Aug 1, 2009

Bridgestone Project

I came across an ad for an older Bridgestone on Craig's List last evening and went out to Minnestrista(!) for a recon this afternoon.

The bike was in really good shape. It's a 300, which is a little on the lower end of the line, but the price was fair, and I talked the seller into keeping the wheels and pedals, which knocked some more off the price.


I converted it to fixed gear this afternoon and just got back from a spin around the 'hood. It's got some sort of slight eccentricity in the right crank (I noticed this in the test ride but felt it was not severe enough to spoil the deal). At some point, I'll inspect the bottom bracket to see if that's the problem. If it is, great; I've got a spare in the old parts bin. If the bottom bracket looks to be okay, and if I ride this bike a lot, I'll probably change out the crank to remedy that problem. For now, it's just fine.


It's a fun ride. This is kind of a cult bike because of the Grant Peterson connection, but setting that aside, the lug work is very nice and the frame is lively for a lower end bike. Good deal for a Saturday afternoon's effort.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, Pete! It's totally a Franenbike, but all I needed to put this together was a chain, so that counts for something. Eventually I might pare it down a little more (pull the rear brake and swap the interruptor to the front brake) and replace the ass hatchet saddle, but I really like the higher bottom bracket and it's plenty lively. Fun to have a Bridgestone, too.

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