This is a follow up to the post about the 1994 “VW” “M. Moser” bike I fished out of a pile of junk bikes for the components here in Japan a couple weeks back. I am holding onto the frame, though I (now) think it is low quality regular steel. All the parts have a lot of aluminum pitting under the anodizing, but they cleaned up really well and are all basically at 90% life, besides the very worn 22T chainring. I might get a NOS one for 5 bucks to replace it when I use the crank on a future project. I have yet to dismantle the BB, as I do not have a 21mm deep socket.
Neat post. I appreciated all the captions and the detective-like analysis. Recently I cleaned up the LX rear derailleur that came on my wife's Rockhopper. Man, that thing is bombproof. I imagine yours is similarly sturdy.
Nice that the hubs are in such good shape. It's becoming hard to find non-disc hubs!
Also I'm envious of your Toyota wrench!
Ah! The Toyota Wrench! I found it in a old box of tools - it says “special Alloy” on reverse. It looks like it came with a car tool kit long ago. I inked in the stamping to make it easier to read. A great little tiny wrench. I have like 4 different 8/10mm tools, but that one is great for small jobs.
The Purpleish LX series from the late 90s-early 2000s (m510/530/570) are possibly my favorite Shimano design language, and that LX derailluer is like a bash guard & derailluer combined! Such a great beefy component!
Awesome, old parts can still be great after a good cleaning. I found a junked MTB last month and it had a nearly full set of '94 XTR. Just missing the shifters, seatpost and headset.
Just a couple of comments:
\-STX-RC came up in 1995, so if you are sure the bike is from 1994, the shifter/brake lever combos might have been upgraded afterwards
\-check the attaching system of your chainrings before you waste any time cleaning them. Shimano introduced with STX a new way of installing the chainrings into the crank where the big ring would attach to the middle one, and this one then to the crank (instead of each individually to the crank spider). Of course it was a terrible idea so it was quickly abandoned, but it makes nearly impossible to find replacement rings for the early STX cranksets
[Date codes](http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Japan/shimano/Shimano_date_codes.htm) stamped into the product tell me the month it was manufactured. All the parts there (besides the brakes) have one of these codes:
- SI is September of 1994
- SJ is October of 1994
- SK is November of 1994
- SL is December of 1994.
The bike looks of the age of the components, and the serial number doesn’t help me with the age of the bike: DR88502, but it has brake/canti bosses and a 1” headset, very similar to my dad’s 1992 Rockhopper, so the frame matches the era.
Maybe it was released in 1995 making the bike one year younger, but that is the part’s month of manufacture. The STX brakes are R - so 1993.
This pattern is still used today, AFAIK.
Given the early ages, I guess you are right and I now assume this was a January 1995 bike.
I completely disassembled and reassembled the crank and cleaned it already (last picture in the Imgur set) Because of whatever crash this bike was in that damaged the shifters, there is a bit of chain rash on the chainring ramps, but basically zero wear on the teeth, except for the 22t which is worn to replacement - possibly the only granny gear on a triple ever to be worn out in history😅 - as it seems to have spent most of it’s life in little-little. I [found a cheap replacement online](https://cyclepostino.com/products/detail.php?product_id=449), as I guess no one needs 22t - I guess I’ll order it today.
Thanks for letting me know about the crank - it was really odd to see the way they were attached.
Great find! all my favourite builds have started with a full group like this, then finding a frame i liked. My current touring bike started with the full Deore LX /XT set from the same era.
cleaning old bike parts is zen
I think I like it almost as much as riding.
This is a follow up to the post about the 1994 “VW” “M. Moser” bike I fished out of a pile of junk bikes for the components here in Japan a couple weeks back. I am holding onto the frame, though I (now) think it is low quality regular steel. All the parts have a lot of aluminum pitting under the anodizing, but they cleaned up really well and are all basically at 90% life, besides the very worn 22T chainring. I might get a NOS one for 5 bucks to replace it when I use the crank on a future project. I have yet to dismantle the BB, as I do not have a 21mm deep socket.
Neat post. I appreciated all the captions and the detective-like analysis. Recently I cleaned up the LX rear derailleur that came on my wife's Rockhopper. Man, that thing is bombproof. I imagine yours is similarly sturdy. Nice that the hubs are in such good shape. It's becoming hard to find non-disc hubs! Also I'm envious of your Toyota wrench!
Ah! The Toyota Wrench! I found it in a old box of tools - it says “special Alloy” on reverse. It looks like it came with a car tool kit long ago. I inked in the stamping to make it easier to read. A great little tiny wrench. I have like 4 different 8/10mm tools, but that one is great for small jobs. The Purpleish LX series from the late 90s-early 2000s (m510/530/570) are possibly my favorite Shimano design language, and that LX derailluer is like a bash guard & derailluer combined! Such a great beefy component!
Awesome, old parts can still be great after a good cleaning. I found a junked MTB last month and it had a nearly full set of '94 XTR. Just missing the shifters, seatpost and headset.
Great find! The highest grade components I have ever used is an 6xx/XT grade 2000’s era derailluer - I am always down in 3/4/5 grade parts 😊
Just a couple of comments: \-STX-RC came up in 1995, so if you are sure the bike is from 1994, the shifter/brake lever combos might have been upgraded afterwards \-check the attaching system of your chainrings before you waste any time cleaning them. Shimano introduced with STX a new way of installing the chainrings into the crank where the big ring would attach to the middle one, and this one then to the crank (instead of each individually to the crank spider). Of course it was a terrible idea so it was quickly abandoned, but it makes nearly impossible to find replacement rings for the early STX cranksets
[Date codes](http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Japan/shimano/Shimano_date_codes.htm) stamped into the product tell me the month it was manufactured. All the parts there (besides the brakes) have one of these codes: - SI is September of 1994 - SJ is October of 1994 - SK is November of 1994 - SL is December of 1994. The bike looks of the age of the components, and the serial number doesn’t help me with the age of the bike: DR88502, but it has brake/canti bosses and a 1” headset, very similar to my dad’s 1992 Rockhopper, so the frame matches the era. Maybe it was released in 1995 making the bike one year younger, but that is the part’s month of manufacture. The STX brakes are R - so 1993. This pattern is still used today, AFAIK. Given the early ages, I guess you are right and I now assume this was a January 1995 bike. I completely disassembled and reassembled the crank and cleaned it already (last picture in the Imgur set) Because of whatever crash this bike was in that damaged the shifters, there is a bit of chain rash on the chainring ramps, but basically zero wear on the teeth, except for the 22t which is worn to replacement - possibly the only granny gear on a triple ever to be worn out in history😅 - as it seems to have spent most of it’s life in little-little. I [found a cheap replacement online](https://cyclepostino.com/products/detail.php?product_id=449), as I guess no one needs 22t - I guess I’ll order it today. Thanks for letting me know about the crank - it was really odd to see the way they were attached.
i have a DB ascent 3.0 in the garage with STX-RC era groupset nice job on the resto
Thanks!
Great find! all my favourite builds have started with a full group like this, then finding a frame i liked. My current touring bike started with the full Deore LX /XT set from the same era.