New to me Bridgestone RB-1
Grant Petersen designed #BridgestoneRB-1 (1989 in this case) has been a grail bike frame of mine for years.
This beauty showed up at a swap meet this weekend, and was complete and in great working order. Took it home for $250.
I have a full set of 11s 105 that’s going to make its way onto the bike, and I’ll keep the Suntour GTX components safe for the originalists out there.
Nice! I'm surprised that it has the correct wheel spacing for 11 speed.
Those were steel, right? I can't remember.
Indeed it has 126mm spacing (and yes, is steel,) but my 11s hub slides in without too much squeezing.
Sounds good. My brother is an originalist, but I'm more of a modern guy. I have an old Cannondale 2.8 frame that he built up for me in the late 90s, and it has 8 speed 105. I've threatened a few times to upgrade it, possibly using the SRAM setup with wireless shifting and rim brakes. I think it would disappoint him. Of course, it would require new wheels as well.
But as a practical matter, those 8 speed parts aren't going to last forever, either. I think the rear derailleur spring that holds the chain in tension is a bit tired already, for example. And it's not like I can buy a new 105 8 speed derailleur; I can get a used one but that's just as old. (I use the bike on a smart trainer on Zwift. What I really should do is upgrade to one of the trainers that doesn't require physically shifting.)