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fork to suspension conversion, what are vintage road bike options?

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animalzz4

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm nearly done converting my vintage Sekine road bike into a hybrid.

I went with 30" wheels, Truvista cranks, a stem adapter let me use a modern steering set up but I want to take it further and install a trick pair of shocks. That will directly bolt on for that matter. If they exist.

Do they make modern shocks for this predicament, with 1" steering tube?

If not is there a way to custom fit shocks on this bike?

I have a sweet pair of carbon fibre rigid forks with the larger tube as well. I can't think of a way to custom fit anything
Image

without jeopardizing safety.
 
#5 ·
30" wheels? is that a thing now? I think you're confused.

what is "truvista"? I've never heard of that either. Truvativ?

you're building an awkward monster. it's not going to be fun to ride from the sound of it.

if you want to add a little "suspension" on a road bike, there are stems that have an elastomer that allows for some squish. there are short-travel suspension forks for "gravel" bikes, but those are all going to be for modern frames with 1-1-1/8" forks, or more likely forks with a 1-1/2" bottom tapered steerer tube.

1" stuff is probably left over from 20+ years ago and not remotely applicable. you can probably still source a decent 1" threaded fork—it's a "fork" singular, not plural because it's just one item called a "fork". there are 1" threaded suspension forks on the used-vintage market, but those are probably all for 26" mtb tires. you'll have to clarify what you mean by 30-inch wheels because I've never heard of that.
 
#6 ·
Rock Shox made a suspension road fork in the early 1990s that would fit a 700c road tire and may have come in a 1" steer tube, but the road bike caliper brake mount and limited clearance wouldn't allow much more than a 700x25c tire. It was called the Paris-Roubaix and did pretty well in the Tour De France a couple of times. Not sure you could even find one now.
 
#7 ·
sgltrak said:
Rock Shox made a suspension road fork in the early 1990s that would fit a 700c road tire and may have come in a 1" steer tube, but the road bike caliper brake mount and limited clearance wouldn't allow much more than a 700x25c tire. It was called the Paris-Roubaix and did pretty well in the Tour De France a couple of times. Not sure you could even find one now.
Click to expand...
I still have one of these laying around. Your correct on all accounts. It is a 1" steerer. It has a road bike brake mount. I believe they did make them with post mounts for cantilevers however. I remember a couple of cross racers using them.
 
#9 ·
uintah said:
Problem solved.
www.ebay.com

RockShox Mag SL Paris Roubaix 700c Suspension Fork, Canti Brake, Cyclocross RARE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for RockShox Mag SL Paris Roubaix 700c Suspension Fork, Canti Brake, Cyclocross RARE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...
it seems unlikely that OP is willing to spend that much on this project. I'll bet there's something gathering dust in a bike co-op somewhere that will work for a nominal price.
 
Discussion starter · #10 · (Edited)
I went against it on my own accord. Knowing it can throw of the angle off the sweet spot and make it clumsy to ride and or able to put less torque to the ground. I miss my specialized hybrid :(

The dinosaur is light and nimble as is I'm not messing with it, makes a good road warrior in the cold and slop of winter.

Ill stick to suspension with my crotch rocket and moto x and forget about suspension for now. But the tendon surgery still leaves my right hand sore from road vibration and bumps.

Its a forum, high blood pressure kills. Relax so I made a mistake I am a motorcyclist at least 90% of my life. But I appreciate the corrected wheel mistake. Not sure of the size, but there big.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
The old school forks kind of ulglify the bike.

I still have to change headset bars and stem.

The only 800mm bars with 40mm rise I was able to find were $189.00 answers. I was told about bar extenders after the fact. No matter the Answers will go on another bike later.
Pedals, chain, grips, what else, seat post and clamp, about only the original frame and forks will exist in a day or two.

The cranks are truvativ. New to me, the name. And I had some fire **** when I sad at my desk :). I had to lose the 53T ring to a 42. Hills especially combined with head wind was brutal.

And I guess I could use some breaking ability at some point. Cause its fast. I was surprised how fast that bike is. The older road bikes I tried in the past were not as efficient. Granted I wasn't able to test ride before the wheel swap.
Image


I had
Image

sat down after some fire ****.
 
#13 ·
I really need to know if this thread is for real. The bike appears to not yet be functional and you're going "fast" without brakes?

I don't think you're going to accomplish anything useful on this particular style of bike with a massive riser bar, but I'm not sure what you're trying to do.
 
#14 ·
It's the world's finest bicycle! It says so on the dork disc. A better than average example of a 1970's ten speed bike. I wouldn't have messed with it. But the heart wants what it wants
 
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Discussion starter · #15 · (Edited)
"It's the world's finest bicycle! It says so on the dork disc. A better than average example of a 1970's ten speed bike. I wouldn't have messed with it. But the heart wants what it wants"

My main ambition initially was to lighten the bike up further. I got it down to a whopping 7.5 lbs. It picked up another 20 - 25 mph (at least!)

I don't know about the best bike ever made but certain qualities stood out. Specialized puts a ton into R&D to maximize pedal power to the pavement. That stood out compared to many other modern 2000s bikes I've owned or test ridden. This dinosaur reminded me of that bike in this regard. Its super super efficient.

I never leave things alone. Fabrication and customization is in my blood. But I always hang on to parts to reverse changes if need be.

A Harley it is not btw. The springer front end would defo fugly up a pedal bike. And the additional weight would mean no more wheelies to impress chics! Colour me not interested ;)

As for brakes, we don't need no stinking brakes!
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
mack_turtle said:
I really need to know if this thread is for real. The bike appears to not yet be functional and you're going "fast" without brakes?

I don't think you're going to accomplish anything useful on this particular style of bike with a massive riser bar, but I'm not sure what you're trying to do.
Click to expand...
Is your post for real?

The bike is fully functional aside from the brakes that I intent to put back on. I'm crazy but not that crazy.

BTW I don't intend on keeping that stem or the current bars. And, its a hybrid, of sorts. To the unsuspecting it will look stock.
 
#18 ·
There's a whole subculture of people who make "freak bikes" that looks like a ton of fun. If you're trying to get performance out of that bike, weird stuff like suspension and huge tires is not going to get you there. You'll probably have fun and learn a lot in the process, but keep your expectations reasonable.

If you're on Reddit, look up XBiking. Somehow I feel like the modification spirit on 63xc.com might appeal to you. Then there's the monstercross genre.

The lightest road bikes on the market can weigh less than 14 pounds. They're built with cutting edge technology and cost over $10,000. You said you want to get this bike under 7.5 pounds, and that's probably what the frame and fork alone weight. Again, just managing expectations.

It's not clear where (type of terrain) and how (exploring, racing, singletrack, dort roads, etc) you want to ride this bike. It could go so many directions that no one here is going to be able to help you much.
 
#19 ·
animalzz4 said:
"It's the world's finest bicycle! It says so on the dork disc. A better than average example of a 1970's ten speed bike. I wouldn't have messed with it. But the heart wants what it wants"

My main ambition initially was to lighten the bike up further. I got it down to a whopping 7.5 lbs. It picked up another 20 - 25 mph (at least!)

I don't know about the best bike ever made but certain qualities stood out. Specialized puts a ton into R&D to maximize pedal power to the pavement. That stood out compared to many other modern 2000s bikes I've owned or test ridden. This dinosaur reminded me of that bike in this regard. Its super super efficient.

I never leave things alone. Fabrication and customization is in my blood. But I always hang on to parts to reverse changes if need be.

A Harley it is not btw. The springer front end would defo fugly up a pedal bike. And the additional weight would mean no more wheelies to impress chics! Colour me not interested ;)

As for brakes, we don't need no stinking brakes!
Click to expand...
the bike weighs 7.5 pounds according to this post?
 
#20 ·
mack_turtle said:
There's a whole subculture of people who make "freak bikes" that looks like a ton of fun. If you're trying to get performance out of that bike, weird stuff like suspension and huge tires is not going to get you there. You'll probably have fun and learn a lot in the process, but keep your expectations reasonable.

If you're on Reddit, look up XBiking. Somehow I feel like the modification spirit on 63xc.com might appeal to you. Then there's the monstercross genre.

The lightest road bikes on the market can weigh less than 14 pounds. They're built with cutting edge technology and cost over $10,000. You said you want to get this bike under 7.5 pounds, and that's probably what the frame and fork alone weight. Again, just managing expectations.

It's not clear where (type of terrain) and how (exploring, racing, singletrack, dort roads, etc) you want to ride this bike. It could go so many directions that no one here is going to be able to help you much.
Click to expand...
No he said he has git it down to 7.5 pounds
 
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