# My nephew's Bridgestone RB-1



## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

I bought this Bridgestone RB-1 the day after I had bought my '05 Cannondale Prophet in late 2005. The Prophet was the bike that I had bought to get back into bicycling for fitness after a 15 year hiatus. I didn't intend to buy this bike: I had gone to my brother's house to help him with a problem that he had with his TV/DVD player/Satellite setup. As I was sitting there getting ready to leave I looked over my shoulder though his kitchen, into the garage and I saw something that just didn't look right: there was a red road bike hanging from the rafters. WHAT??? It was like finding a Ferrari sitting in his garage: it just didn't look right so I had to ask about the bike. It turns out that he had bought it at a garage sale for $50 with the intent of letting his son ride it. After he got it home they couldn't figure out how to put air into the flat tires because of the Presta valves and he was left wondering how his son could keep his feet from slipping off of the weird clipless pedals since they weren't platforms. Next thing I knew I was handing him $40 and stuffing that bike into the trunk of my car! They bought him a department store mountain bike to replace the RB-1 that he never rode. It was a bit too big for him anyway at the time (he's now taller than I am!).

Researching this bike I discovered that it was from 1989 and it was mostly original. It originally came with a full Suntour GPX group and Wolber GTX wheels. The previous owner had changed the front derailleur for a Shimano 600 (FD-6400) at some point and the pedals were also changed for a pair of Time Sport pedals. Other than that it appeared to be all original. Even the tires appear to be original. The frame is a 52cm.

These pictures were taken about a week after I got the bike home. I had put on a set of Shimano SPD pedals to try to ride it.

















































































My nephew, Eric (son of a different brother), expressed interest in getting into cycling after seeing this bike so I decided to fix it up for him. The first order of business was to make the bike safer for him to ride so I purchased a set of Shimano 105 9-speed STI shifter/brake levers for the bike. This will keep his hands on the handlebars which should keep him under control of the bike better compared to the downtube shifters that it originally came with. Next, I rebuilt the wheels with a set of NIB Shimano 600 Ultegra hubs that I had bought some time ago on sale at a LBS. I combined this with an 8-speed cassette then tried to get the old GPX rear derailleur to work with it. I gave up and found a used Shimano 600 (RD-6400), which just happens to match the front derailleur that the original owner had put onto the bike. The cassette was replaced with a 9-speed Ultegra that I had bought as NOS from eBay. I also replaced the 42T inner chainring with a Shimano 39T since we live in a hilly area. The gearing on this bike is now 52/39 with a 12-25T cassette. The pedals were replaced with a set of Look Keo Classics. The saddle was replaced with an E-3 anatomic but I'm thinking that I want to replace it with a more traditional looking one. The seatpost was the original one that came with my Cannondale, cut down to 27.0mm from 27.2, then shortened to 250mm. Then my nephew crashed the bike and ruined the rear rim so I rebuilt the wheels with a pair of black Mavic Open Pro rims. Braking performance was a concern of mine so I bought a set of Kool Stop salmon brake pads and Dura holders but found that they would not fit the GPX calipers so I took the calipers apart and milled out the slots wider to fit the newer holders. The frame, fork, headset, stem, handlebar, brake calipers, and cranks are still factory original but everything else has been changed.

I had owned this bike for about 6 months before I sold it to my nephew for about half of what I put into it. I have only ridden it for about 10 miles and most of those miles were from tuning the shifting with the Suntour rear derailleur. My nephew probably has put about 1000 miles on it in the last three years. He really needs to ride more. A few people have offered to buy this bike from him but he has turned down everyone so far and he has mentioned to me that he absolutely will not sell it.

Here's how the bike looks like today.










Any other RB-1s, RB-2s, RB-3s, or RB-Ts out there?


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## jupiterrn (Sep 22, 2006)

I liked it better with the white bar tape and saddle, otherwise great story and nice bike.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

jupiterrn said:


> I liked it better with the white bar tape and saddle




ditto.


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

I had a red RB-1 but mine was from around '91-'92. I got it straight from Bridgestone in San Leandro for $314 for putting together all their show bikes for the Interbike show that year with Pineapple Bob.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

jupiterrn said:


> I liked it better with the white bar tape and saddle, otherwise great story and nice bike.


Well, keep in mind that this was a budget build and that the red bar tape was new and free. The white saddle was in poor shape and the white bar tape was really worn so I couldn't keep either. Again, the bike needs a new saddle anyway so I'll look for one but, at this point, my nephew is going to pay for it. If he goes with a white saddle then I'll throw in a Fizik Microtex bar tape in white.


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

Really, just a gorgeous bike. I could see myself scouring Craigslist for an RB-1 someday soon myself. Thanks for sharing that.
.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Thanks for the comments, folks.

I'm thinking about getting a set of reproduction decals made and having the frame powdercoated in the same shade of red. Thre are a number of paint chips on this bike that just seem to rub me the wrong way. I'll even pay to get this all done so my nephew doesn't have to worry about the money.


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## Jimi_Lee (May 3, 2006)

Do you want to be my uncle? I could really use an RB-1 and someone to powdercoat the crappy paint on my bicycles.


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

jupiterrn said:


> I liked it better with the white bar tape and saddle, otherwise great story and nice bike.


Aesthetically, yeah, it's better. But white bar tape don't stay white for long.  
.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

I have smooth white Fizik Microtex handlebar tape on my Colnago and it is still pretty much as white as the day I installed it despite having put about 500 miles on that bike since doing so. It sure is lasting longer than the Velo-Orange white buffalo leather wrap that I had on there before.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Squidward said:


> Thanks for the comments, folks.
> 
> I'm thinking about getting a set of reproduction decals made and having the frame powdercoated in the same shade of red. Thre are a number of paint chips on this bike that just seem to rub me the wrong way. I'll even pay to get this all done so my nephew doesn't have to worry about the money.



hmmm.....let's see...it's red...Japanese....and it fits.... I like a lot.......

RB1 has always been one of my favorite bikes


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

Anyone know the tubing gauge/wall thicknesses on the RB-1?

I keep hearing ppl refer to it as a "tank", yet many others say "it rides real nice." Sometimes you hear _both_ comments from the same person! :confused5:

So, would be nice to know how beefy the tubeset _really_ was. Wall thicknesses aside, pretty sure they didn't use OS tubing, tho'.
.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

I don't know the gauge but it's Ishiwata tubing.


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## golfernut78 (Mar 19, 2009)

i just recently donated my rb-3 to a bike shop that donates bikes to kids. the frame was in great shape, but too small for me. the rb-3 is what my parents bought for me in 91 so i was no longer borrowing my dad's bridgestone 500 which was his commuting bike.


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

Squidward said:


> I don't know the gauge but it's Ishiwata tubing.


Thanks Squid. The catalog probably lists the exact tubeset(s) used, and I can probably find the wall thickness on the 'net from there. 

Thanks tho', I was just thinkin' someone might know off the top of their head. I've seen a couple of ppl do that. :wink5:
.


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## arshak (Jun 13, 2005)

Ishiwata tubing was triple butted. For its time it was considered pretty light. Now a days people are getting carried away, as their frame of reference is Al frames or carbon which routinely come in under 17lbs. The RB-1 by contrast, probably is in the 23-25lb category due to 105 spec, hardly a "tank", if you compare it to other steel frames.


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## JML (May 16, 2003)

If you want more info on the tubing, contact Grant at Rivendell. He designed and spec'd the bike.


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