New project - Pace RC500 F2

[Yorkshiremike]

Having picked this up a couple of days ago. I managed to spend a couple of hours yesterday afternoon tinkering with it so I could determine how much work will be needed to get it up and running again.

Surprisingly it’s not in a bad condition at all. Just unloved and in need of some TLC and it could be ridden as it is without any kind of restoration.

The mainframe is in good condition and hasn’t faded to pink over time as most red pace frames do. Thankfully it’s spent the last eight years in storage and out of direct sunlight.

The rear swing arm is looking a little tired but it should come up like new with a machine polish.

 

[Yorkshiremike]

Re: New project - Pace RC500F8

I give up.

An hour of my life wasted trying to get the images to show up in the thread.

 

[iveto1983]

Re: New project - Pace RC500F8

It looks good as is

flickr looks like it gives you too much code, click on share and BBcode and copy the line at the bottom. I stripped everything but the

to get your images to show.

 

[Yorkshiremike]

Shots taken before I gave it a quick clean.

The brakes where shot and fully locked on but all it took was a de grease and plenty of brake cleaner on the callipers, pads and discs.

The seals on the callipers are fine but I’m going to replace the seals to the calipers and levers while the bike is stripped.

The levers look a little rough but I'm pretty sure I can get them looking something like.

I'm hoping that I can get hold of some NOS top caps for the brake levers.

I’ve never seen one of these stems before but I quite like it and it sort of suits the front end. If I can get hold of a Pace downhill stem it’ll be going though.

I'm sure the bars are period correct but they have to go. I can Honestly say that I’ve never seen an uglier set of bars in my life. The pink fade doesn’t help either.

The x-lite saddle just needs re glueing and a good clean and it'll look as good as new. I'm probably going to replace it with a black flite saddle and a 29.4 syncros stem that I already have.

The stack to the front wheel was what finally retired this bike. There's about thee inches of play laterally in the wheel at the moment but all it needs as half a dozen new spokes and tuning up.

The cranks are ok and just need a machine polish/ re anodise and they’ll look the business.

The chain guide is a bit ugly looking but looks well thought out. I'm not sure that it'll stay on the bike though. I think I'll probably just keep the pully wheels on it and put a pace chainring on it.

The Fox RC rear shock looks ok but probably needs a service. Interestingly the spring is rated at 500lb so it’s safe to say that it’s been replaced at some point.

The linkages all seem ok and looked brand new once I’d cleaned the grime off them. They are also anodised in Pace pro class grey which looks really tidy.

Both front and rear hubs look immaculate now that I’ve cleaned them and everything runs smooth and free. I was expecting to have to strip and rebuild both of them.

If I can get the NOS parts that I want for it and a Pace downhill stem, hopefully I can have it back to the same condition as its cross country brother by next year!

And the pedals on the RC200 aren’t a permanent addition to the bike! As soon as I have get hole of the last few parts needed to complete it they are coming off!

 

[1210tech]

Re: New project - Pace RC500F8

Cracking pair....oooer missus!

I take it this is the 500 that was the on the Bay a few weeks ago? Was tempted to have a bid at it myself
Just one thing, it's an RC500 'F2', they only did two evolutions of the 500 and this is the second one

 

[Yorkshiremike]

Re:

Oops!

Indeed it is an f2! Typo on my part.

Although it seems to be built up with parts from an F1 which makes me think that the frame may have been a replacement for a cracked F1.

The rest of the kit is a lot older and it's running 8 speed. I guess I'll never know.

 

[jimplops]

Can't help thinking that it'd look cool ditching all the old gear, and rebuilding with modern stuff, fitting a narrow/wide would make look less cluttered, and it would look to out of place with new gear.

 

[Yorkshiremike]

Re:

It's crossed my mind to start again with it and build it up as a lightweight all mountain bike.

I've got access to a CNC machine and have used CAD program's for years - so here's what's crossed my mind.

Re machine an upper crown that'll take a Thomson direct mount stem and put some Thomson 740mm wide flat bars on it.

New downhill rear shock that's air not coil. One that can stiffen up on the climbs.

Lightweight wheel set and tubeless tyres - that on its own will probably nock over 3lb off the weight of the wheels that are on it now.

Sram 11 speed group set. Although tim not sure about the bottom bracket arrangement and how well a modern bracket would work on the bike.

The good thing is that apart from the group set, swapping most of the kit mentioned above, over from the original kit wouldn't be much of a hassle.

The rear swing arm and forks need to be fully refurbished regardless of what type of build you do.

It's probably sensible to rebuild it as it was first and then look at what could be done to make it more rideable thereafter.


First things first are to replace the missing spoked on the front wheel, change the seals on the brakes and levers and drop some new pads in the callipers,pull the forks apart and service them and replace the bottom bracket.

The cost of that is minimal as I have everything except the seals and the bottom bracket.

Once that's done the bike is fully rideable.

 

[Nuke650b]

loves these, every time i go to pace i stand looking at the one behind the desk.

i need one

 

[PACERC250T]

loves these, every time i go to pace i stand looking at the one behind the desk.

i need one

Well my PACE RC500 F2 is for sale on ebay (or off ebay if you'd prefer) if you really want one...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141417515868? ... 1555.l2649