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August 16, 2007

Revived Manta Photos

Two days ago I mentioned taking my Manta road bike in for a complete overhaul, and today I got the call that the Manta was ready.

I picked up the newly revived bike, and it's great. Smooth as silk on my short test run at home. Iniitlally I wasn't sure how I felt about the bright aqua bar wrap color (thought it would be darker), but it's growing on me. :-)

Tomorrow morning I'm taking the Manta for a long test ride — I can't wait!

As promised, here are photos of the bike with the new bar wrap in place:

August 16, 2007 7:12 PM | Cycling | add to del.icio.us

Comments

Looks hot Mike. Makes me wanna get out there and get some riding in. Enjoy and I hope to talk to soon.

Posted by: Jordan Arentsen at August 16, 2007 7:27 PM

Very nice. Makes me want to get something similar, although I've been looking at going the mountain bike route -- not sure if I can fit on a speed/road bike, heh.

Posted by: Travis Vocino at August 16, 2007 8:00 PM

Looks great Mike! I just had my bike overhauled too and took it on a trip through the Black Hills in South Dakota. Getting your bike overhauled really renews interest in riding again. Have fun!

Posted by: Tim at August 17, 2007 2:44 AM

What a treat to see these pic's. I had forgotten all about Universal center-pulls and shifters on the down tube. This bike took me down memory lane. Very nice Mike. Hold on to her, she's a classic.

Posted by: Davey at August 17, 2007 1:12 PM

Jordan — thanks! I'm looking forward to putting lots of miles on the refurbed Manta. :-)

Travis — I suspect there are tons of great old MTB bikes out there now, as long as you aren't interested in a shock front fork. My old Diamond Back MTB is like that and it's great.

Tim — I didn't know you had a road bike, or is it an MTB? That trip sounds like a blast! We need to get together and ride before the snow flies this year my man.

Davey — Glad you enjoyed the pics! I really do love this bike and plan to hang onto her for a long time to come. :-)

Posted by: Mike Rohde at August 17, 2007 4:50 PM

Looks great Mike. I see yours has the centerpull brakes and the logo plate on the head is one color.
Mine has the quick release side pulls and there is red in the logo.
What kind of tires do you have on it?

Posted by: Dale at August 19, 2007 3:49 PM

Dale, yep the centerpulls came with the bike and since they worked I decided to hang onto them. The logo on mind was red, black and silver, but I painted it petwe to match my color scheme back in 1993. I have Contiental gumwalls on the bike, not sure of the exact model or number but they are excellent tires.

Posted by: Mike Rohde at August 19, 2007 10:14 PM

Mike, In the picture of my Manta I sent you some time ago you may notice I put a longer stem in for the handlebars so I could be more in an level position for the longer touring rides I used to go on. The Mantas were set up for racing at the time but my arms and hands would get fatigued on long rides. I also added a thin padded tape to the new aluminum bars to take the edge off the hammering.
See Pic - http://images.andale.com/f2/118/104/19877146/2007/8/20/Manta_27_inch_Bike.JPG

Posted by: Dale at August 20, 2007 10:29 AM

I do remember the longer stem. I may want to check into that. Thanks for the photo!

How do you like that leather saddle? I've often thought about one.

Posted by: Mike Rohde at August 20, 2007 11:29 AM

Mike, before turning to design, I owned a couple of bike shops that sold high end mountain and road bikes. So I appreciate your Manta as both an old school bike fanatic and a designer.

That said, the first thing I thought when I looked at the top pic of your bike was "That looks like a bike that used to belong to a younger man". Look at the distance from the top of the seat to the top of the bars. That's a big drop man! For comparison, look at this page from the new trek catalog: http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/2008/road/madone/madone69pro/

My advice, if you haven't been out on the road for a while, you might want to consider a stem with some rise. Just a thought from one battered chair monkey to another.

Posted by: Peter Flaschner at August 20, 2007 3:17 PM

Mike,
The leather saddle is great. I got it used and used my ball glove oil on it ( it was all I had ) because it was very hard from sitting around for years. After numerous coats over about a week it started to soften up and really started cushioning/flexing. The leather slides easily. I know there are some cutaway type saddles out there but I think the leather is a fantastic choice if you care for it with a little saddle oil after several rides. I always find stuff used if I can and if I find a Brooks saddle it will be going on.
Check out the link -
http://www.brookssaddles.com/

Posted by: Dale at August 20, 2007 3:27 PM

Peter! Wow, another design and biking guy. Somehow those two passions seem to merge quite often!

As to the seat and handlebar height — the shop goofed on the seat height when they put it back in, so that it was nearly un-rideable. I snapped the shots before I've adjusted the seat down.

But I am also looking into a taller stem for the bars, since I'm considering something to make the bike a little more comfy. I've recently been turned on to Rivendell Bikes and like their approach to making realisticly rideable bikes and escewing all of the fancy race gear for regular people — that's the reason for moving back to toe clips and straps from clipless pedals. :-)

Dale: Great info. A buddy has a Brooks leather and loves it. My saddle is a Brooks but more modern design and I've always wanted to get a Brooks leather. Maybe now is the time!!

Posted by: Mike Rohde at August 20, 2007 3:34 PM

Anyone have experience with the Selle Italia An Atomica saddle? It's similar to the Brooks in leather but a more anatomical design, and supposedly very comfortable without the break-in time needed on a Brooks saddle. Any feedback is helpful.

Posted by: Mike Rohde at August 20, 2007 4:12 PM

The bike is looking in shape Mike :). Got how many gears in it?

Posted by: Design for MySpace at August 21, 2007 9:33 AM

It's a 12-speed. :-)

Posted by: Mike Rohde at August 22, 2007 8:07 AM

Mike,

No luck on the leather saddles over here. Another thing I was thinking of adding was a carbon seat post or shock absorber type post. I have looked at trying to do things with keeping the costs to a minimum to get the smoothest affordable ride. I have looked into carbon forks for 27 inches- none available in my extensive searches. ( I am not done yet though.)
Carbon handle bars my help but could be cost prohibitive. These features would put you in the technology of the Trek 520 touring bikes. I am always looking for good used items to do the upgrades but I also want to be true to the Manta.
" The road is your friend - Live the road and you will live. "

Posted by: Dale at August 27, 2007 1:28 PM

I like crusin' on my hybrid. :)

Posted by: Pete Prodoehl at August 27, 2007 8:34 PM