It's another late December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2024. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year. As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.
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| The Dorado Sherpa after the first snowfall of the 2024/2025 Winter season. |
The Sherpa has been a commute to work bike for most of 2024, which is exactly what I had intended it to be. That and for short errands. However; I did use it to commute to a conference in early August which was all the way across the urban area I live in.Probably a 20 mile or more round trip.
While I could have used any of my bikes for 90% of that route, it was the last bit that the Sherpa was really the best choice for a bike I could have made. The reason being was that I ended up doing a bit of bushwhacking around the venue the convention was being held at.
That venue had no approach to the building that was outside of car-centric amenities. The parking lot was busy, and so I ended up scouting out an approach to the venue that entailed a scaling of a steep, grassy hill, then across a gravel parking lot to a back door where there was a bike rack. In the back of the building! I mean, you couldn't get to it without doing the car dance out front, and well...... Should I be surprised?
That's another story, but the Sherpa was and is a perfect bash-around bike that can be locked to a rack without any concerns that someone else would want it more than I do. Plus, it doesn't even look like anything "modern", which is great. The Sherpa's weirdness is a theft deterrent!
So, I really like this bike. It rides so smoothly, works all the time flawlessly, and does a great job of getting places other bikes I have would struggle to get to. That final point due to the Sherpa's geometry, gearing range, and overall degraded condition, meaning I don't have to worry about scratches or what have you.
No plans to change anything here. Just basic maintenance going forward.
6 comments:
I've been rolling with Sherpas for the last ten years. I do periodic Google searches, nice to fund something published today!
From what I've learned, they were mostly sold in Portland, OR. In a warehouse, called "Discount Bicycle Warehouse" or something, in the SW suburbs. (Tigard, Tualatin). There's also a reference on the internet to someone who bought one at a similar sounding warehouse in Kirkland, WA (Seattle Suburb, home of Costco).
This theory holds up with the distribution on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Lots come up in Portland. A few in Seattle or outstate WA or OR. And a few in Northern California. So, sold in OR and WA, and most stayed here.
People have speculated that Sherpa was one of the first knockoff brands of mountain bikes. That someone went to a factory in Taiwan and said "Can you make me a bunch of bikes, I'll put my own brand on them." One person was fairly convinced that they were Giant knockoffs. (I once had a Giant Sedona that I loved, so maybe there is something to it).
I've met one original owner who (5 years ago) was still rolling on his ~93 era purple Sherpa Trail. And I've bought a couple Sherpas from original owners, all of whom have the same basic story. One person said his pal in High School's dad owned the Sherpa warehouse.
Yours is the first edition. Built with Suntour, and a somewhat heavier frame than the others. With the roller brakes, and a bolt-on rear wheel. I recently bought a similar one, a red mixte frame. Low mileage, original condition -- the tires still had their nubs on them (though they were rotted). It's my girlfriends' regular winter ride now. With fenders, a rack, and a knobby tire in front to handle slick leaves, potholes, etc. Looks like yours, but no scratches. Also highly unlikely to be stolen.
They kept selling them through the late '90s. There seem to be about 4 different lineups. Round 2 was also sturdy and basic, but with Shimano components and cantilever brakes. And "confetti flakes" on the paint. Round 3 lost the confetti, lost the "Dorado" name. But seemed to be the same frames. Round 4 had a top tube slanted toward the rear, more colors, and a front shock option.
Rounds 2 - 4 had a couple different names and gradients.
* Sherpa Pro was the top. Diore cranks, DX deruiallers, and DioreDX Hubs (probably all the same thing?). Double butted Chromoly frame. (Very rare, I've only seen 2 for sale in 7 years of looking. I have a mint condition one)
* Sherpa Comp was the next level down. Deore LX components. Fairly rare. I have three. I had a favorite one that was stolen, now am making sure I'll never be without one).
* Sherpa Trail is a solid, high end bike. Lots of these were sold. They're rare, but you see them on the streets of Portland on a regular basis. 300 LX or Altus components. Some have double butted tubes, some just straight chromoly.
* Sherpa Country, Sherpa Team. I had a Country as my first Sherpa touring bike, did very well.
* Sherpa City is the bottom of the line.
I have about 7 good or mint condition Sherpas, and a couple others in the shed that are too small, just for parts or loaner bikes.
I've bicycled through 18 countries in Europe on my Sherpas, very satisfactory. Rock solid, easy to mount gear on them, easy to repair and adjust on the road.
I've not been as satisfied with other vintage mountain bikes I've had -- Specialized, Trek, Bridgestone. The Sherpas tend to be more efficient at transforming my leg power into forward momentum. I've asked 100s of bike nerds about it on rides, and have gotten about 50 different answers. And it's a good gig for me, since there are hardly any other Sherpa fans out there, I can cherry pick low mileage ones off Craigslist without much competition.
Good to see that one found its way to Iowa and is still sherpa-ing you and your gear around town in the winter months.
Ted Buehler
Portland, OR
@Pasture Ted - Hey, thank you for that back story/history on the Sherpa! I, much like you, had little to go on concerning information on this brand and model. I did find a reference to Costco as a source, but that was as far as I could get.
This one came to me via the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective, where I work, and had been in a barn , according to the story told me by the donator, for 30+ years. It showed as well! There was a lot of surface corrosion, dirt, etc, all over the bike. I had to completely disassemble the bike, clean, polish, and restore things where I could. Fortunately every original part less the tires and chain, was saveable.
I did have to install new sealed bearings in the rear wheel, a new chain, the tires, and all the accessories. But yeah, love the way it rides.
I have also done a similar rear geometry with a bike I have had made by King Fabrications as a single speed gravel bike. I theorize that the slack seat angle has something to do with how the Sherpa and my gravel bike accelerate and why they both seem to ride so smoothly.
The weight distribution is different, the angles of the tubing, their lengths, and how that translates energy are all quite different than most bicycles. I think that this is perhaps why the Sherpa is what it is, despite being made from average steel tubing, in the case of my Sherpa at least.
Thank you so much for the comment, I really appreciate your time in doing this for the blog.
Hi Guitar Ted,
I'm glad you appreciated my comments. I think I found your earlier Yellow Sherpa Dorado post at some point, but it wasn't a current post, so I didn't think to reply.
I just googled around a little more.
Here is someone else's history. Not sure where the info is from, but they have good bike photos.
https://mtbtimeline.com/wiki/dorado/start
Check out the "1986 Dorado -- with roller brakes front and rear, and a slingshot stem" When they were serious about stiffness and braking!
Here is a list of Sherpas on BikeIndex.org
https://bikeindex.org/bikes?query_items%5B%5D=sherpa+comp&serial=&button=&location=you&distance=100&stolenness=all
Including a photo of me and my beloved Sherpa Comp, just a few weeks before it was stolen. I had stickers from *so* *many* *countries* on that frame. And it really rode well...
https://bikeindex.org/bikes/120490
(I should take photos of everything in my Sherpa collection and publish them somewhere).
Cheers,
Pasture Ted
A few more comments --
Poking around BikeIndex with just the "sherpa" search term there are many pages of Sherpa photos (and other stuff mixed in).
https://bikeindex.org/bikes?button=&distance=100&location=you&page=4&query_items%5B%5D=sherpa&serial=&stolenness=all
Also, almost all are from Washington and Oregon. Just a few out in the rest of the country.
(And note that Rocky Mountain Sherpa is a different beast entirely)
Question -- you mention the "slack seat angle" -- that means that it is pretty far off vertical, right? I see now that on your yellow Sherpa the seat angle is indeed pretty slack. It looks like the seat angle gradually got straighter between 1989 and 1991. (Probably with all the other MTB manufacturers, too).
I think my favorite Sherpa Comp had a mid-slack seat tube angle.
I have a lineup of all of my touring bikes on my phone. Maybe I'll present the photos all in a row somewhere. You or other folks might have comments on them. And why I have enjoyed some bikes so much more than others.
Pasture Ted
Interesting. Here is a yellow Dorado for sale, like yours. In Des Moines.
In the same photo as the Owners Manual is some Costco paperwork.
Maybe it's the sales info from Costco? But, I think the text on that info looks a bit newer than 1989.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/595837903134234/
You could download the photos, and upload them as part of your post. I imagine the FB Marketplace photos will be gone in a month or so.
Also if you know anyone in Iowa that covets your bike, they could get one of their own!
Pasture Ted
(Ooops, got my bikes mixed up. The one for sale in Des Moines, with original owners manual, is a blue Sherpa Trail, not a yellow Sherpa Dorado. But. Close!)
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