My Brand New 27 Year Old Bike
 

I've been searching for an interesting project bike to use for errands, and I figured while I am at it, might as well get something that would be a bit more capable. I looked at vintage mountain bikes, vintage touring bikes, Soma, Surly, etc., but never found anything that piqued my interest enough to purchase.

The other day I did my weekly scroll through the local Craigslist and stumbled across an interesting find. A brand new, still in the box 1993 Bridgestone XO-4. I reached out to the seller and asked a few questions, agreed upon a price, and finalized the purchase.

While picking up the bike, I learned that the seller's father made tires for Bridgestone. When the bicycle division closed, the company offered bicycles to employees at cost. His father purchased the XO-4 and stored it for the next 27 years. His father recently passed away and he decided to part with the bike. I told him that I was excited about the story behind it and he asked if I knew about Grant Peterson and Rivendell bikes. I told him i did and he told me about how he'd paid his money to be a member and receive the Reader for many years. His big question to me was, "are you going to build it and ride it?" My answer was and emphatic, "yes." I sort of wonder if it was a mistake to unbox and build it, but a bike is a tool and should be used for its intended purpose.

I documented the unboxing and build. I thought I would share. I will split it into multiple posts.

Unboxing
 

Here is the unboxing...

Included items...
 

Other stuff in the box...

Build
 

Some pics from the build... The only issues I found were some discoloration on one of the tires and rims, a slightly messed up decal, and a slightly scratched up stem....

Completed Project
 

Build complete...

Very, VERY cool but after 27 years, I’d overhaul the BB, HS and hubs...lotsa new grease. Think I would true/round/tension and Stress Relieve the wheels. Maybe powder the tubes.

Then ride it!

Handlebar is wonderfull. I would raise the stem and angle the bars down forward. Awesome design.

I forgot to mention that... did the bottom bracket already. Need to get a headset wrench (on the way) and will do that next. I'm not good with wheels, so I will probably take them into the LBS and have them knock that out.

One cool thing was, there was fresh blue grease in the seat tube and steerer tube.

Your warranty is not valid.:rolleyes: But that has to be one of the greatest finds in the world of cycling I've seen in a long time. I would take Old Spuds advice and repack the bearings. Good on you for such a sweet deal.:beer:

Time capsule!

Ride and enjoy

M

Very cool!

On many levels, that is super cool!

I would not ride it. I'm sure if you contact its headquarter they will offer to buy it for a good amount Funny thing the box says Merida on it.

It looks like the bars would also work reversed for a more upright rider position.

Very cool...