1993 Univega Alpina Comp

drystonepaul

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1993 Univega Alpina Comp

June 2011
I picked this frame up on ebay with the intention of building it up as a more or less period correct bike for riding during the winter. I already had a full selection of components in the spares box so the build up was relatively straight forward.
Having established that it was from 1993 based on the Shimano production codes on the front mech and bottom bracket, the frame was cleaned up a bit and put to one side. However upon learning that this year's Mountain Mayhem was forecast to be a muddy wash-out I thought I'd build it up as a spare bike for grinding into the Malvern mud.

It turned out to be a good choice, and although the track did dry out during the event, it was very muddy at first. I ended up riding all of my four laps on my Univega and it proved to be a very reliable and well mannered bike.

Of note is the double chainring gearing, with 38 and 24 tooth rings matched to a seven speed 13-30 cassette. This gave a good range of gears and encouraged some fairly strenuous climbing at times until I dropped onto the steel granny ring.

I built the wheels a couple of days before the race using XT M730/732 hubs, ACI DB spokes and modern Mavic XM317 rims. They stayed perfectly true and tensioned throughout.

The pictures show the rest of the spec and details:

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The Retrobike NWA: 'Unleash the Inner Chimp' team 2011.
Univega-mayhem3.jpg

(Modern Panaracer Fire XC Pro tyres fitted for the race)

Univega-mayhem1.jpg

The mud and grass after the recce lap on Friday evening.
 
alpina

wow..thats the filth after a recce lap! good work paul as there must have been stack of modern stuff around with 'rotavating' tyres.

there's something sturdy and dependable looking about these univegas and with DX attached, even more so :cool:

i nearly bought a similar bike at the weekend but, had a ritchey a-head system so, a later production no doubt. most have a ritchey stem, off topic but, was this a univega standard thing?

nice example dsp. :cool:
 
Always liked univegas. Might join the club one day if I can find one as tidy as yours! Good to see it put through it's paces as well.
 
That looks fantastic Paul.

How did you find the ride? Love mine to bits :)

Have you weighed it yet?
 
It rides great Chris. I initially tried a 130mm stem but it was too stretched out. The current 110mm stem is much better and the bar-ends make for good climbing options.

It weighs in at about 26 pounds and overall I'm really happy with it. It'll probably come with me on the Settle to Malham ride this weekend.
 
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