Converting an 80's Road Bike to Gravel Grinder

Budget Gravel bike build based on an 80's Bridgestone road bike.

[@acetylcholine3]

I just cold set a 1981 schwinn super sport frame, and I was SHOCKED at how far apart i had to spread the dropouts in order to gain about 7 mm of cold set distance. I managed to get to around 128.7 mm before i lost my nerve and stopped. Newer wheels slide right in now, but spreading that frame to over 170 mm was scary. Steel is amazing.

[@Jonm227]

Somebody please buy this man a nut driver or socket set. lol Sweet build man, Im looking to do something similar this spring. Cheers

[@tinkerbike2510]

I have one I was just lazy 😂

[@jimmansi1187]

Love that build & old steel bikes , nice job!

[@douglasyoungblood7801]

Fantastic series! I have an 86’ Trek 310 which was made by Bridgestone. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

[@tinkerbike2510]

Thank you!! Glad you loved it. This bike has been really fun to build and ride.

[@kierenkd]

Really useful video! Ive just been given a 1980s raleigh candice mitre bike. Nothing special - pipe steel but Id like to save from the scrape heap without investing much

[@vermonthillsumc]

as a newbie I really appreciate your commentary and insightful comments. Thank you.

[@connergiven89]

Thanks for this video!!! I'm doing the same thing to my 1988 Schwinn World Sport, and your video is going to be super helpful in the conversion.

[@tinkerbike2510]

Awesome!!

[@elit3401]

You did a very nice job ! Thanks for the knowledge. Have fun and be safe .

[@tinkerbike2510]

Thanks!

[@Sc-dn8dp]

A set of fenders would be sick!

[@londonpickering8675]

Oddly satisfying. Thanks for posting.

[@vijayanchomatil8413]

Wonderful video!!

[@FjbLivesAgri]

Thanks for sharing i plan to convert my road bike to gravel bike

[@spacerconrad]

My old 200, which I'd singled out for use at the airport, is undergoing a similar morph. 700x35 GravelKing SK, the old longer reach brakes I already had on there, and 1x9 Advent with a bar end shifter. I think it'll be a blast.

[@tinkerbike2510]

That sounds awesome.

[@bikeandsee1647]

loved to watch.

[@PedroGonzalez-yr7nw]

Good work...nice

[@yardsalecycles]

nice build I did this with a 80's hybird Diamond Back

[@ronwhite8503]

Well done, sir, hybrids are a natural to convert to "gravel" bikes.

[@cjbriggs5222]

Looks super sharp! im regretting selling my old roady and buying a new gravel bike. i miss the geometry so much!

[@tinkerbike2510]

There’s a lot to be said for newer gravel bikes! This one is now set up as my single speed gravel bike since I built a Poseidon X. I think it’s way more fun as a single speed.

[@john-mikaeljarvenkyla]

nice video thanks

[@1972hermanoben]

Brave of you, taking an adjustable wrench to the dropouts instead of taking a little more time to at least bodge a version of cold setting the rear triangle properly 😅 Hey, if it worked, it worked. On the plus side, what I really like about this video is how quickly and simply you get the conversion done - people shouldn’t be put off a bit of DIY.

[@tinkerbike2510]

Hahaha I wouldn’t recommend it for someone who isn’t pretty competent with bikes. I trusted my abilities so I went for it 😂 It worked perfectly!

[@bikepacking330]

Good build

[@tinkerbike2510]

Thanks 🙏

[@jacksharmonoquinn572]

I've been looking at a late 70s... early 80s model Schwinn road bike. .. for this purpose. .. it's a friend's , it's been in his an attic for awhile

[@corynardin]

I have an old Schwinn passage steel touring bike. It has cantis and was original 27". I could never get the brakes adjusted just right when I put on 700c wheels and I didn't have great stopping power. I ended up buying a newer gravel bike with hydraulic disk brakes and it is so much nicer.

[@tinkerbike2510]

Canti posts for 27” wheels are very difficult to get working for 700c. And of course cantilevers will never compare to hydraulic discs

[@Pshpshpshpshpshpshpsh]

I did this but with a vintage MTB, kind of wish I went the vintage road route, I like the geometry much more.

[@tinkerbike2510]

It’s definitely faster geo

[@Korina42]

Sooo, what's stopping you? N+1 is the rule, after all. 😁

[@FortheLoveofCycling]

Very nice. I just did the same.

[@tlister67]

Another option is to use older 700c wheels which have the correct spacing, but you have the thread on cassette. Great video!

[@munnashekh2334]

Watching from bangladesh

[@Fhalmonacid]

Thank you for sharing this build. Are your rims 13 to 15 mm wide? Or what width did you use on the wheel set?

[@fabiomaragna]

Awesome job! How did u manage to measure the right height of the quill to threadless stem adapter? I'm about to re-modernize my old MTB.

[@tinkerbike2510]

I didn’t measure. It was in the description on the velo orange website 👍

[@rickjenkins1238]

I love Bridgestone. Still own my 86 MB1.

[@tinkerbike2510]

I used to have an early 90s mb4 that I stupidly sold. Wish I still had it, but this Bridgestone 500 is also a wonderful bike

[@randomditto2726]

Not sure if what I own is a Kabuki. But I'm hoping the 700x35c tires would fit w/ a reasonable clearance lol. I treated it with linseed oil and clear coated it seems okay atm lol

[@scrooge1913]

Cool thing about shimano is that the derailleurs are all inter-compatable with each other all the way up to either 9 speed or older 10 speed.

[@tinkerbike2510]

The good old days before hypersensitive drivetrains and incompatibility between different speeds and even brands.

[@ondrejmanych5688]

@@tinkerbike2510 thats why I like Microshift nowadays :-)

[@tinkerbike2510]

I just switched this bike to Microshift. Video coming soon 😬

[@wandamaddox7824]

Like Dura-Ace 7400?

[@Korina42]

Other than my husband cringing at the wrench, this is a really nice build on a very nice bike. Any updates coming?

[@tinkerbike2510]

Lol which wrench?? Yes I have the next video edited just need to record voiceover and publish.

[@Korina42]

@@tinkerbike2510 the adjustable wrench, the only one we saw you use. He's a perfectionist; I say whatever works. I look forward to the video.

[@tinkerbike2510]

@@Korina42 yeah...I was lazy. Normally I’d grab the right one 🤣

[@Korina42]

@@tinkerbike2510 thanks, I'll let him know. 🙂

[@pierre-antoinerodesch9389]

Hi, Nice works ! I want to do the same but I am not sure of the wheel I need. I can feet 35 or 38 m tyre on my bike but do I have to take care to the internal rim width of the wheel I will buy ?

[@tinkerbike2510]

Only if you're going to run them tubeless, otherwise normal narrow road rims should work just fine. Even if you were to run them tubeless, I think most rims 15mm inner and higher would be fine.

[@tmayberry7559]

I tried fitting a 700c wheel on the front fork of a 1974 Schwinn ett tour and it didn't fit how do I get it to fit

[@romeocerv1674]

WHAT HUB DID YOU USE?

[@davidgutierrez6312]

Good job! We share hobby❤

[@ronwhite8503]

That's a corking bike; should've left it standard and used a hybrid bike.....more tyre clearance, v brakes, more relaxed geometry. Just an old git's opinion. Nice tip about realigning the drop outs after cold setting; this isn't mentioned on most videos.

[@tinkerbike2510]

I did look for hybrids but found nothing. I’m really happy with how this one turned out

[@Thetoad738]

Bridgestone were great frames in the 80s.

[@tinkerbike2510]

Agreed. I’ve really fallen in love with this bike.

[@fractaltheory]

nice build. there's no safety concerns with having to spread the chainstays for the larger rear wheel?

[@tinkerbike2510]

None at all on a steel frame. Its perfectly safe and many articles have been written about it. Do not do this on aluminum or carbon though.

[@Korina42]

@@tinkerbike2510 yep! Boat anchors > soda cans and carpet fiber.

[@monkmchorning]

We did it all the time, spreading our 120s to 126 to convert to 6- and 7-speed freewheels. Square the dropouts, though, to prevent axle breakage and align the derailleur hanger.

[@Noway-il9up]

So I have a road bike style bike (fixation pixel 3) that I wanna convert into a gravel bike more or less, but it has an internal derailleur and the specs for it say a maximum tire size of 700cc/32 what process would I have to do to get bigger tires going for it? I'd also like to keep the internal Derailleur too if it's possible. I'm really not keen to all the technical terms and lingo for parts as I'm just getting started out. Thanks, I subscribed

[@tinkerbike2510]

Unfortunately you’re probably maxed out at 32s on that frame. You could look at doing a 650b wheel swap. That might allow you to keep the front derailleur but if you have rim brakes you’ll have to replace the brakes with long reach calipers

[@invalidsyntax690]

nice, is there any possible way to fit 45c tires on one of these old road frames?

[@tinkerbike2510]

On a road frame like this it’s very unlikely. But if you find an old 700c hybrid like a trek multitrack those will fit 45s

[@bosconian91]

Very cool! How do you think these 80's triple butted frame compared (weight and stiffness) to the newer double butted frames like a Surly?

[@tinkerbike2510]

Haven’t ridden a surly, but from all accounts they’re pretty heavy. These 80s triple butted frames will IMO have a better ride quality due to the thinner steel

[@WalkerBikes]

Cool build! I love doing these conversions, I just always have a hard time finding Brifters. Those tourney ones are a nice option!👍 Also never seen the downturn cable boss adapters, that's a great thing to know

[@tinkerbike2510]

I didn’t end up liking the shimano tourneys much so I got a set of micronew 9 speed brifters. I posted another video of the upgrade

[@WalkerBikes]

@@tinkerbike2510 hahaha ahh ok, figured that they might not be the best. I think my last build was using some Microshift knock offs, I did like the performance. Will check out your other videos!

[@tinkerbike2510]

@@WalkerBikes yep those are the micronews! Thanks!

[@Ghuarocc]

Hi great video. I want to start road cycling, but with as expensive as new bikes are I thought about getting an old one and replacing the components to new ones. Is this cost effective? Or will it cost the same as a new bike after all the parts are added?

[@tinkerbike2510]

You can save a lot of money on upgrading an old road bike by looking for used parts. If you buy everything new, it will add up very fast, but if you watch for people selling old groupsets, you can score some good deals and keep the cost down.

[@bindingcurve]

@@tinkerbike2510 Better to just buy a 2 year old bike, there are a lot of "pandemic" bikes hitting the market.

[@Carmelov2012]

Def better to buy one used. These builds tho budget friendly there more for the cyclist who like to build there own project bike either with left over parts or buying all new ones but believe me it’s not cheap

[@rohanblues]

This bike was really easy to assemble kzbin.infoUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA and required very few adjustments out of the box. The wheels did not require any truing/adjustments. The frame had some small scratches, but nothing major.I did replace the seat though - the seat it came with was very uncomfortable. The tires need to be re-inflated every 4-5 days, but this appears to be quite common for the narrow 700x25 tires.Overall, in my opinion, this bike looks and rides like a much more expensive bike.

[@cra_55]

Today I learnt that 27" is bigger than 28". Ain't bicycle sizing standards fun.

[@freedomwon2004]

Road bike to gravel and mountain bike to road use. Gravel bike = merchandising manipulation. It's all in the marketing. Cool build though. Great frame. 👍 I have a few old Raleigh's. Two I've removed the drop bars and went with flat bars. And run Kenda Cyclocross tires 27 x 1 3/8. And that was before the MTB era of the late 80's!

[@cristianpetrosino8772]

Where i found the adapter for move speed controls to handlebar?

[@tinkerbike2510]

Velo orange

[@JAMMM__]

What do you to call to that spacer on your rear dropout?

[@tinkerbike2510]

It is called a dropout spacer

[@tomkos99]

I am confused about wheel sizes, could you please explain this to me? You say you're swapping 27inch wheels for 700c wheels which gives extra space for a thick tyre. But when i google wheel size 700c it says its 28 inch?

[@tinkerbike2510]

There’s been a lot of naming conventions over the years with bike wheels. 700c, 28”, and 29” all have the exact same bead seat diameter. The only 27” wheels from the 70s/80s had a diameter 8mm bigger

[@Jim-sz7qi]

I have 1990 road bike with a 6 speed cassette. I want swap wheels for smooth pavement and light gravel. I bought a 11 speed bonteanger wheelset but it is too wide in rear wheel. Any thoughts? Do I just need 6 speed free hub?

[@tinkerbike2510]

Hard to say without looking at it. If it’s an aluminum frame you can’t respace the frame.

[@Jim-sz7qi]

@@tinkerbike2510 It is a Nasbar with a chrome moly frame.

[@Jim-sz7qi]

@@tinkerbike2510 I am just looking at trying to shorten the new rear wheel diameter a little.

[@Jim-sz7qi]

@@tinkerbike2510 I really want to shorten the hub on the new wheel and kept the 126mm to swap out wheels.

[@triblues7065]

What is it called that item you placed on the frame? @7:06 Thank you

[@tinkerbike2510]

That is a dropout spacer. They came stock on vintage bikes in the 80s

[@triblues7065]

@@tinkerbike2510 Thank you!

[@alvinbitoy7894]

What do you call that on @7:06 ?

[@tinkerbike2510]

It’s a dropout spacer. Most 80s bikes had these to help keep the wheel centered. When vertical dropouts became the standard these were no longer needed

[@corynardin]

Why did you go 2x7? It seems like you could have done 1x9 or even 1x10 for about the same price? Microsoft advent has it going on.

[@tinkerbike2510]

I traded some stuff and got the 2x7 basically free. I’m about to release the second video though and I did end up going 1x9

[@yinmeza3042]

Los aros son 650 o 700cc?

[@tinkerbike2510]

700c

[@90041hood]

Newbie question: I’m confused, I thought 700c wheels are larger than 27 inch. Isn’t 700c 29 inch? Again: newbie!🤗

[@tinkerbike2510]

700c/29er are actually smaller rim diameter than the old 27” wheels

[@90041hood]

@@tinkerbike2510 huh weird! So old 27” are actually like 30” ?

[@jasonbannan4024]

27-inch are an old weird size. Some older road bikes (mid 1980's and earlier) used 27-inch tires; these were used on most of the "10-speed" bikes that many of us grew up with. These are NOT the same as the 700C tires found on modern road bikes. Very few, if any, modern bikes are manufactured using the 27-inch tire size, but replacement tires, inner tubes, and wheels are still available for those older bikes. 27-inch tires come in common widths of 1-1/8 inch, 1-1/4 inch, and 1-3/8 inch for some older hybrid and cycloross bikes. The BSD of 27-inch tires is 630mm. 27-inch and 700C tires are close enough in size that the inner tubes are compatible; i.e. you can use a 27-inch inner tube in a 700C tire, and vice-versa. However, you can NOT use a 27-inch tire on a 700C wheel, and vice-versa.

[@philiprayner]

I can understand the change to seven speed cassette in the rear but why change the front from a 3by to a 2 by would not the three by give you a good climbing gear?

[@tinkerbike2510]

This bike was originally a 2x so I didn’t change anything

[@israeladams6439]

cool bridgestone, but i dont think you can call it a gravel bike bc frame doesnt allow clearance for a 38 which is a small gravel size, and a lot of gravel riders run a 42 so nice build but not a gravel bike bro..

[@tinkerbike2510]

Watch the other videos it fits a 38. Also tire size depends on the gravel in your area. 35s are pretty good where I’m at.

[@650gringo]

You have great editing skills and perfect voice for video making. But that stinking Crescent wrench sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise great presentation.

[@tinkerbike2510]

😂😂 next time I won’t be lazy and I’ll grab the right wrench

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

NFW would I ride a bike with that stem setup! A recipe for disaster.

[@tinkerbike2510]

Quill stems have been in use for many decades. This is no different

[@ColtSievers1000]

Not been an ass hole but you should of went to AliExpress you could of got your shifters emperor or micronew shifters that will do 9 10 11 and 12 speeds use and extension for a 11 42 sprocket/cassette you know them down tube shifters they will work with any amount of gears just shifting isn't as comfortable as top shifters . I have a video here this guy guides you on what's compatible on gears an shifters it's a great insight in known . But nice bike great work . I'm turning an old bike like yours might do it as a 10 speed 11/42 cassette might use a maintain bike back long cage derailleur. From spraying to shifters to cassette and derailleur and wheels I'm hoping to spend as little as possible . Maybe 150 to 200 Eurus max I'll look for wheels second hand . But nice job you done English lad he does reviews on some of the cheaper alternative and he puts them to the test of maybe 1000km + see how they fear out

[@andrewpitzer245]

1st to comment baby!

[@tinkerbike2510]

Hell yes 🤙

[@leightonbohl1920]

I agree with the last comment. Cult Bridgestone wrecked. What a shame.

[@shniper69]

Вынос и руль дерьмище на взгляд

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

Sad destruction of the bike to make a crappy gravel bike. Sad. At least it survived until it met you.

[@tinkerbike2510]

Fellow bike builders, we have a purist among us.

[@Tommyhearnsrighthand]

If i found it I would've turned it into a single speed or fixed be thankful it just got gravelled

[@williamfoster9024]

I uh put uh 700 uh cc uh ....couldnt watch uh

[@leart78]

i will never understand those gravel bikes.. those are crap on the road and crap off-road.. and this bike turned in the most ugly bike i ever seen lol appreciate the work but still

[@tinkerbike2510]

Spend a lot of time riding on a true gravel bike and it’ll make sense. I admit this build was pretty ugly by the end of this video, but I think it got better in the next few videos as I refined it.