So as you guys know I have been looking for an XS fat for a while now. So a couple of weeks ago one popped up on ebay and despite the obvious red flags of a new seller and a couple of fuzzy pics I ended up buying it. The seller was good about completing the sale but to put it plainly she flat out lied about the condition of the paint. While there are thankfully no dents there are several scratches that are thru to the metal and there is a little surface rust in the seat tube which will hopefully prove to be no big deal. Bottom line is it needs a repaint.
To add insult to injury Many of the parts on the bike are wasted.
The cranks and chainrings are toast as are the rear cogs.
The brakes are rusty...
The bike is actually a 93 not a 95 as was advertised. This has two significant consequences... it isn't set up for v brakes and it isn't really suspension corrected.
The suspension is no biggy as I have a 1" threadless tange rigid fork here which will fit nicely.
However the bike came with an atom bomb that did a lovely job of scratching the downtube with its adjusters.....
The only redeeming factor is that it did come with a ck headset so that is one less thing I have to buy (except that it is missing the stem cap which was replaced with some safety bolt monstrosity the likes of which i have never seen.
So here is my situation. I am ~$450 into a bike I would have usually only paid $250 or so for and given that it is destined for my children to have fun on it is really hard to justify another $275 for a professional paint job + decals on top of all the replacement parts I will need to buy.
So now I pose the question what would you do? I am very handy in general up to and including brazing and welding, but I am not set up to do professional painting.
My gut feeling says to media blast it and do the best I can with automotive rattle cans in a simple primer + one color + clear.
If I am going to strip it, should I update the cable stops for v brakes while I am at it or should I keep it historically accurate an run the original wierd canti set up? (doing so creates other problems at the front end as I have to find a way to run cantis on the front on a 1" threadless headset and a fork with no hanger.... ugh.
Sorry for the rant. As usual any input from my fine fellow fat cogs is appreciated.
To add insult to injury Many of the parts on the bike are wasted.
The cranks and chainrings are toast as are the rear cogs.
The brakes are rusty...
The bike is actually a 93 not a 95 as was advertised. This has two significant consequences... it isn't set up for v brakes and it isn't really suspension corrected.
The suspension is no biggy as I have a 1" threadless tange rigid fork here which will fit nicely.
However the bike came with an atom bomb that did a lovely job of scratching the downtube with its adjusters.....
The only redeeming factor is that it did come with a ck headset so that is one less thing I have to buy (except that it is missing the stem cap which was replaced with some safety bolt monstrosity the likes of which i have never seen.
So here is my situation. I am ~$450 into a bike I would have usually only paid $250 or so for and given that it is destined for my children to have fun on it is really hard to justify another $275 for a professional paint job + decals on top of all the replacement parts I will need to buy.
So now I pose the question what would you do? I am very handy in general up to and including brazing and welding, but I am not set up to do professional painting.
My gut feeling says to media blast it and do the best I can with automotive rattle cans in a simple primer + one color + clear.
If I am going to strip it, should I update the cable stops for v brakes while I am at it or should I keep it historically accurate an run the original wierd canti set up? (doing so creates other problems at the front end as I have to find a way to run cantis on the front on a 1" threadless headset and a fork with no hanger.... ugh.
Sorry for the rant. As usual any input from my fine fellow fat cogs is appreciated.
Last edited: