Blizz
Retro Guru
I happened upon this rarity by taking a new route through town one day...it looked like a repainted Blizzard from the road and had interesting colours so I went back a couple days later for a closer look. To my surprise it was a Thunderbolt built by Derek Bailey! The owner spotted me looking at the bike and came out for a chat. He thought I was checking out his new e-bike parked next to it rather than his tattered old Rocky. Apparently he found it next to the garbage bins a couple years earlier and brought it home for his wife to use it as a towny bike. Unfortunately the bike left it outdoors all the time and the sun and rain really took a toll on the bike. After a short discussion he was happy to offer the bike to me but it took a couple weeks to finalize a deal and bring it home.
Most of the parts were seized and the seat post wouldn't budge. It took a good month before I was able to get it out. It was 9 inches into the frame and the corrosion proved too much to remove it with all other methods...so sadly I ended up cutting it out.
The XT parts that came off the bike were dated 1989, so I pegged this an early 1990 model since decals were the new style and the serial # was not too far off my 1989 model.
I had a Syncros and XT parts kit that came off a 1990 broken Cirrus, so they matched well for this build. The XT/Wolber AT20 wheelset oddly was also found next to the garbage bins 3 years ago by a different guy in town...it's amazing what people throw out in this town!
The colour is bright pink in person but also kind of red and orange in certain light (hard to pick up on camera). I think it is one of the neon color options as it seems to brighter in artificial light. The non-drive side is really faded from the sun and the decals even turned yellow from the UV. But it looks quite nice on the driveside, other than the paint chips.
For now, I think I'll keep the patina and leave the paint as is. Enjoy!
This was how I found it:
Some outside pics which seemed to turn out more orange rather than pink.
Most of the parts were seized and the seat post wouldn't budge. It took a good month before I was able to get it out. It was 9 inches into the frame and the corrosion proved too much to remove it with all other methods...so sadly I ended up cutting it out.
The XT parts that came off the bike were dated 1989, so I pegged this an early 1990 model since decals were the new style and the serial # was not too far off my 1989 model.
I had a Syncros and XT parts kit that came off a 1990 broken Cirrus, so they matched well for this build. The XT/Wolber AT20 wheelset oddly was also found next to the garbage bins 3 years ago by a different guy in town...it's amazing what people throw out in this town!
The colour is bright pink in person but also kind of red and orange in certain light (hard to pick up on camera). I think it is one of the neon color options as it seems to brighter in artificial light. The non-drive side is really faded from the sun and the decals even turned yellow from the UV. But it looks quite nice on the driveside, other than the paint chips.
For now, I think I'll keep the patina and leave the paint as is. Enjoy!
This was how I found it:
Some outside pics which seemed to turn out more orange rather than pink.
