June 2001
I have been riding for 33 years and over time I have acquired a lot of parts, from doing upgrades and from others. I have been wondering how to make use of all these parts. Three years ago while out riding I found a bike frame tossed along side the highway. The frame still had some of it's components. Stopping to take a look I found it to be a pretty good frame, I returned later by car and picked it up. Now I had enough parts to build a bike. Last November (2000) I started this project.
I wanted to build the bike myself but soon found I did not have the knowledge to do the job. The main problem was that I had parts from different manufactures and from different eras. Some parts would fit while others would not. So off I went to my local bike shop, The Bike Gallery of Beaverton Oregon. I explained my project to Mike, a great mechanic. We spread my supply of parts out on the floor and he looked them over. He then said that I should leave everything and he would see what he could do. After a few days I got a call from Mike who said that he thought it was possible but some parts would require adaptors (the front derailleur and the rear wheel).
I had hoped to end up with a bike for no cost at all, a totally free bike. Since this was now not going to be possible I decided to have the frame painted. Just the day before a man had stopped by the Bike Gallery with a titanium frame he had just painted. He gave Mike his card and said he would like any business that might be sent his way. Mike said that the paint job really looked great. I took the man's phone number and gave him a call. We made arrangements to meet at his place of work, which was only 2 miles from my home..
The next day we met and I handed him my frame. He said "it's a heavy steel frame" which should have given me a clue. After talking for a little while and looking over the color choices I decide on a beautify two color fade job for $175. Sure it was more than I wanted to pay but the outcome would be worth it. He said the job would be done before Christmas. To make a long story short, seven months went by with no results. I could understand that one could get busy and not have time to work on my job, but it was lie after lie. One time he said he had striped the bike and was hand sanding some spots. At another time he said that it was all finished except for the clear coat. Over this time the price went from $175 to $140 to NO CHARGE. When I finally got fed up and went over to pick up the frame I found it in the exact same condition as when I dropped it off seven months earlier. By the way the man was out of town and someone else handed the frame over. I really think the man wanted to do only high-tech frames and did not want to mess with my old steel frame. He sure could have been more HONEST with me. I found another paint shop, “Class Act Coatings” of Portland, who did a great job in just two weeks. I picked a metical blue finish.
It was now June and my agreement with the Mike was that this would be a winter job when he was not very busy. So it took him 3 days to get the bike back together and he still honored the same agreed to winter price, thanks Mike. I gave Mike the freedom to replace any part(s) that he thought was necessary. I took the bike for a test ride and it rode wonderful. I now have my almost free bike. Following is my new bike:
- Frame - Ross - EX Ishiwata Cr Mo triple butted - found
- Wheels & hubs - Mavic MA40 - from my brother Bill, when he upgraded
- Chainring - Campy Athena - 53/39 - from my Trek 2200 when I upgraded to a triple
- Cassette - 7 speed - Shimano 12/13/15/17/20/23/26 - this is the original cassette
- Front brake - Shimano - this is the original rear brake
- Rear brake - Shimano Dura Ace - from my brother Bill, when he upgraded
- Brake Levers - Shimano Dura Ace - from my brother Bill, when he upgraded
- Front derailleur - Shimano Dura Ace - from my brother Bill, when he upgraded
- Rear derailleur - Campy Athena - from my Trek 2200 when I upgraded
Other new part were, cables (all around), handlebar tape (Cinelli), rear axle (to make the rear wheel fit), front derailleur clamp, front brake pads, saddle (Terry Liberator), chain (Shimano), computer (Topeak Panoram), pump and a Campy water bottle and mount.
Total cost, with the paint job, was $307.00. After looking around it's my guess that this bike compares with bikes in the $1500 range.
It was a fun project, except for the first paint job project, and I am very glad I did it. The bike turned out great and will be fun to ride, again thanks Mike. Why not take a look at your collection of parts?