mechagouki's Bridgestone XO-5 rescue project

Re: Something a bit different - yard sale find.

Bub?
 
Re: Something a bit different - yard sale find.

Given that age, one of the hybrid range? Like xo5 looks about the right colour?
 
Re: Something a bit different - yard sale find.

In fact with that band in the first picture it would be the 1994 version.
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. 1993 had no band other... I'm working from the catalogues...
 
Re: Something a bit different - yard sale find.

Bingo!

1994 XO-5 in somewhat sorry condition, but still a pretty nice find for $20.

I bought it from the daughter of the original owner who informed me that she had touched up some rust on the frame - sadly she used satin black rattle-can paint all over the lovely green paint - the good news is that with no key or primer it will probably come off with some elbow grease.

Bike is stock - mainly early altus/alivio with some very strange single lever rapidfire shifters. Wheels are nice Araya/Sansin with a six speed freewheel!

This is going to be a slow one but I already have some good ideas of how to preserve as much of the original paint as possible whilst repairing the damaged areas - don't want to fully respray something so uncommon. Build will be a little nicer than stock, though the wheels might stay, I'll be doing my 22 mile round-trip commute on this bike, so it has to ride nice.

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Thanks for playing!
 
Re: Something a bit different - yard sale find.

Bargain for $20. I spent more than that on a takeaway curry for 1 last night!
 
Had the day off today, stripped everything off the bike, frame and fork actually very light. One problem: BB is stuck tight. It's an early Shimano cartridge - one of those funny ones that has the plastic cup on the drive side and the actual steel cartridge threads in from the non-drive. Soaked it in Wurth Rost-Off overnight then hit it with the impact wrench this morning - nada.

Tried my 24" breaker bar and still didn't budge, stripped all the splines out of the plastic cup (a non-issue actually as many here know) and reached for the blowtorch/ice water combo, still no joy. Will give it another 24 hours to soak then go at it again I guess.

On a positive note, I read through the 1994 Bridge stone catalogue: http://sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/1994/pages/01.htm which is a truly interesting and inspiring document. Pretty sure I am going to go the mustache bar route when I rebuild, anything else would seem dull by comparison.
 
Very cool. I'd like to add an old 90's hybrid to my stable - if it was a Bridgestone it would be even better. Have you seen Handsome Bicycles homeage to the XO series bikes? The Handsome Devil and the XOXO?
 
dirttorpedo":c7gp92jh said:
Very cool. I'd like to add an old 90's hybrid to my stable - if it was a Bridgestone it would be even better. Have you seen Handsome Bicycles homeage to the XO series bikes? The Handsome Devil and the XOXO?

Just checked out the Handsome site - very nice bikes, wonder how Grant Peterson feels about them? :D

Update on the BB - I remembered that those early cartridges used a cone and locking nut system to load the bearings - I removed both, torched the heck out of the plastic cup, applied some precision Estwing action to the end of the spindle and out it came. I then torched the living snot out of the inside of the metal cup, poured ice water through it and immediately hit it with the impact gun - it's out!

Just got to remove the remnants of the plastic cup and then I'll bring the frame to work to have the threads chased.
 
Re: Something a bit different - yard sale find.

otherself":125tgynh said:
Bargain for $20. I spent more than that on a takeaway curry for 1 last night!

Sad, so sad :(
 

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