My Restoration Project

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My Restoration Project

posted 19 years ago | updated 18 years ago

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Restored me old 1998 Gary Fisher Supercaliber and turned it into a singlespeed cruiser. I've never loved it more !The paint was in miserable shape, so I stripped it (with numerous chemical burn scars to prove I did it myself). Sanded it down with 150, 200, 600, 1000 and 1200 grade sand paper. Believe you me, it took MONTHS to do it, and it was no fun at all. Call it a labour of love. Sent it to the powder coater for a sweet new cream paint job. And to top it off, I emailed Gary Fisher, and told them how much I loved their bicycles and how I was about to embark on this project, and asked for replacement decals. Not only did they send me decals, they sent me this rad chromed headbadge that looks even sweeter than the original. And for FREE too ! Many thanks to the folks at GF if they happen to be reading this.. and thats a BIG ifThe fork was a scruffy old Kona P2 i bought at a SUPER sweet price. Removed the decals using a razor blade with paint thinner to disolve the adhesive. Its quite a delicate task, had to use a pair of forceps, and a syringe and needle to drip the thinner onto the underside of the decals so they'll come off nicely without tearing. Sent it to the powder coater together with my frame and its honestly as good as new.The wheels are an old pair of 1998 Lx parallex hubs laced to a pair of mavic x221s that were originally on my bike. Masked off the sidewalls and painted them brown as an experiment. And honestly, they didn't turn out too well. Even with multiple layers of clear coat, they chip REAL easily. Haha but whatever. Live and learn.The drivetrain consists of a sette singlepseed converter kit, with spacers and a 16 tooth cog and fako singulator tensioner bought on pricepoint that my cousin brought back for me from the states. The crank is a 1992 LX square taper 5 arm crankset, once again in REAL scruffy condition when i bought it. But it was again going at a real sweet price. Sanding this baby down was even harder than the frame, with real deep gouges at some points. But all's well, didn't get all the gouges out, but most of it now has a mirror shine thanks to autosol. Finger prints stand out like hell though. The BB was a pain in the ass to find. It required a square taper 73 x 122.5mm BB that aren't easy to source anymore. Had to pay for it brand new sadly. Brakes are a pair of 1998 LX servo wave levers coupled to a pair of 1998 XT v brakes. Nothing special worth mentioning more.The tires are a pair of 1.2 inch Panaracer paseala brown walls, which I understand cannot be found in Singapore. They match perfectly so i'm real happy there. The saddle is a Brooks B17 special edition with copper rails and honey brown leather which I absolutely love. That and the titec hellbent riser I bought online at once again, a fantastic price. The stem is an old black spire cameltoe 70mm stem which i stripped and painted bronze to match. I was too cheapskate to buy grips, and i figured since most of the stuff on my bike's one off anyway, I decided to make my own. Used leather straps and cotton twine. A little bit of leather conditioner to make the straps more supple and they look rad.And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a summary of my love affair with this bike's restoration for the better part of the past year. If you managed to live through this long winded account, i applaud and thank you sincerely.And to those out there who sold me those priceless parts, a HUGE thank you.

Bike Weight

0 Kgs

Setup Date

9th Jun 2007

Bike present with owner

YES

darrencw

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My Restoration Project

My Restoration Project

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