Below: This was originally a triple chain-ring. The smallest chain-ring was disconnected and mangled and just bouncing around on the bracket shell. I removed the crank for cleaning and discarded the damaged small ring. As you can see the rest of the Shimano Bio-Pace chain-ring cleaned-up nicely.(with Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish of course)
Below: The original Shimano Deore rear derailleur cleaned up great. And after re-mounting and installing a new Jag Wire Basics shift cable it is looking and working great.
Below: I was unable to locate the mounting hardware for the original Shimano Deore front derailleur. I did however find this Shimano Deore LX derailleur "on sale". You will notice it is mounted a little higher than usual. This is to make room for the egg-shaped Shimano Bio-Pace crank/chain-ring.
Below: Here it is finished (except a little paint chip touch-up)sporting a new set of Kenda Kinetics (tires). Hey, Wasn`t I going to do a post about paint touch-ups? This would be a nice one to use, as the nicks will show-up good against the white paint job.I will try real hard to remember to do that tomorrow. I should mention that this bike has a "bonded" frame. It is not a "brazed" lugged or welded frame. The fittings are bonded together with epoxy. As far as I know this is the first bonded-frame bike that I have ever owned or worked on. Pretty cool stuff!
Part 2
Below: I refurbished my friend Don`s Ross "Hi Tech" rigid mountain bike. The tires had no noticeable tread wear. But the "Gum" side-walls were all dried-out and badly cracked. When Don told me He had a "Hi-Tech Ross" that needed a tune-up and
tires, Well this is not the bike I envisioned. I did not realize that Hi-Tech was the model name. And that this is actually a very "old-tech" mountain bike. Also the words "tune-up" do not imply a frozen front derailleur. Or a free-wheel that is just barely free. Or cables so rusty that one section was tossed with the cable still stuck inside the cover.Fortunately I had saved some identical clear cable covers from another build. Also one of the jockey wheels was barely movable by hand. Yeah, it needs a tune-up alright!..... lol.
Below: The tires I borrowed off a donor bike, they give this bike a whole new look.
It had the typical 26 X 1.95 on /off road 1980`s tires.(identical to the tires in the first pic of the Technium) Mostly this bike just needed lots of cleaning and TLC. I did replace the Ross plastic mount saddle with a similar better quality used saddle with actual rails. I though it odd that Ross would not "fully commit" to building a quality mountain bike. The saddle mount was not even good for a department store bike. Also the kick stand was what you would expect to find on a very cheap department store bike. I replaced it with a "good quality" vintage alloy kick stand.
Below: A nice shot of the Ross all cleaned(1 & 1/2 half cans of Clean Streak) and polished. Unfortunately I was not able to see Don`s reaction to the bike. And I can`t wait to see his reaction when he sees the bill...lol Maybe I can wait for that! :)
These were two of the three bikes that kept me from working on the Centurion and the Fuji most of this week. Although I did manage to almost finish the Centurion this afternoon. It just needs cork-tape and a few adjustments and it`s finished. Also the roofers were making lots of noise this week (directly above me for what seemed like most of the time) I`m glad they are here, But DAMN they are noisy! So tomorrow with a little luck I will finish the Centurion and dive into the Fuji S10S. Till next time please "Ride Safe" and remember to always RESCUE-RESTORE& RECYCLE. Cheers,Hugh
Have you ridden the Bio-pace far enough to decide if it has advantage enough to offset its oddness? Obviously it failed in the marketplace, but that doesn't mean it had no merit.
ReplyDeleteIf you like good music, or interesting bikes, you should check out Mr. B's Joybox Express.
ReplyDeleteI'm a longtime fan of Mr. B, and saw him again last year at the A2 Art Fair. The Joybox Express was there - very cool!
Hey Steve,
ReplyDeleteI have ridden bikes with the Bio-Pace crank in the past. And to be honest, I didn`t feel there was any advantage or disadvantage. After a few minutes I don`t even feel the difference at all. I guess I would need two identical road bikes.One with a normal crank. And the other with the Bio-Pace crank.Then maybe I would be able to give it a thumbs up or down.But I can see the logic behind the design.It does seem to make the down stroke (or power stroke) easier. On the stand anyway.
Jay, I don`t think I would want to be the guy towing the piano with a bicycle.The Tambourine
ReplyDeletewould be ok though :) I`ll have to look closer and see where the other stops are on their trip.Thanks for passing that along
The bike has attachments on the back so that other bikes can help out. You can see it at the end of this video.
ReplyDeleteHe did say that going downhill could be a little hairy.
Hey Jay, Hah! That`s the damndest thing I have ever seen.(bike wise) Yeah, I bet a steep grade would be loads of fun..lol
ReplyDeleteDo you know who manufactured the original tires and what model they were on the Technium?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous. Sorry no, I don`t know for sure the make or model of the tire. Just the size which is 26 X 1.95 Due to the condition of the side-walls, they were not saved for re-use. I think if a tire expert were to click on the top photograph. He or She might recognize the make and model. If someone does recognize them, I will pass it along to you. Although being an older post it probably won`t happen.
ReplyDeleteSorry I could not be more help.
Hi..., Some thing special bring me to visit your Blog.... Deore BioPace. And i just want to know... When did it released by Shimano? and what do you thing about it compare to the Current Deore you ever try..?
ReplyDeleteHello Deede,
ReplyDeleteI personally like the Bio-Pace system. I can`t really compare it to more modern elliptical system. Because I have never ridden or (used) one.
I did find this article about it you may enjoy ://www.sheldonbrown.com/biopace.html
As far as comparing it to a typical round chain-ring, I like the BioPace better. I did read somewhere that the BioPace was produced from 1983 to 1993 I`m sure how accurate that info is though.
Thanks for visiting my site. Happy Holidays
Cheers,Hugh
What year is the Raleigh Technium? I've had one in my family as far back as I can remember and I can't find what year it is.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThis bike came in on the back of a truck. (donated)I don`t know it`s history. But I am sure the paint and graphics are 1980`s. If I were to guess, I would say 1985 (give or take a year).
I wish the 1980`s were as far back as I could remember (:
I think these Technium bikes are going to be collectible some day. As they mark a change in the way bikes (frames) were built.
I no longer have the Technium Mtn. bike. If I did I would check the components for a date. Sorry
I could not be more helpful.
Cheers