gran Tourer SE now resides in the Old Ten Speed Hall of Fame. I feel blessed to get a another chance to restore one of these beauties.

Above: Rick also found this GT Avalanche at the same garage sale. If your thinking I`m lucky to have friends like Rick, Your right! I am. The GT Triple-Triangle frame is legendary for it`s strength and durability. This GT also has a Rock-Shock front suspension fork. The fork is tight and smooth and no doubt has a lot of life left in it. The rear wheel is badly bent and is most likely beyond saving. And the paint is rough with some rust spots where scratches and chips were not touched-up. And the saddle is a mess, as are the grips and all the cables. But "none the less" even with the miss-matched tires, this is a legendary design, and well worth saving. I think the "Zebra Camo" paint scheme should really help to hide the paint touch-up.
Above: I purchased this Giant along with another bike from a young Lady who purchased the step-through Brittany 12 speed. She purchased the Brittany for her mum. Is that a sweet girl or what? I also purchased a Mixte frame bike from her as well. I am considering using the wheel-set on the GT and then using the crank and possibly the derailleurs on the Giant Attraction. Then I can build something out of all the left-over parts. Although it may make more sense to keep the Giant Attraction "all giant" and upgrade the wheel set on the Attraction instead.
Above: The Head-Badge on the Mixte. The Golden-Sports Zebrakenko head-badge has got to be one of the coolest I have seen in a while. I did not really need another Mixte project.(three in waiting now) But how could I resist that head-badge. Zebrakenco is all one word, and is a Japanese company. That is pretty much all I know about them.
Above: Drive-side view of the Golden Sports Zebrakenko. The color reminds me of my brother`s original Raleigh Competition. He no longer owns it. It was the bike that really got me hooked on Raleigh road bikes. I am probably swayed by my English heritage. But if I have a favorite old bicycle company it`s Raleigh.

Above: The men`s 1984 3 speed Brittany (untouched) parked behind the restored ladies 1986 Brittany 12 speed. The tires and grips just arrived last night for the 3 Speed Brittany. It is going to be too hot here "for me" to do anything the next few days. But I should have no problem finishing it Sunday.
Above: Elvis on what appears to be a Sturmey Archer Equipped 3 speed. The shifter looks to be Sturmey Archer. The fenders look vintage British to me. The piping on the seat-tube looks like it could be Raleigh. At first I thought I saw a slanted banner on the head-badge. Now I think it might just be the brake-cable shadow. Could it be a Columbia? What do you think?
John Lennon once said, "Before Elvis, There was nothing"
Until Next Time,RIDE SAFE and Remember to always RESCUE,RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh

12 comments:

  1. Wow that is a bundle of bikes Hugh! Love the look of that Fuji and look forward to seeing you work your magic on it.

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  2. I also love Raleighs and have since I was a teen. Ironically, I have never owned one.

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  3. About the Elvis bike. I did a little digging and most claim Elvis was signing autographs in Germany. However, I tend to agree with http://photos.elvispresley.com.au/movies/loving_you.html who claim it was on the Paramount lot. Look closely at the guitar hung from the top tube. If so, in 1957, that was probably a Columbia. I doubt a studio would work to get a Raleigh.

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  4. Thanks Steve,
    Those pics are great. After scrolling down and seeing the Ashtabula crank. I have changed my mind. I know believe the bike to be a Sturmey Archer equipped Schwinn. The fenders kind of threw me off. But after seeing the drive side I`m sure it is a Schwinn. I actually had a Schwinn with that style crank (only smaller)
    And the block pedals look like Schwinn to me as well. I know Schwinn had Sturmey Archer Equipped 3 speeds because I restored one for my wife. And I know they used English made mattress saddles. Also the oval shaped badge although unreadable, is almost certainly Schwinn. Thanks for the link, I really enjoyed looking at the photographs.
    Cheers

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  5. Hey Steve,
    I`ll tell you what. If I win the lottery I`ll restore one (Raleigh) and ship it to you. But just in case I don`t win, maybe you should start looking for one. :)

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  6. Thanks Ryan,
    The Fuji Gran Tourer SE is an awesome entry-level bike. If you ever run across
    one, snatch it up. You will not regret it.
    Those bikes are just the tip of the ice-burg.
    The garage is packed right now. I REALLY need to stop buying for a while. I do have some cheaper department store bikes I will probably strip for parts. Then give the frames to one of my picker buddies for scrap.

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  7. Hugh, I'm inclined to agree with you and favor the notion that it is a Schwinn rather than a Columbia. In that era, if it'd been a Raleigh, it'd have have had herons on the crank. Speaking of which, I was last tempted by a Raleigh last year, but it was a little too big. I used to glorify the Professional, but in my old age, I value braze-ons and fender eyelets more than in my youth.

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  8. I recently restored a 1988 Fuji Pulsar that is very responsive on the road. I am now looking at higher-end Fujis and reasonably priced Motobecanes. The Fuji Gran Tourer SE looks like a good bike to own. Do you ever ship bikes to buyers?

    Your bike restoration blogs are the best. Your advice on using brass brushes for rust removal should be very useful to home bike mechanics. I used the same technique for my restoration. My Fuji Pulsar looks like new.

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  9. Hey Pulsar 88
    First, Thank You for the kind words. I am not familiar with the Pulsar model. I will probably run across one eventually. Especially now that I have heard of the model. It just seems to happen that way. I have had horribly bad luck with shipping bikes. (both coming and going) Because of that and the "cost factor" I do not ship bikes.
    It is good to hear that your restoration turned out well. You may want to send some before and after pics to oldtenspeedgallery.com
    There is info on the gallery on how to do that.
    The FUJI Grand Tourer SE is a fine bike. I do see them on Craigs-list from time to time. Good Luck finding your next project. And Thanks
    for leaving a comment.
    Cheers

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  10. Hey Steve,
    Maybe a vintage Raleigh Sprite would be a better choice? I really loved the Ivory colored
    Sprite I had. But as luck would have it, it was a few sizes too tall for me. I notice lately, I have gravitated towards bikes with a more upright riding position. (could it be the onset of old age?)
    I was sorry to hear that all that rain missed Texas. When I saw the storm on radar, I thought to myself "At least Texas will finally get some much needed rain". Hey, Did I ever mention that the top Eco-Cop in the great state of Texas was my best childhood friend? That is if he hasn`t retired.
    Cheers, Hugh

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  11. ive got evan bike looks just like that and was made in detroit michagon in the 1960's

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  12. Anonymous,
    I have been trying to think of a bicycle that was made in Detroit. And I was drawing a blank. Thank you for that information. I assume you mean your bike looks like the unidentified Elvis bike. I knew it looked familiar, but I just couldn1t place it. Thanks again.
    Cheers

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