Gary Fisher Alfresco Project

[8mph]

Picked this up at the recycling center for a fiver, with a view to setting it up for weekend tours. Despite being 7 speed (screw on freewheel) it has the low gearing I'm after for Devon hills ( 3 x 7 speed 34T Megarange), front and rear rack bosses.

Plan is to spend as little as possible and use parts from the spares bucket. I'm having trouble identifying the frame, says "Gold Series Aluminium" but it's all steel ( I'm hoping true temper - double butted, hard to tell because the parts are weighty)

Wheels are 36 hole 700c Matrix 550, stainless steel spokes, hubs are nothing special but look serviceable, shifters are Gripshift, the rest is low end Shimano. 32mm Bontrager winter / hybrid tyres.

Parts going on are LX V-brake, green cable outers and green Ritchey mtb grips, Ritchey riser bars, Specialized saddle, trigger shifters, may purchase a quill to ahead adapter and fit a Race Face stem I have spare.

I want to keep the other parts and see how the bike rides before throwing any money at it, see how it does as a general purpose bike for road and the occaisional byway.

 

[GeekDadZoid]

Good buy there, those mudguards look to be worth the £5 on their own.

Gripshifts though :-/

 

[8mph]

Good buy there, those mudguards look to be worth the £5 on their own.

Gripshifts though :-/

Picked up a Giant Rock at the recycling center today (£5) with a few clean parts on including cables, mechs and these.

Cables, bell, bottle cage, pedals, bolts and mechs are all clean.

 

[8mph]

The bike's now built up as a light tourer, tubes, tyres, ahead adapter, hollow front axle, 10 spokes, bearings, brake pads, bar ends and chain were all bought for the build.

I bought two donor bikes (£5 each) and salvaged, Deore rear mech, rear wheel - Mavic A319 / Deore, Specialized ergonomic grips, one Shimano V brake, 8 x 3 speed shifters, and cables.

Riser bars, stem, pedals, seat, post and silver paint all came from my spares.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

This is a prime example of how good project bikes can be built up for very little money if you keep your eyes open for suitable parts donors.
I'm not a huge fan of those megarange freewheels though, as the gap between first and second gear is just too big to maintain any sort of consistent cadence.

 

[All uphill]

I like what you have done. Gary Fisher is a cool name to have on a 90's bike, too.

I feel a bit sad about the Giant Rock having loved mine and had loads of fun on it. You've started me thinking about building up a 90's MTB for a bit of fun.

 

[8mph]

This is a prime example of how good project bikes can be built up for very little money if you keep your eyes open for suitable parts donors.
I'm not a huge fan of those megarange freewheels though, as the gap between first and second gear is just too big to maintain any sort of consistent cadence.

My local "Refurnish" shop prices all their bikes at £5, so I'm lucky in that respect. The freewheel has been replaced with a cassette, thankfully.

 

[Gunk]

We’ve got an old GF as a hack, my son uses it to go to the gym. Cost us £15

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

We’ve got an old GF as a hack, my son uses it to go to the gym. Cost us £15

Talk about extravagant!

 

[biggs682]

That's my kind of bike

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

That's my kind of bike

I've got a whole shed full of beer money bikes. You can't beat them!

 

[biggs682]

I've got a whole shed full of beer money bikes. You can't beat them!

Same here certainly better than spending big money ie £250+

 

[Gunk]

 

[8mph]

I've got a whole shed full of beer money bikes. You can't beat them!

Same here certainly better than spending big money ie £250+

Sub £250 is about my target for a good working bike too. I think this one cost around £120, the tyres were the biggest outlay.

I have bought a Spa Cycles wheelset for this bike (not yet fitted) but it is intended as a tourer and I can rebuild the donor bike, (Trek 7300 fx) for my next project. So hopefully a couple of decent bikes for around £400.

 

[T4tomo]

View attachment 648060

I'll raise you this..

recently sold on....