My Brand New 27 Year Old Bike

[kbone]

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.