1989 MBK Aventure - Revival thread

[t-bon3]

This bike popped up on my local FB marketplace for £10. Seemed a shame to miss out on these glorious 80's colours and graphics.



From some internet searching (mainly in French) it looks like a 1989 MBK Aventure.

From what I can tell pretty much all the components are original and in reasonable condition.
Shimano 'Exage Country' front and rear derailleurs / shifters and brakes / brake levers (cantilever on the front, u-brake on the rear under the chainstays).
Shimano Exage Biopace cranks and Shimano Exage Trail pedals.
Wheels are Alesa concave rims, need to check the hubs.

Plan is to keep it as original as possible I know it's not worth investing a lot into.

Cables, brake pads, tyres, tubes will need to be replaced. Everything else stripped, cleaned, rust removed, lubricated and reassembled.

Welcome any ideas or suggestions from the community!

 

[Hotwheels.]

Ride and enjoy it.
Not seen one of those rear mech protectors in donkeys years.

 

[t-bon3]

Got the bike on the stand.

First step strip the frame and see how everything looks.



Good news is there are no nasty surprises, nothing seized and everything came off in one piece.

Apart from a few marks near the crank and from the front derailleur the frame is rust free.

 

[Dalek670]

Proper pub runner...
Gonna be nice that.
Grant

 

[t-bon3]

Next up: the legendary 80's biopace cranks. What were they thinking?

Shimano FC-M250 - 170mm arms with 28-38-48 removable biopace steel rings in silver.

 

[jimo746]

That actually looks in pretty good condition, not bad for a tenner!!
I think you’re on the right track, clean it up and replace the worn out bits, then just ride it

 

[t-bon3]

Derailleurs cleaned up, some surface rust on the inside of the front derailleur plates that came off with some WD-40 and a wire brush.
Jockey wheels are a little worn so will replace with some spares I have lying around.



FD-M250 at the front and RD-M250 in the rear both from Shimano made in Japan

 

[t-bon3]

That actually looks in pretty good condition, not bad for a tenner!!
I think you’re on the right track, clean it up and replace the worn out bits, then just ride it

Thanks, yes that's the plan. I might try to do some patching up of the paintwork but the colours are all over the place with sun bleaching.

 

[t-bon3]

Front cable hangar for the cantilever brakes.



For some reason this caught my eye in the photos for the original listing. Instead of the more common pressed steel collar that goes below the locknut this has an alloy clamp with a hex key bolt to secure it and it fits above the locknuts and clamps onto the threaded end of the steerer tube.

 

[t-bon3]

Do not adjust your set.



Tyres arrived today, earlier than expected. Wanted to try them out to see how they look. Colour match is pretty much spot on with the blue decals.

For the cables I'd like to find a green colour that is closer to the squares on the seat / head tubes but they are fine for now.

Need to get a replacement bottom bracket as the cones on the original are badly pitted.