36) 1987 Norco Bush Pilot

SPECS

Status:  Gift for My Daughter-In-Law
Size: ​​20"/51cm
Frame & Fork: Special Designed Mountain Bike Hi-Tensile Tubing
Groupset:  Shimano Light Action SIS
Brakeset:  Chang-Star
Wheelset:  Araya VP20 rims on Shimano Exage Sport hubs on 26x1.95 Kenda Komfort tires

BEFORE

My daughter-in-law wanted me to rebuild a bike for her.  She wanted a dropped top-tube, mountain bike handlebars, lots of gears and a comfortable position.  I had been looking for months and hadn't found one that was big enough for her (she's quite tall), was in good condition, had a decent groupset and wasn't too expensive.  Finally, I found this Norco and decided it was worthy.

AFTER

The paint was in really good condition and it was obvious that it had been stored indoors.  It restored really well with a nice deep shine.  I didn't just want a bike that was good looking, though.  I needed it to work well and be safe.  There were some major issues.  The brake pads were very old and had no stopping power.  I replaced those with some new Kool Stops.  The cable housing was cracked and the cables were gummed so I replaced those with new ones.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to save the fenders.  Both of them had several cracks including ones that split them in half.  The wheelset was chromed steel.  They looked nice but they were incredibly heavy and chrome makes a terrible braking surface, especially if it gets wet.  Luckily, I had a nice set of Araya aluminum rims waiting for a project.  I saved 1355g/3 lbs just by swapping out the wheels!  It wasn't a straightforward swap, though.  The rear Araya wheel was set up for 135mm (7-8 speed) spacing and the Norco had a 126mm (6 speed) spacing.  It took some work but I finally got the rear hub on the Araya set up perfectly for the Norco.  I really didn't need to do much more.  The tires were in very good condition and the original Norco saddle was still in good condition.  Even the grips were in great shape.  In the end it turned out quite nice and rode and shifted really well.  It will make a great bike for her to ride around town and on the rail trail or greenway.  I hope she likes the colour!