Apoligies if this isn't the right thread. This is my first one on Retro Bike. I wanted to share my recent build of a Diamondback Ascent EX from 1994. I've been following some xbiking threads for a while so this was my chance to jump into a project.
In April I picked up an old Diamondback Ascent EX from 1994 on Facebook Marketplace for a good price that looked in decent condition. I didn’t know much about the bike itself but it was listed as having a chromoly frame and fork and that’s something I wanted.
Over the last few years I’ve tinkered with bikes and have found a love and passion for older steel bicycles with simple components that just work. I’m finding myself less and less bothered about the innovation in bicycles these days as most of the advances feel superficial and in some cases complicate matters for me. I bought this Diamondback with the intention of simply cleaning it up and using it as a commuter but after a few rides I wanted to properly refurbish it and use it for the long term. It’s a beautiful bike to ride.
I started by stripping the components off the frame and giving them a good deep clean. The wheels were cleaned up using Brillo pads and my Dremel for polishing, along with the seat post. It took time but the results were worth it.
The frame needed a bit of TLC. There was some rust spots throughout and a larger rust area near the bottom bracket. At this point I needed to make a call on whether to just run it as is or strip some of the area to take a better look - the latter would involve some kind of paint job afterwards. My curiosity got the better of me and I went with the latter and took a wire brush to the areas to see how bad the rust was. To my delight, it was all surface rust that came off no problem. Now I knew I had a frame that was in good shape but had a bike with exposed steel.
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I had used Spray.Bike in the past for painting a bike frame and was fairly happy with the results. I was initially going to go this direction again before I got a quote from a local powder coating company.
P&J Powder Coatings based in Thornliebank, Glasgow, as was really pleased with their quote. P&J blasted the frame & fork and powder coated it for £66 and the results were great. I had to neaten up the brake bosses but this was easy enough with a Stanley knife. After this experience I probably won’t bother with Spray.bike in the future.
Because I didn’t intend on stripping the paint and I liked the idea of the bike to be indetinifable as an old Diamondback so I bought some decals off eBay from Hungary and they are top quality - maybe even sharper than the originals. I couldn’t find the Ascent EX decals but I managed to find a some for a different, but similar model. That’s why the model name is missing from my final build. I quite like the clean look though.
I'm running Microshift Advent X on it, which I picked up for £75 (honestly great value for money). The crank was one I had lying around and tbh I will probably swap it out in the future but it'll do for now.
