Bikewright Workshop Project 1986 Bridgestone MB-1| Part III

This is the third post in our series on Bikewright Work Shop Project 1986 Bridgestone MB-1. Check out our previous post at Bikewright Workshop Project 1986 Bridgestone MB1 Part II


Handlebar/brakes/shifter. 

I start disassembly taking the O.G.K Cobra grips off. If you set the end of the grip that goes to the center of the bar the grip looks like a Cobra. From what I can find on the web they were made in the mid-'80s and are straight-up old-school BMX grips. They do have that ergonomic feel to them. It's funny how things come back in style. I don't know what it is but I am not feeling these grips and I have plans that will replace them. Not sure what I will do but I love Ergon GP1s,

Next, I moved to the Dia-Compe 183 brake levers.  All I needed to do was clean them up and replace the adjuster barrel on the right lever. I went to my local recycle bike shop to see if I could source another adjuster barrel. I was able to find a different model lever that had the type of adjuster barrel I was looking for. I think I paid $3 for the lever just to get the part I needed. One thing that is cool and they were thinking back in the day is that the lever handle is replaceable.

The Suntour XC shifter is uncharted ground for me. When I started mountain biking in the mid 90's I started off using Grip Shift shifters, so the thumbies are something different to me. The Suntour XC shifters were a blast to take apart and clean up 23-year-old grease.

That is a lot of parts for a shifter! I hope I remember how it goes back together



Mount clamp and base of Suntour XC shifter


Suntour XC Shifter cleaned, lubed, and reassembled 




Learning how something works by taking it apart and putting it back together again has been the fun part of this project. I didn't cut my teeth on Suntour Shifters but now I understand how good of a shifter they were. Components in the early days of mountain biking were made to be serviceable and parts were to be replaced.  It's a shame that as simple as a bike is that most modern parts are just thrown away.




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