Barracuda - Totally Driven!

Hey gang,

Since all this nasty mess has been going on with my leg, I've needed to occupy my time with something... I had 10 frames waiting for builds and this down town hasn't help move anything along! I did manage to make progress on half of them...

a 1985 Schwinn Cimarron
*rescued from a dumpster by a college student and bought for $100.00
*USA made lugged & fillet brazed double butted CrMo with complete 1st generation Shimano XT "Deerhead/Stag" components
*my new touring/commuter bike

a 1988 Schwinn Cimarron LE w/ 1985 Gary Fisher fork (possibly made by Ritchey or Potts)
*frame and fork only needing powder coat, NOS decals, and it got BMW clear coat thanks to my buddy who owns a body shop
*USA made lugged and fillet brazed double butted CrMo
*my new vintage trail bike retrofitted w/ new modern components

a 1992 Trek 950 w/ stock Tange lugged "Big Fork"
*bought off Craigslist for $10.00, missing post, seat, and wheel
*USA made True Temper OX II lugged double butted CrMo, next to last year of American made Trek lugged MTN frames
*for me and the misses, new trail (and neighborhood) 3 speed using a PAUL Melvin based on Michael Doleman's "Tringle" Surly Cross Check, I've wanted to build one of these forever and I finally found a quality cheap bike to build on.

a 1989 Performance Tangent (top-of-the-line cost $1,000 when new)
*bought off Craigslist cheaply for the XT 6 speed grouppo
*double butted Tange CrMo frame, fork, and stays
*built for a good buddy that comes to town with a race team, he wanted something simple to keep at the race shop for his 10 visits to SoCal to travel as lead wrench with a small race outfit. Cool build because it's built from 100% recycled frame and components

a 1988 Schwinn High Sierra (sorry no pics yet)
*bought for $25.00 at a neighbor's garage sale
*USA made lugged and fillet brazed CrMo
*built a shopping bike with a large front basket and a rear utility rack for my wife and daughter to ride to the store. This is the bike I don't worry about being locked up and left for extended periods of time.

Yes, I know they aren't totally complete and ready to roll, these are just progress shots, but I'm really please with how they've turned out. Did you notice the "dirt drop" handlebar theme with the three that are for me? I love have 4 different hand positions as opposed to only one with a flat bar! Tomac was way ahead of the curve when he won the World Championships on a dirt drop bike!

-D-

p.s. Sorry for the gigantic posting

Hey guys,

One of my goals with the '88 Cimarron LE was to better the stock weight listed in the catalog. The catalog lists the weight at 29 pounds, fairly hefty for a top-of-the-line $999.99 CrMo bike! I mocked up the finished bike at my LBS today, even with Time ATAC carbon pedals, Flite Ti saddle, XT chain (draped but not attached), and no frame pump or water bottle cages... my '88 Cimarron LE came in at 26.3 pounds. Short of a titanium bottom bracket, thin tubes, and really expensive race tires, I fail to see how I could have shaved much more weight without spending a fortune on Dura Ace brifters or other costly upgrades.

So, I've abandoned the featherweight build and I'm going comfort, stability, and a bit of style. This bike will be my grab and go for the trails and/or neighborhood, just about any riding situation this Cimarron should be well-suited. I did not install the chain today because I was not a 100% on whether or not I was going with a double or triple crank but in the end it was the look of the Super Maxy crank that cemented my decision. The bar set up was up in the air too, I knew the Soma Sparrow bar with the STI brifters were a must but the height of the stem, the angle of the bars, and bar wrap versus grips all had to be ironed out. I chose to run an Oury "downhill" grip backwards with Brooks black leather bar wrap. After that was decided I grabbed the Thomson seatpost and Brooks B67 saddle from my '85 Cimarron commuter build. I also robbed the pair of Ciussi cages, the Jandd utility bag (that fits perfectly between the seat springs on the Brooks), and the frame pump from the '85. The WTB 2.4 Raptor tires have got to go, I'm leaning towards the Michelin Wildgripper tires, I have a set on my dirt drop MB-1 and I love them! I have a few loose ends to tidy up and this baby will finally see some use. Unfortunately the bike doesn't weigh 26 pounds as pictured but it is set up to go just about anywhere and I can't wait to start logging some miles!

Just a little busy I see...Oury grips on backwards, out of the box thinking or local fashion statement?