Well, maybe you may have thought I'd forgotten all about that Winter project, and you'd have a valid thought there, except for that I did not forget about this project this time. I know.......crazy, right?
Since that last update I found a pair of tires that would serve as a test set, a pair of brand new rim strips left over from the T.I.v5 sponsorship, and I had pilfered my Brooks B17 Special from that old barn-built Trek I have as a saddle to try out on this along with the Fyxation pedals from the same bike. I had everything lined up that I needed to reassemble this bike and see if it was going to be something I'd want to keep around.
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| It ain't pretty, that's for sure! |
So, without further adieu, here it is. The Dorado Sherpa. Ah.........this is an ugly duckling of a bike. No doubt there were a ton of bikes out there that looked like this in the mid-80's, but now? This seems like a prehistoric anomaly. Okay, okay.....That's just my opinion, but really, just look at the thing!
What's really odd is that this bike looks way too big for me, but it isn't. It fits like a glove. The rearward weight bias is quite notable, and while I did not have time to really mess about when I did my test ride, I feel like this could be a wheelie machine. This bike simply begs for a drop bar, if it weren't for that ancient steer tube ID.
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| It may be hard to believe, but this saddle was a nice green color when new. |
Everything works fine, by the way. The rollercams worked and adjusted up well. The right thumbie is actually indexed. Crazy! Shifts just like a Sun Tour bike does. (If you know - you know!) I did swap out the original rear derailleur for a newer Sun Tour XC Pro I had laying around. The original had a lower jockey wheel I could not get to work as well as I'd want it to.
I confess I screwed up the cable routing on the down tube, but no big deal. This is merely a test. If I decide I want to live with this bike it is all coming back apart for deeper cleaning anyway. I'd like to score a drop bar stem and set this up with drop bars if I decide to keep it also. I'd have to go with bar end shifters, but I have a plethora of those sitting around, so no worries there.
This is a mock-up and I will probably run it around here a bit. Then I'll decide what I want to do. If a stem and drop bar are found that will work, that will help swing the decision. I know I really don't want to keep it this way. Until next time.....
6 comments:
Lookin' good! Just out of curiosity, is/was there any marketed benefit of having the brakes mount on the underside of the chainstay? It seems much more susceptible to debris and water intrusion, but at least it looks sleek!
@Tomcat - This is GT, by the way. My own blog won’t let me sign in on my smartphone. 🙄. Anyway- The idea behind the under-the-chain stay brake was to provide a stronger foundation for the brake to operate from. Chain stays are much less likely to flex than seat stays. Furthermore; the roller cam bosses sit closer to the fork crown and BB junction further enhancing brake performance. The idea was abandoned when riders complained that the rear brake was a “mud-shelf” and too difficult to work with in cases of flat tires.
Hey GT. Regarding signing in on your phone: I have trouble with that too. But if I click “view desktop version” at the bottom of the page, then it recognizes me as signed in and lets me comment.
Regarding finding the right size stems, perhaps Velo Orange might have what you need?
@Nooge - Thank you!
I have checked into what Velo Orange offers and at present they were out of stock on that smaller size quill. However; since I work at the Collective, i was able to find a pretty interesting forged stem in the salvage which might work.
Stay tuned.....
Greets GT, there is, on the April,7 blog by a certain Snobby bike rider in NYC, the photo of big yellow Dorado’s little sister, really cute. I
@Skidmark - That's interesting! Thanks for the tip. That Dorado appears to have had the front fork either changed, or it was a different spec. That would account for why a quill insert works there to be able to use that threadless stem. The fork also has cantilever brakes, by the way.
It also looks to have had a "U" brake installed underneath the chain stays.
Cool find! There cannot be too many of those Dorado's around anymore.
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