mike_eb,
Sorry for the delayed response. I remember seeing that frame of yours somewhere before on retrobike. I've been saving photos of e-stay bikes from the internet over the last 6 months or so, and I agree that your bike is the closest I've seen to mine.
My serial number is underneath the bottom bracket, and I just went out to measure that seatpost; it's 26.4 mm.
This bike is actually one size too tall for me, but I found it in a craigslist ad for $80, so I couldn't resist. Knowing that e-stays are kind of rare now, especially one as unique as it is, I jumped at the chance to buy it for that price. I figured I could spiff it up and then maybe trade it for something I want that will fit me, so it sits in the shed with many other e-stay projects I've purchased over the last few months.
I notice that other thread (show us your e-stay bikes) features many, many beautiful bikes that look showroom new; some of them have been pimped out with anodized and/or modern components, whereas this one I bought looks like the neglected step-child of the e-stay family. I worry that thread might not be the most appropriate place to post pictures of this rusty beast.
Maybe we could start a different thread featuring bikes we've found that have been "rode hard and put away wet"? I've found a few of those, including a Nishiki Ariel and a Yeti Ultimate (both sadly too tall for me).
The Ariel I got for free; someone left it in a friend's yard for over 3 months so he gave it to me. It had street tires and looked as if it had been ridden gently by a homeless person for years, as opposed to hammered on by a mountain biker, but it had obviously been outdoors for at least 10 years. I took it apart and removed the dirt, grime, grease, boogers, etc. that had collected on it for the last 20 years, and then took rubbing compound to it which brought the shine back to the paint, but unfortunately faded some of the decals. I then waxed it with auto wax, and it currently awaits rebuilding.
As for the Yeti, I had to pay $500 for it. I got the bike from the original owner who had beat on it HARD for 20 years: the seat tube was cracked, surface rust had formed in places where the powdercoat had peeled away, and the brake shoes were worn to almost nothing. Fortunately, the frame is straight with no dents (otherwise I wouldn’t have bought it), and, best of all, it’s spent its whole life in the arid climate of Southern California, so I know the rust on it is only surface rust. I already paid $80 to have a welder fix the seat tube, and I’ll have to pay another $75-100 for a powdercoat and probably another $100 for decals, not to mention all of the time to disassemble, clean, and re-grease all the parts, but I guarantee I’ll love every minute of it. All this for a bike that is too tall for me, but I’m banking on trading it in the future for something that fits.
