Oops, I did it again. Red 1993 Sbike 503 - Finished

Yesterday I drove to Germany to collect this beauty. It's all original (Altus A10) except for the rear mech, which has been replaced by a Shimano Acera.
The owner (a very nice and friendly guy) didn't know what it was, so his kid used it as a kid bicycle for years.
Unfortunately that means it has also been maintained with all the love and care that most kid bikes get. None whatsoever, that is.

I managed to acquire it for slightly less than £50.





There weren't many red 503s built, which explains why you only ever see the blue ones and the occasional black one. In fact I dismissed the rumours of the red ones as fairytales until I spotted this bike.
After a close and thorough inspection I am 100% certain that this is the bike's original paint and decals. However this particular example has the "SBIKE" logo upside-down on the left downtube.
So not only is it a very rare colour, it also managed to sneak trough QC and out of the factory with such an error.

My plans for this one? It'll be a spare bike during the summer and my main ride during the winter.
I'm going to take it apart this weekend, de-grease everything and give it a complete once-over with new grease, oil, cables, brake pads etc. Then I'll look into the chain and cogs, as they seem to be completley worn.

nice find

join the exclusive club, love how these bikes ride

Thanks Matt.

I used to own a 503 about 10 years ago, but forgot how sensitive they are. Can't wait until I have it sorted out. Should be a blast once everything works properly again.

I have seen this bike last week on ebay..... Did not bid because he would not ship it.

I'm happy that this bike is bought by someone like you who loves this bikes!.

So give it some love and start cleaning it!

Don't know anything about Sbikes but if A-10 is indeed original then your bike must be from 93.
Altus 10 was introduced in 93 and quickly replaced with Alivio. Cool bike none the less.

Yup, that's the one indeed Danny.

I saw it and just had to have it. Had to travel 250-ish miles (410km to be precise) to collect it, but that didn't matter really.

Funny thing is that it was advertised as a 24-speed bike, which made me think it had probably been upgraded at some point.
However I counted the rear sprockets 5 times, and I'm fairly certain that it's a 21-speed.

Sorry that you couldn't get it, but it has found a good home nonetheless.

-----

Radoslaw":3uaz7yvm said:

Don't know anything about Sbikes but if A-10 is indeed original then your bike must be from 93.
Altus 10 was introduced in 93 and quickly replaced with Alivio. Cool bike none the less.

Click to expand...

Hmm ... thanks for that info.

It's A-10 all over the bike, except for the rear mech. Sounds like a 1993 one indeed then. However the 503 alledgedly was only built in 1990.
I do recall that my first 503 had the oldschool SIS thumbshifters on top of the handlebars, none of this below-the-handlebar stuff.

All in all it seems I can now throw most of my info on model years out of the window.

Aside mystery history of bike you've got third unusual thing. Maybe A-10 isn't anything special but hence short, one year production rather rare nowadays.

Really nice bike

Thanks Swos.

I took the entire bike apart this afternoon. Went over every single component with degreaser, let that evaporate then washed them again with water and soap.
The BB was still good, but I disassembled the headset and hubs to put some new grease in the bearings. Well ... scratch the "new" bit. They were as dry as Death Valley.
Then I put new brake pads in the cantilevers and provisionally tightened them so I could use the frame to true the wheels.

The front tyre was still good but the rear one had some flat spots, so I slapped on a set of knobbed road tyres I still had.
The handlebar has been replaced with a 40mm riser bar, which has been equipped with a spare Club Roost GoFast brace.



Right now it only needs new cables and I need to figure out what to do with the seat. I have a Selle Italia Q-bik, but I'm afraid that's a bit too modern for this bike. The original (Sbike-branded) seat is worn tho, so I'll need to do something about it.