Not vintage or French Tourers/Campeurs, Trade/Porteurs, Audax/Randonneurs, Commuters/Town

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

1983 Univega Alpina Uno town bike conversion. Owners words below.

Made of cro-mo tubing and featuring a twin plate fork crown. It makes a good base to build a town bike, that can also handle green laning and rough roads. It has a 47cm c-c seat tube and 56cm c-c top tube.

26" x 1.5" tyres with slick tread for urban roads. I built a compact triple crankset from a set of Sugino GT arms and a mix of Surly and Ritchey chainrings. The drivetrain is a modern Shimano Tiagra rear derailleur with a Z-series front derailleur. Sunrace thumb shifters and was impressed with their quality. The shift is smooth thanks to the ratcheting mechanism similar to vintage SunTour shifters. They're a favorite of Grant Peterson.

Classic 90's cantilever brakes, brand new brake levers, handlebar, and cork grips. The saddle is made by Gyes who makes leather saddles for a number of other companies including Dia-Compe. Mudguards by Wald.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

1990 Schwinn Crosscut. Owners words below.

55cm seat tube with a 61cm top tube. This was their top-of-the-line cyclocross/all-rounder from the early 1990's, similar to the Surly Cross Check or the Pake C'Mute, and built from double-butted cro-moly steel tubing with a fully chromed fork.

Suntour Mountech mechs and Suntour barcons. Sugino AT triple crankset. Classic Dia-Compe cantilever brakes and modern Tektro brake levers are mounted on a rare set of SR randonneur handlebars, and finished off with cork bar tape and twine. The 700c x 32 skinwall tires give it a classic look that's equally at home on or off-road. Brand new SKS mudguards keep the rain and mud at bay, with clearance for up to 40mm tires.
It can do trails and gravel paths, busy streets, and even cyclocross. Add some racks and go on tour with it. It's a Swiss army knife of a bike.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Zunow 650b randonneur. Owners words below.

Every bicycle enthusiast has a certain bike that's their holy grail, that perfect combination of builder, vintage, design, and of course rarity that makes it both sought-after and difficult, if not nearly impossible, to find. Recently, I finally found mine. A 1970's vintage Zunow randonneur.

Zunow was founded in 1965 by Japanese master builder Takeru Kageyama, is better known for his road and time-trial designs. But Kageyama's earlier efforts were often in the style of the French touring and randonneuring bicycle that were popular in Japan through the 1960's and 1970's. Japanese brands like Toei, ALPS, Holks Zunow, and Watanabe built beautiful and refined interpretations of the French designs, making use of a mix of French and Japanese components.

Kageyama used the iconic French Nervex lugs in the construction of this bike, while also including his signature "hummingbird" logo on the seat stay caps. The brakes are French Mafac cantilevers, the headlights are Soubitez, and the handlebars are by Belri. The rest of the bike is purely Japanese, with a Sugino Dynamic Pro crankset and Suntour derailleurs, shifters, and hubs. It has Araya rims, a NITTO stem, Dia-Compe Gran-Compe brake levers, and beautiful hammered Honjo fenders.

I found this bike on Yahoo Japan auctions, after regularly watching for something like it for over two years. I'm not entirely sure of the model name, as there is none printed on the frame. This makes me suspect that it might have been made custom, although it is nearly identical to the KYGM semi custom bikes that Kageyama made in the 1970's. It arrived in truly fantastic condition, with almost no scratches in the gorgeous sky-blue paint. Even the lights and bottle generator still work. These photos document the bicycle as-found, with only minor cleaning, new cloth bar tape, and Grand Bois tyres.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

End.

 

[grantoury]

1990 Schwinn Crosscut. Owners words below.

55cm seat tube with a 61cm top tube. This was their top-of-the-line cyclocross/all-rounder from the early 1990's, similar to the Surly Cross Check or the Pake C'Mute, and built from double-butted cro-moly steel tubing with a fully chromed fork.

Suntour Mountech mechs and Suntour barcons. Sugino AT triple crankset. Classic Dia-Compe cantilever brakes and modern Tektro brake levers are mounted on a rare set of SR randonneur handlebars, and finished off with cork bar tape and twine. The 700c x 32 skinwall tires give it a classic look that's equally at home on or off-road. Brand new SKS mudguards keep the rain and mud at bay, with clearance for up to 40mm tires.
It can do trails and gravel paths, busy streets, and even cyclocross. Add some racks and go on tour with it. It's a Swiss army knife of a bike.

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Very odd geometry

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Very odd geometry

I thought so too.

 

[grantoury]

Tbh I think the guy with the Centurion has overdone it. I really don't like it.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Tbh I think the guy with the Centurion has overdone it. I really don't like it.

I would worry about it's longevity, bit too gaudy for my taste too. Interesting though.

 

[Imlach]

1983 Univega Alpina Uno town bike conversion. Owners words below.

Made of cro-mo tubing and featuring a twin plate fork crown. It makes a good base to build a town bike, that can also handle green laning and rough roads. It has a 47cm c-c seat tube and 56cm c-c top tube.

26" x 1.5" tyres with slick tread for urban roads. I built a compact triple crankset from a set of Sugino GT arms and a mix of Surly and Ritchey chainrings. The drivetrain is a modern Shimano Tiagra rear derailleur with a Z-series front derailleur. Sunrace thumb shifters and was impressed with their quality. The shift is smooth thanks to the ratcheting mechanism similar to vintage SunTour shifters. They're a favorite of Grant Peterson.

Classic 90's cantilever brakes, brand new brake levers, handlebar, and cork grips. The saddle is made by Gyes who makes leather saddles for a number of other companies including Dia-Compe. Mudguards by Wald.

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I really like this, I'd love to do a build like that in the future. Comfy workhorse for commuting, very clean looking without decals or anything.

 

[chickendrumsticks]

Tbh I think the guy with the Centurion has overdone it. I really don't like it.

I don't mind it. Not a stunning endorsement I know. I just wonder how you'd deal with a stiffish breeze on the bow?