I’m visiting my folks in Hilo this weekend and back in July of 2010 I purchased an old Raleigh. I rode it every time I was out here during 2010 and 2011. I had some great rides on it, including a few up to the Panaewa Zoo.
Last time I was here I had a bit of trouble with the rear wheel which was, um, quite used. I actually bought another used wheel (too bad about that) which was in somewhat better condition but blew out my last tube when I put it on the bike. Sigh.
Well yesterday I was back at All Kine Bicycles to visit Bill and pick up a new tube when I saw a Bridgestone RB-? sitting there for sale. It was more or less my size (my size really being larger than most production frames – I ride a 66cm Quickbeam). Well Bill says they sell recycled bikes and often he sells bikes he’s sold before (Hilo have a lot of students who buy bikes from him and then sell them back when they graduate or otherwise move on). So…
I ran home, got the Raleigh which, to be honest, really needs a new paint job and new (could be new used) components and made a deal with Bill.
Basically I traded in the Raleigh, parted with a few bucks (ouch, but not too bad, Bill is fair), and picked up a new used Bridgestone RB-? today, after which I went riding.
The reason I say RB-? is because I’m not sure it’s an RB-1. It could be an RB-2 I supposed. The original owner strategically placed a sticker over the part of the frame that would let me know. I’m not that concerned, though of course I’d rather have an RB-1 than a 2. Here’s an image…can you tell what it is? Let me know.
For that it’s worth it would appear my bike is a 1994, late 1994, the last year Bridgestone sold bikes in the US I believe. I get this from Cyclofiend’s B-Stone FAQ. My serial number begins with H4, the H indicating it wasn’t made from January to July (letters A-H) and the 4 being the year.
The component group is Shimano 600 (later becoming the Ultegra group I believe). It’s an 8-speed cluster on the back with two chainrings. I haven’t counted the teeth. The seatpost is Campy – the only Campy part I think I’ve ever owned, though my dad was fixated on Campagnolo back in the 70’s and early 80’s.
The bike had brifters but I wanted to swap the Nitto Dirtdrop stem I used on the Raleigh. Since I was working a trade I needed to leave them with a working bike so instead of taking everything apart they simply switched everything from the Raleigh over to the Bridgestone. So know I don’t have the original handlebars or shifters, but I’m going to end up with moustache bars on it anyway so…no big deal. It’s bike to ride, not one for the museum. Besides I really didn’t want brifters and this way I get to keep the ancient Suntour bar-ends which work great with the Shimano 600’s.
I also dumped the saddle which was nice for a go-fast type for the Brook B-17 I had on the Raleigh. And finally I had them switch tires from really hard road tires to my squishier Pasella 28’s. I think I might be able to get 32’s on the bike, but the 28’s, even at my weight, are really pretty comfortable (I ride 35’s on my Quickbeam which is more comfortable).
So it’s sort of a Frankenbike now and I don’t regret parting with some of the original bits.
And yes, I’ve forgotten one more thing. Clearly the previous owner likes his pedals because the bike came without ’em. No problem. I simply put the Grip Kings on from the Raleigh. Actually I did that before I made the deal because I needed something to try the bike with.
Today picked it all up and did a sweet 10+ mile ride. This bike rides very well and the components are much smoother than what I had on the older Raleigh.
I’m a happy camper.
Here’s the set of images I made with my phone on the ride today. I didn’t bring a decent camera with me on this trip (I also forgot deodorant but I was willing to buy that) so it’ll have to wait till I come back in a month or two.
Slower, cheaper, less useful…