Friday, June 1, 2012

My new Alpine Designs bicycle.

I'm still at work after closing. I'm running cables and housing on a new bicycle that is mine. I purchased a homely frame from eBay. It is a TIG welded frame built with Reynolds 853 - an exceptional, lightweight, and high quality tube set. The frame is labeled "Alpine Designs," which a bit of research reveals to be a short-lived Sports Authority house brand. To devalue the frame further, it is painted white and is dull and a bit scuffed up.

My winning bid was $184. I consider it a bargain.

The new Alpine Designs bicycle is going to get a thorough overhaul. Being a mountain bike frame from the late 90's, it came equipped with a suspension fork. Since I intend to ride primarily on pavement, my first job was to replace the Manitou fork with a suspension corrected rigid fork by Surly. Done.

I outfitted the Alpine with other stuff that I like: Northroad type handlebars by Soma, and a SRAM X9 gripshift. It has Sugino cranks, and a cheap SRAM derailer that I used on my first-ever bicycle tour (paired to a Shimano 600 downtube shifter!)

I didn't finish today. Instead, I drove the van through a rainy evening to deliver my tandem to Kyler. He's going to borrow it for awhile, 'cause someone should at least be riding it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You idiot! (sorry) Alpine Designs was a small bicycle company in Sandpoint Idaho. (I worked there for six years) You have a sweet frame. It probably was an XC-1. Red decals? Check out www.alpinedesignsmtb.us

Anonymous said...

never affiliated with port authority... that was a clothing brand with no "s" on the end

Pixy Stoneskipper said...

That'll teach me to use Bikepedia.com as a reliable source of information. I couldn't believe it was a Sport Authority bike in 853, and I realized my mistake. At first I thought it was another case like the Reynolds 531 Free Spirit sold at Sears.

But - am I an idiot? Maybe. But not because of this.

Yes, it is an XC-1. Good of you to chime in after-the-fact and out of the blue.

Chris