NOS 1986 Fillet Brazed Serotta Adirondack DONE - 01/29/18
- Thread starter jimi911
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Re:
This one is probably going to sprout up quickly now. I have a few parts missing, but most of the really rough stuff is done or being restored.
New wheelset is finished. I moved away from the Bullseye idea. The bike needed more chrome and polish and I didn't like the look of the Bullseye Cranks on it.
Newly Polished Araya X7s ...
This one is probably going to sprout up quickly now. I have a few parts missing, but most of the really rough stuff is done or being restored.
New wheelset is finished. I moved away from the Bullseye idea. The bike needed more chrome and polish and I didn't like the look of the Bullseye Cranks on it.
Newly Polished Araya X7s ...
Smithjss70
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Re: NOS 1986 Fillet Brazed Serotta Adirondack
Loving on this build bud!
Loving on this build bud!
Re:
Thanks!
I gave it the kiss of death at the start of April saying it was nearing completion. My chrome guy has been super slow with the stem. Hopefully soon.
In the meantime I did track down that derailleur and a full set of NOS Deerhead brakes so it all worked out for the best.
Thanks!
I gave it the kiss of death at the start of April saying it was nearing completion. My chrome guy has been super slow with the stem. Hopefully soon.
In the meantime I did track down that derailleur and a full set of NOS Deerhead brakes so it all worked out for the best.
Re:
Ok … time for a “photobucket stole my pics” update on this
I acquired this frame on eBay, but I have to back-up a bit to explain how I knew what it was. I built up a nice Serotta T-Max and did my usual history swan dive into the company so I could learn all I could about Serotta’s mtb lineage.
*** This is in the first post, but I have updated the info ***
Most know Serotta made the T-Max, Ti-Max, Colorado ATX, etc starting around 1988. These were production frames out of the Saratoga shop. Serotta also made some frames for Jamis, Off-road, and some others around the same time.
What isn't as well known is that Serotta was building Mtbs in the mid-80s with the rest of the early mtb builders. There isn't much info on these early bikes. They are mentioned as "available" in the early Serotta catalogs, but they were all custom creations for people. Serotta was arguably "the" American bicycle company in the early 80s building road frames for many top riders. They didn't need to push the mtb side of things and mtb was nowhere near as popular as on the west coast at the time. However that doesn't mean bikes weren't being made and some very nice ones.
There is mention of a Serotta Hurricane (and Hurricane Max) MTB around 1987-8. I've never seen one, but my understanding is that they were conventional geometry mtbs and brazed. I was in touch with both Kirk and Bedford (both still building beautiful bikes BTW) who worked at Serotta and they did some of those bikes as warranty replacements for the Adirondacks that failed. Below you can (somewhat) see a variation on the Adirondack (called “Serotta’s shock absorbing bike”) built with more conventional tubing and c1988 (maybe 87). My understanding is that this was the variation that failed and warranty replaced by the Hurricane Max. The curved tubing is far less pronounced on it.
There was a trekking style bike:
And then there was the Adirondack. An ornate, high-end mtb designed to offer a bit of flex to the rider. This is the earliest mtb mentioned by Serotta in the Catalogs. There were no pics, nothing online anywhere, just the name. Serotta actually doesn’t even call them Mountain Bikes … “Trail Bikes”.
Now the story gets sort of sad. You may know that Ben Serotta was, rather cruelly, tossed from the business he started in 2013. You can look the story up - it's crappy. The seller I got this from has been unloading a pile of special Serotta frames and bikes that were hanging on the Saratoga wall of fame. I guessed this was one of them. I was right ...
Post purchase, I got a hold of two of the 3 main guys at Serotta (Bedford and Kirk - very helpful). They confirmed that it was an Adirondack. Bedford recalled that he saw this frame nearly every day as it was hanging on their factory wall with all their customs, race winners, and prototypes. He also confirmed that this frame was brazed by Ben Serotta himself. Given the build quality, lug work, and lovely paint it could the first one, or at least a show bike of sorts.
As for a year - best guess is now 1985-87 (1986 seems to make the most sense) based on the tubing and lug. Columbus tubing shows up in 1986 (maybe 85 in prototype form), as did the Cinelli BB lug built specially to accommodate the new baseball bat lower tubing. This frame has the tubing but not the lug. In fact the frame has what appears to be an older Cinelli lug, milled and modified to accept the larger tubing and then brazed all around. It’s pretty slick … you can feel the brazing inside the BB. Here’s the tubing in a pic from the 1986 catalog with the correct lug:
Any hoo … here’s the frame and bits I put into it. It is done
Ok … time for a “photobucket stole my pics” update on this
I acquired this frame on eBay, but I have to back-up a bit to explain how I knew what it was. I built up a nice Serotta T-Max and did my usual history swan dive into the company so I could learn all I could about Serotta’s mtb lineage.
*** This is in the first post, but I have updated the info ***
Most know Serotta made the T-Max, Ti-Max, Colorado ATX, etc starting around 1988. These were production frames out of the Saratoga shop. Serotta also made some frames for Jamis, Off-road, and some others around the same time.
What isn't as well known is that Serotta was building Mtbs in the mid-80s with the rest of the early mtb builders. There isn't much info on these early bikes. They are mentioned as "available" in the early Serotta catalogs, but they were all custom creations for people. Serotta was arguably "the" American bicycle company in the early 80s building road frames for many top riders. They didn't need to push the mtb side of things and mtb was nowhere near as popular as on the west coast at the time. However that doesn't mean bikes weren't being made and some very nice ones.
There is mention of a Serotta Hurricane (and Hurricane Max) MTB around 1987-8. I've never seen one, but my understanding is that they were conventional geometry mtbs and brazed. I was in touch with both Kirk and Bedford (both still building beautiful bikes BTW) who worked at Serotta and they did some of those bikes as warranty replacements for the Adirondacks that failed. Below you can (somewhat) see a variation on the Adirondack (called “Serotta’s shock absorbing bike”) built with more conventional tubing and c1988 (maybe 87). My understanding is that this was the variation that failed and warranty replaced by the Hurricane Max. The curved tubing is far less pronounced on it.
There was a trekking style bike:
And then there was the Adirondack. An ornate, high-end mtb designed to offer a bit of flex to the rider. This is the earliest mtb mentioned by Serotta in the Catalogs. There were no pics, nothing online anywhere, just the name. Serotta actually doesn’t even call them Mountain Bikes … “Trail Bikes”.
Now the story gets sort of sad. You may know that Ben Serotta was, rather cruelly, tossed from the business he started in 2013. You can look the story up - it's crappy. The seller I got this from has been unloading a pile of special Serotta frames and bikes that were hanging on the Saratoga wall of fame. I guessed this was one of them. I was right ...
Post purchase, I got a hold of two of the 3 main guys at Serotta (Bedford and Kirk - very helpful). They confirmed that it was an Adirondack. Bedford recalled that he saw this frame nearly every day as it was hanging on their factory wall with all their customs, race winners, and prototypes. He also confirmed that this frame was brazed by Ben Serotta himself. Given the build quality, lug work, and lovely paint it could the first one, or at least a show bike of sorts.
As for a year - best guess is now 1985-87 (1986 seems to make the most sense) based on the tubing and lug. Columbus tubing shows up in 1986 (maybe 85 in prototype form), as did the Cinelli BB lug built specially to accommodate the new baseball bat lower tubing. This frame has the tubing but not the lug. In fact the frame has what appears to be an older Cinelli lug, milled and modified to accept the larger tubing and then brazed all around. It’s pretty slick … you can feel the brazing inside the BB. Here’s the tubing in a pic from the 1986 catalog with the correct lug:
Any hoo … here’s the frame and bits I put into it. It is done
Re:
And here’s the completed bike. I don’t know if another exists (love to see one if so).
Frame: c1986 Serotta Adirondack (Fillet Brazed by Ben Serotta)
Fork: Bontrager Curved Composite
Headset: NOS Dura Ace
Stem: Salsa Roller (Fillet Brazed)
Handlebar: Specialized Dirt Drop
Grips: Leather
Brakes: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Brake Pads: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Brake Cables: Shimano
Cantilever cable hangers: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Brake Levers: NOS Shimano 600EX
Shifters: NOS Suntour Barcons
Front Derailleur: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT Braze on M700
Rear Derailleur: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: Shimano 600EX
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: Shimano Deerhead XT
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Sugino with Drillium
Chainring bolts: Shimano
Bottom Bracket: Shimano
Pedals: Suntour Bear Traps
Hub Skewers: Bolted
Rims: Polished Araya 7X
Hubs: Shimano Deerhead XT
Nipples: Brass
Spokes: ???
Tyres: Specialized Yellow Label Cross Roads
Tubes: MEC
Saddle: NOS 1985 Avocet RII
Seatpost: IRD
Seatpost Binder: NOS Spesh with custom sleeve by FTW
And here’s the completed bike. I don’t know if another exists (love to see one if so).
Frame: c1986 Serotta Adirondack (Fillet Brazed by Ben Serotta)
Fork: Bontrager Curved Composite
Headset: NOS Dura Ace
Stem: Salsa Roller (Fillet Brazed)
Handlebar: Specialized Dirt Drop
Grips: Leather
Brakes: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Brake Pads: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Brake Cables: Shimano
Cantilever cable hangers: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Brake Levers: NOS Shimano 600EX
Shifters: NOS Suntour Barcons
Front Derailleur: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT Braze on M700
Rear Derailleur: NOS Shimano Deerhead XT
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: Shimano 600EX
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: Shimano Deerhead XT
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Sugino with Drillium
Chainring bolts: Shimano
Bottom Bracket: Shimano
Pedals: Suntour Bear Traps
Hub Skewers: Bolted
Rims: Polished Araya 7X
Hubs: Shimano Deerhead XT
Nipples: Brass
Spokes: ???
Tyres: Specialized Yellow Label Cross Roads
Tubes: MEC
Saddle: NOS 1985 Avocet RII
Seatpost: IRD
Seatpost Binder: NOS Spesh with custom sleeve by FTW
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