Here is a bike that is not one of my own but turned into a project for me anyway. Owned by a family member but neglected for many years I decided it was time to resurrect it.

This bike was purchased used as a frame and fork from the old Stewart Hunt Bicycle shop in Reno Nevada in the early 90’s. Over the course of the following months it was pieced together from extra or cast off parts from the shop by our young college student who worked there part time. Eventually it became a complete bike even if it was a jumble of mismatched parts. It was ridden lightly until other youthful interests eventually displaced it. Some years later I offered a few spare components to help upgrade the build to more of a correct spec for the model. It lived again for awhile but later, it’s owner was lured away by a sexy new Serotta and the RB-1 sat neglected, all but forgotten.

Back to the present day; the RB-1 was rediscovered during a burst of garage cleaning and I took pity on it. It was dusty and greasy but looked pretty intact otherwise. I started as usual by tearing it down to the bones, and then with a good clean on the frame and fork I could see what it needed.

Disassembly was pretty straight forward until I got to the stem, which was stuck tight in the steerer tube. With patience, a little heat, lots of lubrication and a hammer I overcame this impediment and the stem came free. It was a Cinelli stem and can maybe be re-used but it was not what originally came on the RB-1. I’ll try to find the correct Ritchey Force stem for this bike.

The bike cleaned up nicely and for the most part was just an exercise in take-down, cleaning, lube and reassembly. With the replacement of a few lesser components it should be a reasonably close match to how it shipped as new. A few exceptions to it being “catalog correct” include:

  • Shimano brakes are later 105’s instead of the 600 Ultegra which they should be. These 105’s however have the correct finish to match the 600 group.
  • The shifters are Shimano 600 on the down-tube as opposed to the bar end units it came with. I just don’t like bar end shifters!
  • Seat post is a generic Japanese aftermarket unit that looks and works good so it stays.
  • Headset was a steel Tange unit but is now a Shimano 600. It is a model which is a couple of years earlier in the Shimano line-up but is close to being right.
  • The saddle is kind of a place-holder for the time being, until we see if this becomes a rider again.
  • Handle bars are generic modern replacement but without a logo so they should fly under the radar pretty well. They were a cheap pick up at the local Co-op.
  • Stem should be a Ritchey Force road stem but is now a Ritchey Comp lite which is a later version of the same.
  • Rims are Mavic Open Pros which will came out in 1986 and were available through the late 90’s or perhaps even later. Not original but a period correct upgrade!
  • Handlebar tape is a simple black cloth as opposed to the original plastic wrap.

1992 Bridgestone specs

Here is the spec list of how the RB-1 came equipped, from the 1992 catalog. At this point in time Shimano 600 components were also known as Ultegra. It should be noted that the 600 wasn’t dropped from Ultegra label until 1997.

A purist might turn up their nose at some of the “incorrect” parts that I have used, but even though this is a nice road bike and has a certain following it is not a highly sought after machine. This is a kind of vintage-ish bicycle (30 years old) that is still a good performer and should be a rider, not a wall hanger! Being “correct” in the specs would add very little to the ride-ability of this bicycle. The final weigh-in shows it to be at 21.1 lbs (without pedals) which is svelte enough to be quite a sporty rider.