Welcome, jerks.


Yeah, I got the fever. Three or four years ago, a rabid, red-eyed zombie sank its rotten teeth into my arm and thus I was infected with a peculiar strain of irrational obsession. Since then I have breathed, eaten, and slept bikes and almost nothing else. Maybe a vaccine will be invented, or maybe it'll simply pass, but until then I'm a slave to my compulsion to buy, transport, take apart, degrease, scour, lube, polish, assemble, tune, tighten, align, wax, buff, and yes, ride, ride, ride these magical two-wheeled machines.

So, the idea is, on this page I'm going to post pictures and perhaps stories of bikes that I've refurbished and ridden or ones that are in the process or recently completed. Maybe it'll expand from there. We'll see, I guess.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Specialized Expedition

I travelled 170 miles to buy this '83 Specialized Expedition from an affable old gent who was duly proud of her but also willing to admit that he'd never do her justice himself. Apparently he'd purchased the frame, rear wheel and some parts  at a garage sale for just $10 (!!!) To anyone familiar with Expedition lore, this is of course the find you (wet?) dream of. By the time this beauty was passed on to me, it had been built up as a comfort-minded townie. Of course, I had plans of my own for it...


As it happened, I had a good friend who was on the hunt for an upgrade/replacement for his '84 Univega Gran Turismo, which had suffered a front-end collision. And as it happened, this one was just his size. Kismet.


My friend likes his drop bars, and fortunately the previous owner was nice enough to have included the original cockpit with the purchase, so on it went, with the modification of modern aero and cross brake levers.


The frame was stripped down and received a thorough cleaning and polishing.


I was able to convince my friend to make the change from skinny tires to fatties and I chose the folding version of Panaracer's Pasela Tourguards in 35mm width. I think they look and ride great and Anthony seems to agree. Also visible here are the "vintage" XTR cantilevers that were hell to set up.



I'd been saving an old Takagi XT triple crank that I'd stripped and polished and this seemed like the perfect occasion for it.



The rear wheel and bottom bracket got new cartridge bearings, on went fenders, rack, and leather saddle. Et voila!

For now Anthony just plans to use this beast for commuting--hence the medium-duty rear rack and plastic fenders--but don't despair: one day I'll convince him to take her for a loaded tour. 



At this point I've helped two of my good friends acquire and restore Specialized Expos, so I really hope that one day I'll have one of my own :)

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9 comments:

  1. JackJuly 8, 2016 at 7:32 PM

    Andre,

    Beautiful bike and great style choices.


    I just acquired an '85 Expedition myself and I'm about to begin cleaning / fixing / tuning and replacing or upgrading. I'd like to do my best to keep it as stock as possible. Unfortunately the rear wheel has been re-laced with a Sunrims CR18 but it has a 35c mounted and it was built as a dish-less wheel and a Shimano hub of some kind. I'm an old guy so comfort is a priority for me. Do you happen to know what the largest tire I can fit in the Expedition frame with fenders ? Can I fit a 38C for example? I don't know what I'm going to do about the rear wheel at the moment but I expect I will be building a replacement of better quality. What do you think ?

    Thanks
    Jack

    ReplyDelete
  2. AndreJuly 8, 2016 at 11:42 PM

    Thanks, Jack. Sorry to tell you but the tire clearance on these Expeditions isn't great. There's no way you're going to fit a (true) 38mm tire in there with a fender. Even 35mm would be a TIGHT squeeze, so practically speaking, I'd say 32mm with fenders is your max tire size.

    The good news is there's nothing at all wrong with CR18 rims. If yours is a well-built wheel that hasn't been ridden to death already, you can expect to get many thousands of miles of service on it before you have to replace it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RoadieRyanAugust 25, 2016 at 2:04 PM

    The first shot reminds me of a Peugeot UO-8 I rebuilt that had been fitted with ape hangers and a banana seat and turned into a Stingray, I didn't even recognized it when I first glanced at it at the local bike co-op. You did awesome work getting a legendary touring bike back to its intended purpose and your friend got a gem of a Vintage tourer. Chapeau!

    ReplyDelete
  4. kevinFebruary 22, 2017 at 5:39 AM

    Greetings.
    Having been on the hunt for an Expedition for quite some time, I found a beautiful frame and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, it's 60cm; I'm 5'11 and typically ride something in the 55-56cm range. Can I make this frame fit?
    All the best,
    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  5. JayAugust 5, 2019 at 7:55 PM

    I have a 56cm, a 60cm and a 62.5cm for sale

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doug KeelerOctober 29, 2019 at 12:02 PM

      I'd be interested in the 62.5cm. Where are you located?
      you can reach me at djkeeler1 @ gmail

      Delete
  6. ClydedogJuly 15, 2020 at 6:11 PM

    I have one for sale. I'm in the Coeur d Alene, Idaho area and would be willing to ship the bike. Here's a link to my craigslist ad...

    https://spokane.craigslist.org/bik/d/coeur-alene-mint-condition-1983/7160091367.html

    ReplyDelete

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