05 December 2011

bike time 10 - breezer thunder

Trippy,
somehow the insides of this post were deleted.
Ok.

So here's Bike Time 10 - the 1995 Breezer Thunder.
Yeah,
this is the same bike I just wrote about
perich brothers (and sister): how not to sell a mountain bike - Breezer Thunder
but that was more about the acquisition.

1995 breezer thunder
hardtail mountain bike




















If you remember,
the ad had said how it wouldn't shift and barely stopped.
Well the cables and housings looked like the exploding cigar cartoons.
The wires were frayed and the housings were jammed into the keepers.
So obvious but not if you're not looking!
The first thing I did was replace all 4 lines.
What a difference.
The deore XT derailleurs are tits.

Okay.
Actually I'm lying.
The first thing I did was get rid of that seat.
In one of those weird koinkidinks,
I found a bitchin Brooks B17 Champion Special on good old Craigslist.
Cheap.
Imagine that.

tired brooks b17 champion special
honey?





















The seller was a craigslist flipper.
No way he could ride as he had a serious handicap,
but that's capitalism.
Someone needs to scrounge garage sales or junk shops,
and make a buck selling this kind of stuff,
cause there's was no way I'd pay $150 for a new one!

customizing brooks saddle
holes





















The "saddle" was a little floppy,
and I tried to tighten the bolt underneath.
There is a better trick though that I've always wanted to try,
and that is lacing the bottom.

I started by drilling some holes on the bottom edge.
Than I cracked a beer.

laced brooks saddle




















It took a while to figure out there needed to be an even number of holes
(on each side)
so the lace would end on the inside.
No problem.

tight brooks saddle


























Holy chit this is the most comfortable bike seat I've ridden on.
It's like my butt is cradled in a forgiving leather piece of heaven,
instead of a banana shaped piece of plastic wedged in my crack.
Special thanks to the original rider who broke this seat in!

breezer thunder
hipster city bike



















At this point the MTB was configured as a city bike,
with the short upright stem and riser bars.
Pure hipster,
all I needed was some tweed clothes and a pipe.
It was so comfortable to ride.

NOS 1" ZOOM stem























Sacrificing the comfort I scrounged up a CL special stem.
It's a little long but it actually fits me,
probably cause of those 2.5" hi-rise bars.

Still on the fence with those gripshift controls.
If only the thumbie style could push 8 gears.

1995 breezer thunder



















The only other thing I've done is put some cranky Campagnolo Super Record pedals on it,
the ones I ripped off the Paletti.
It's surprising how light the bike is,
probably cause there's no front shock.

I've ridden it back and forth to the shop a couple times,
and it's a fun riding bike,
even with the barely warped rear rim.
That takes the hesitance out of bunnyhopping curbs!

TP

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