1991(?) Cignal Silverado

[Titiritero]

Hi all,

I post this bike here mostly for information purposes. Nothing fancy, no rarity, no top of the range model. Main reason is to increase online documentation about this brand, which is very little known (in this forum using the search I could only get 3 hits).

The only source of information about Cignal bikes that I could find, apart from Bikepedia (that shows models only up to 2001) is this link (http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vinta ... ycles.html) which says that this was a brand created by the same importers of Jamis bikes, basically importing Taiwanese frames, adding some components, and putting this Cignal branding. Nothing extraordinary in the bike business.

Unfortunately for Cignal, the brand disappeared before internet forums were popular, and hence the lack of online information.

The bike I present here is a Cignal Silverado, bought second hand for 30 EUR, mostly because of the thumbie shifters. After a couple of months gathering dust in my bike shed, a plan to cycle to India for 3 weeks with a friend came up, and this bike was chosen as ideal for the trip, as I wanted something reliable that I could also leave there after the trip (I hate to pay airlines for bike transport, and I also love to donate bikes to needed people, so this is something I do often on my bike trips).

And now, after the long introduction, finally let's talk about the bike.

The way I bought it, it came with:
-unbranded double butted steel frame
-complete Deore LX, except brakes and levers Dia Compe XCE, and Deore thumbies
-front wheel is Araya rim with Exage hub
-rear wheel not original, a crappy 6 speed hub with solid axle

I believe it is mostly original except for the rear wheel. No clue about the year, the Shimano Deore LX, Deore thumbies and 1" headset would mean something between 1989 and 1992, while the geometry looks like late 80's. So I just say 1991 as a guess.

 

[Titiritero]

Re: Cignal Silverado 1991(?)

Ironically, the bike will end up in India, but I bought it from an Indian student at the local university. I think the reason I got it so cheap (30 EUR) is that it needed a complete overhaul, something the seller probably could not do himself and taking it to a workshop would not be worth the investment.

First, I needed to take all apart, to assess what could be saved, what needed to be replaced, and to ensure the bike was solid before dedicating time and money to it.

A couple of interesting points I found while dismantling the bike:
-the seat is Fila, like the aerobic runners. Apparently in the 90s many brands wanted a piece of the mtb market so third parties would make bikes or components and they would just put the brand on it.
-the bike comes with a wishbone. Interesting for a generic Taiwan made frame
-the Dia Compe cantilever don't have a spring coming out to insert on the frame, but instead you need to play with a rear nut and the front screw to play with the spring tension. Took me a while (and a quick look at Sheldon Brown's website) to figure it out.

 

[Titiritero]

Re:

The frame was full of rust powder in the bottom bracket area, but apart from that, all was good. It even retains some kind of shine from small glitter in the original paint, although it is not seen on the pictures...

Since the airline will charge me 100 EUR each way to transport the bike, I wanted to keep that as my overall budget for the bike, while keeping it fully functional and reliable, since we'll be cycling some very rough roads with no available bike shops or external support.

This is the budget so far:

-Bike: 30 EUR

-Shifters: FREE (I exchanged the Deore thumbies (that I wanted to keep) plus the Dia Compe XCE levers for some Shimano Deore LX STI combo that I had in a '91 Trek 950)

-Brakes: FREE Front one was ok, but the rear had an overstreched spring, so I installed some STX-RC cantilevers I had from a donor bike that had rusted away.

-Bar ends: FREE. Got them from same donor bike

-Rear wheel: managed to get 10 EUR selling the 6sp wheel, and installed a 7sp one I had from the same donor bike

-Tires: FREE. I had some Marathon Mondial tires that I keep for touring. Replaced the old ones that had little use but had spent too much time parked without use.

-new cables and housing for brakes and gears: about 5 EUR overall (I buy in bulk).

-new 7 speed cassete: 12 EUR (old one was busted)

-new chain: 9 EUR (old one was busted)

-new middle ring: 17 EUR (old one was busted)

-new bottom bracket: 7 EUR (old one was busted)

-pedals: FREE. Got them from a donor bike, the original ones still have some life on them, but too risky to bring them to this trip.

-rear rack: 10 EUR, bought second hand even though it is unused.

So overall the bike has costed me 81 EUR so far.

And now more pictures when the bike overhaul was nearly finished (hence the cables not yet trimmed and without the wheels/tires that I will use in the end)

 

[Titiritero]

Re: Cignal Silverado 1991(?)

Bike is now finished. I will install the handlebar bag and speedometer and post here a final picture of the bike before I box it to go to the airport.

And this is the story of another little known mtb brand that didn't make it into the carbon and electronic shifting years...

 

[kingoffootball]

I like the understated nature. Looks like you've done a very good and practical job on it. I really like it, aside from the saddle and bars.

 

[Titiritero]

As intended, the bike performed beautifully on my recent trip in India. We cycled from Shimla, through Kinnaur valley, up to Spiti valley, and from there we did the "highest road of the world" that goes from Manali to Leh, crossing 5 mountain passes (the lowest at 4550mts and the highest at 5300mts). No mechanical problems apart from a loose headset on the second day that was easily fixed with a 32 key bought in a village for 180 rupees (about 2.5 EUR).

If I had to change something, and since I installed a new 7 speed cassette before the trip, it would have been better to put a 14-32 instead of the 13-30, to have a bit more of spinning power on those long but not too steep climbs.

 

[Titiritero]

In our destination, Leh, I was planning to donate the bike. However, getting spares is not easy (the place has no road access in winter), so my donation would maybe create more troubles to the new owner. Instead, I sold the bike to a guided tour company that rents bikes to tourists, for 60 EUR, and I donated that money in Delhi to Salaam Baalak Trust (http://www.salaambaalaktrust.com), an organisation that provides shelter and a chance for street kids, and also organises tours for tourists to see the everyday life of street kids, where the guides are actually former homeless kids now earning a living as young adults. Some of you might find it interesting if you happen to visit Delhi.

So as a conclusion, if you are planning a far away cycle tour, instead of buying a fancy touring bike, or bringing your own, find a decent condition retro bike, do a bit of maintenance, and you will have a great bike that you can donate at the end. Yo do a favour to someone, and also to yourself to avoid the hassle of boxing the bike back or paying airline fees...

Funny added bonus, whenever we stopped in a village everybody wanted to play with the gears and brakes of my friend's fancy bike, and asked how much it costed. Nobody bothered me or my bike!

 

[retrobikeguy]

Re:

Last picture....... WOW :shock:

bet that upright riding position and saddle was comfortable for the journey.

RBG

 

[enc]

Great story, thanks for sharing

edit: out of interest, did you give the bike much of a shakedown before your Indian Trek ?

 

[Titiritero]

Re:

The saddle was as wide as it was comfortable. The shiny black plastic cover would get a bit warm if the bike was parked for long in the sun, but nothing too bad.

I finished the bike later than I had planned, just 2 weeks before the trip, but those 14 days I used it intensively to cycle back from work every day (32km) and did a couple long rides on the weekend, to ensure everything was running properly.

After that, just fine tuning during the trip, and I had to change the pads on the front brake nearly at the end because I had a couple long descents with rain and rivers that ate into the pads...

All the spares I carried (extra brake pads, cable and brake cables, etc.) were donated to the shop that bought my bike. I also carried a spare folding tire, but I brought it back.