1992 Alpinestars Cro-Mega. Now re-painted and nearly built.

The Bear

Retro Guru
Good evening all.

After many years with a Pace RC200 F1 and F8, an RC300 and a couple of Klein Attitudes I have finally concluded that retro aluminium frames and me don't get along!! With the exception of the '300 they all cracked and one Klein got pinched.
More recently I had my second 1993 Explosif but it didn't quite ignite the passion that my first one did back in the mid 90's. With that sold on my retro days ended and I lived with a 2016 Giant Propel road bike and lately a 2018 Trek Roscoe 8. Both brilliant at what they do but a bit boring.
Roll on to a few weeks ago and my Wife was silly enough to ask me to build an old mountain bike up for her so we could go on family rides....

Scouring various outlets I came across a 1992 Cro-Mega LX that looked a half decent size (my wife has loooong legs) and I managed to pick it up for a grand total of £108.



A bit scruffy and with a mixture of bits but it rode nicely. However, I started to research and discovered Gil_M's decals for the Cro-Meg DX and some alternative colour schemes for the bike. A plan was hatched, all I needed was a DX group set and a bit of patience to paint it.
Luck then dealt a decent hand when a virtually NoS Al Carter Black Panther came up for sale on here. I had one of these when I left school and recalled that it had the full DX kit. I managed to snap it up for a touch more than the Alpinestars and on it's arrival was pleased to see it in virtually unused condition.
What a coincidence that the Al Carter was a nice big frame....



So I had a decent Cro-Mega frame with naff parts and a boring Black Panther with a nigh on immaculate DX groupset including a mint Flexstem (in matching 1 1/4") and mirror finish Araya RM20 wheels. What to do....

First job, strip the frame. This I managed to have done at my place of work using plastic media blasting. Basically sand blasting but it doesn't harm the metal - they can paint strip a coke can without any visible damage to the metal, quite impressive.
This initial strip revealed a crack at the base of the seat tube slot. Not a big issue with steel so I stop drilled the ends and had it tig welded. I elected not the grind the weld flat as it isn't in the way or particularly unsightly. Probably stronger like this too.



Other than that and a couple of small dents the frame looks to be in fine fettle.



Some interesting BB scars...



Forks



Stem (was fluorescent yellow....)



I've given everything the once over with white primer to stop the bare steel from oxidising in the damp air and will start masking out the paint job this weekend.

Cheers.
 
Re: 1992 Alpinestars Cro-Mega re-paint and build.

The Bear":3u5cbwsw said:
Good evening
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Are these frames renown for this or the result of a previous owner not having sufficiant seat post inside the frame, stressing the area. there doesn't appear to be much space for a long seat post !?
 
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xxnick1975":11ue81f8 said:
That looks lovely

Thank you.

enc":11ue81f8 said:
The Bear":11ue81f8 said:
Good evening
20181026_135127.jpg
[/url.

Are these frames renown for this or the result of a previous owner not having sufficiant seat post inside the frame, stressing the area. there doesn't appear to be much space for a long seat post !?

Not that I am aware of. There certainly isn't a lot of room to put a long post in, indeed, the post that came with it has been cut quite short but still appeared to be inserted down to the kink.
I think that either a post has been used far too high or, more likely looking at the scars on the back of the seat tube, someone had a stuck post and levered the split open in an effort to free it up....
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Some progress....

Forks and stem painted in gunmetal. It certainly looks darker than I expected but I imagine once lacquered and in the sunshine it should look a bit less black. The original colour, for bikes in the paint scheme I am using, was a plain grey.




Frame primed and the centre sections painted in a white topcoat. Front and rear end to be Gunmetal once this layer has dried and I work out the positions of the decals that cover the colour change.


Not the prettiest original welds...



The "dodgy" clamp area...



Next up, once the grey bits are on the frame, is to smooth any blemishes in the paint, apply the decals, lacquer, polish and admire!!

Then try to build it up without scratching it....
 
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Well, after painting the stem and forks I was rather compelled to use the same colour for the frame accents. The grey (black) went on nicely but even in bright light it was still rather dark.

What to do.......GLITTER!!!





 
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I wasn't completely convinced but went ahead and stickered her up, courtesy of Gil_M and Retrodecals. Great quality decals and a top bloke to boot.

Followed up by the first of many coats of lacquer and dare I say I am quite pleased with how it turned out! I can't wait get her all polished up and built up with the kit from the Black Panther.











 
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All I can say is they should of come out of the factory like that. Wow That is a awesome job
 
Re: Re:

Timoth27":3kwitehd said:
All I can say is they should of come out of the factory like that. Wow That is a awesome job

Thank you, but if you look closely the paint job is fairly amateurish to be fair!

Anyway, some more with a quick mock up. Must find the correct post, seat and bars, anyone?










 
Great work, brave move on the glitter

What’s the elastomer like in your flexstem, I’ve got new spares if you get stuck,

Admittedly I’ve only got firm black and soft violet (no red ones)
 
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