I've been working on these projects for almost a year and a half now. Growing up in State College (where Groves were made) I remember going into the Bicycle Shop and drooling over the Hard Cores. So, I built these two bikes just like they would have been built back in the 90s.
I finally had a little bit of time over the weekend to finish the two Grove Hard Cores. Both bike are nearly 100% complete. The larger one will get matching Hot Rods and still needs some fine tuning on the cable routing and drivetrain adjustment, maybe a different chain. I'm tossing around the idea of putting black Graftons on it, but might just keep it stock M735. This is one heavy bike at 28.5 lbs, a much different ride than my Adroit. Cool thing about this larger frame is that it was built just three days after my birthday in 1991. It's hard to capture the color in a photo, but the front end looks black in normal light, but under direct sunlight the red pearl really comes through.
The smaller bike is virtually done aside from some cable routing adjustments. Interesting bit about this frame, the top tube and down tube are 91/92 Hard Core stock, the seat tube is earlier 89 or so Assault or Hard Core stock and the rear triangle is 94/95 Aggressor stock, so it's one odd duck. No serial number to boot. I think Bill did a fantastic job with this paint, it's awesome in person.
I finally had a little bit of time over the weekend to finish the two Grove Hard Cores. Both bike are nearly 100% complete. The larger one will get matching Hot Rods and still needs some fine tuning on the cable routing and drivetrain adjustment, maybe a different chain. I'm tossing around the idea of putting black Graftons on it, but might just keep it stock M735. This is one heavy bike at 28.5 lbs, a much different ride than my Adroit. Cool thing about this larger frame is that it was built just three days after my birthday in 1991. It's hard to capture the color in a photo, but the front end looks black in normal light, but under direct sunlight the red pearl really comes through.
The smaller bike is virtually done aside from some cable routing adjustments. Interesting bit about this frame, the top tube and down tube are 91/92 Hard Core stock, the seat tube is earlier 89 or so Assault or Hard Core stock and the rear triangle is 94/95 Aggressor stock, so it's one odd duck. No serial number to boot. I think Bill did a fantastic job with this paint, it's awesome in person.