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Bridgestone RB2 - Vintage Steel Frame Restoration


The Bastion

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Hi All,

 

Much excitement... I own my very first Steel Frame bike.

 

A Bridgestone RB-2, I like the look of the geometry and the condition is impressive, she has been stuck in a roof for 10 years!!! A bit of Googling and I'm guessing this bike is a 93 model.

 

Specs...

Shimano Exage Group

Wolber WTX Rims with 105 hubs.

 

The plan... This is where I need some advice/guidance.

- Replace the brake lever hoods... Where can I get these?

- Rebuild the wheelset with new spokes... Who is my best Cape Town option? And what is the expense likely to be.

- Clean and polish the components

- I would like to put on gum walled tires

- Touch up minor chips on the paintwork and clear coat the bike. The paint work is in quite good condition

 

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

post-24158-0-06383500-1410507162_thumb.jpg

Edited by The Bastion
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Hi All,

 

Much excitement... I own my very first Steel Frame bike.

 

A Bridgestone RB-2, I like the look of the geometry and the condition is impressive, she has been stuck in a roof for 10 years!!! A bit of Googling and I'm guess this bike is a 93 model.

 

Specs...

Shimano Exage Group

Wolber WTX Rims with 105 hubs.

 

The plan... This is where I need some advice/guidance.

- Replace the brake lever hoods... Where can I get these?

- Rebuild the wheelset with new spokes... Who is my best Cape Town option? And what is the expense likely to be.

- Clean and polish the components

- I would like to put on gum walled tires

- Touch up minor chips on the paintwork and clear coat the bike. The paint work is in quite good condition

 

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

I would say that bike is older than 93.Prob around 87

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Sweet bike indeed, and you are probably right about it's age - 92 - 94 ish seems right to me - probably my biggest regret in cycling is selling my MB0 and RB0... they are great bikes. Post it in the retro bikes thread - someone there will know where to get the hoods etc from.

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  • 1 month later...

Have had the pleasure of owning a few Bridgestone bikes over the years

 

Had an RB3 in 1990,and RB2 in 2012(sold this year) and a Radac that i was going to restore that i also sold this year

 

I miss them

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Awesome looking bike Bastion... good luck with restore. .. my road bike is 15-odd year old Radac...

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Very nice bikes. Can't really see what is wrong with the hoods, but I keep my 1989 105 white hoods clean using handyandy. Use a cloth and a soft toothbrush to clean. Dry off and use some baby powder to keep the stickness away. I've done this for years and never had an issue.

Try that out before buying new ones. EBay would be your best bet to get NOS ones.

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Great to see some interest in this thread...

 

The bike has been rebuilt and has been burning up the flat roads of my work commute.

 

Couple of points:

- The rear axle was sheered and had to be replaced

- New Selle Italia XO saddle looks great matched up to the white bar tape

- Is till need to import the hoods, the are pretty poked so I have wrapped them in tape for the moment

- The spokes cleaned up fairly well on the front wheel (lots of work)... Still need to do the back wheel

- New cables, brake pads, pedal fasteners and a bloody good polish of all the bits and pieces made all the difference.

 

Enjoy the pics

post-24158-0-38760200-1413440521_thumb.jpg

post-24158-0-79277600-1413440855_thumb.jpg

post-24158-0-19727600-1413440966_thumb.jpg

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Silly question from a noob... Why rebuilding the wheels?

The spokes just looked a bit corroded... Ive polished them up on the front wheels and they came up pretty well... its a hell of a tedious job though.

 

Better than spending the R1.3k for new spokes and a rebuild though!

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Very nice bikes. Can't really see what is wrong with the hoods, but I keep my 1989 105 white hoods clean using handyandy. Use a cloth and a soft toothbrush to clean. Dry off and use some baby powder to keep the stickness away. I've done this for years and never had an issue.

Try that out before buying new ones. EBay would be your best bet to get NOS ones.

Unfortunately they are beyond repair... holes, nibbles and very gummy

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Have had the pleasure of owning a few Bridgestone bikes over the years

 

Had an RB3 in 1990,and RB2 in 2012(sold this year) and a Radac that i was going to restore that i also sold this year

 

I miss them

Id be interested in your valuation of the bike seeing that you just sold an RB-2

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