Flippa Posted August 19, 2012 Share I am undecided on what approach I should take with my recent purchase of a 1988 Bridgestone RB-1 road bike. Do I strip it down, respray it (the original paintwork is a little ragged) and convert it to one gear? Or, do I attempt to restore it to its former glory? apart from the paintwork, it all seems to work fine, with the exception of some new rim tape required for the Wolber GTX and TX wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cippo Posted August 19, 2012 Share IMO. These came from the late 80's. Lose the Biopace crankset or just replace the rings with normal rings. Shimano failed with these. The concept was similiar to today's Rotor's or O - rings but there execution was wrong. The Looks pedals of the time were either white 'n red, or black and white, and red n black. You can get similiar ones fron CRC. Try and get a San Marco Rolls or Selle Italia Turbo saddle which fits that time. If you are going to respray the frame try and get someone to do the decals similiar again. Check the Retro Bicycle thread on here for links to guys that do decals, not sure if they can do Bridgestone ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chro Mo Posted August 19, 2012 Share Bikes like this need to be ridden. Figure out what you want to do first, then adapt the bike to your needs. A perfectly restored RB1 is a thing of rare practical beauty: it begs to be ridden. I have seen many RB1s converted to singlespeed or fixed, and they rock too. The decal kits are available through velocals and ebay, so no worries there. The ride on these bikes is the thing. Comfortable, almost plush, yet very responsive. Restored? Cool.Fixie/Singlespeed? Cool, plus you can leave the paintwork with its "houding" Lucky bastard!I have been looking for one of these for a few years ! Anyone got a 58cm knocking about? Enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankman Posted August 19, 2012 Share She wants to be a SingleSpeed, I can see it in her nipples! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flippa Posted August 20, 2012 Share Some more details on my new "lady": According to Sheldon Brown, she is a 1988 Bridgestone RB 1 Synergy, in Cobalt Blue. The other colourway in this model year was a red/white two tone. Chro Mo, she has been kicking around tandvleisboom for about 4 months. I found her on the second advert her previous owner posted. As far as I can ascertain, she is almost 100% original. Spec list is: Front Hub: Shimano 600 built with Wolber TX rimRear Hub: Shimano 105 built with Wolber GTX rimCrankset: Shimano 105 with BioPace rings 52/42Front deraillleur: Shimano 105Rear derailleur: Shimano 105 6 speedShifters: downtube Shimano 105 with STI for the rear derailleurBrakes: Shimano 105 with SLRSaddle: San Marco It needs new brake cables and the hubs and BB require a service. Does anybody know somewhere that I can get touchups done on the paintwork as the branding looks like its part of the paintwork and not decals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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