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I was hoping to save this build for the MBBO in september, but I seem to have a back log of musclebikes that need to be restored, so I'm sure I'll have a cool bike for then too. This build will simply be a restoration, which is kind of out of character for me. I like to add custom touches, but there's something about this bike that makes me want to make it close to what it would have been. And, because I'm not building anything new, I'll do my best to entertain you with the story and some history.
Here we go.
Chapter 1 - The Decal
I never intended to own this bike. It happened by accident. I saw it pop up on Facebook. Someone was showing their recent score. A strange and rare bike called the GTR Grabber that was the ice breaker bike in a deal for Schwinn. A friend of mind asked the guy who posted pics, if he could get a better pic of the chain guard so that he could reproduce the decal for his Grabber. I had offered my decal reproducing services, but just needed to get a picture of the bike straight on. No such luck. The guy had already put the bike in storage. I inquired again and as bike collectors often do, I asked if it was for sale. Now I was going to be able to get a really good look at that decal for reproduction purposes.
Chapter 2 - The Deal
I managed to agree on a price with the seller and had the bike shipped to the border. I'm in Canada and shipping a bike from the US to Canada is never a cheap option. So, I order a whack of stuff and drive an hour and a half to pick it up and make it worth the trip. I've only had to pay tax once so far, and even with my time and gas money, I come out way better than I would if I had to pay shipping and brokerage. Anyway, I use a service called Kinek which accepts parcels at a Hardware store just across the border. When I got there, I got all my packages and was sent out to a barn to find the last one, the bike. It wasn't jumping out at me. I was looking for a bike box, in a stall labeled "N" where a box with Noack written on it should be. Where is my bike? I was a little worried, but then I found the box, and I was a lot worried. At the back of the pile of boxes in the "N" stall was the worst packed bike I have ever seen. I've only ever had two bikes shipped to me, but I imagine this one would rank up there with the worst of many of the ones you have seen too. I started regretting the emails to the seller asking about when he was going ship. He had mentioned that he was having difficulty locating a bike box. I should have been more patient.
Chapter 3 - The Damage
When you see a picture of a bike online it always looks way better than it is. This bike is a perfect example of this fact. The fun of opening the box and revealing the treasure inside was ruined because most of the bike was already poking outside the box. The plastic knob on the classic 5 speed stick shift had found its way through the flimsy cardboard and scraped its way all the way from Indiana. I got all the bits out of the box quite easily and put the carcass on the stand to assessed the damage. When I stepped back and looked at the bike, I was immediately less concerned about the poor packing job, because the bike was really rough to begin with. It was worse than I thought, even though I originally thought it was okay in the pics. Lots of rust, the kind you can't recover from. The forks were bent in several directions. Pitted, brake rubbed rims. Corroded dented fenders. I felt like I had just purchased an expensive frame. Sigh....
Chapter 4 - The Don
I'm pretty hard to rattle. I slept on it for one night, but then I broke and wrote a somewhat harsh message to the seller named Don. I rightfully complained about the poor packing job, and questioned his description of 'good' chrome. I suggested he step up his game for future buyers. No response. I messaged back a day later and apologized for my rant. You take a chance when you buy a bike online. Some sellers won't even bother to give you a chance to be the buyer, and this guy took the time to send a bicycle my way. Initially I was a little hot, but I was still glad that I acquired a pretty rare bike, which is what I'm into. Anyway, after the apology, I did get a response. Don offered to send me the brochure that he received with the bike which highlights some interesting history. I wouldn't have this information if I hadn't cooled down and reflected. Thanks Don! You can't search google and find this stuff out. Heck, you can't even search google and find a picture of this bike....yet.
Here we go.
Chapter 1 - The Decal
I never intended to own this bike. It happened by accident. I saw it pop up on Facebook. Someone was showing their recent score. A strange and rare bike called the GTR Grabber that was the ice breaker bike in a deal for Schwinn. A friend of mind asked the guy who posted pics, if he could get a better pic of the chain guard so that he could reproduce the decal for his Grabber. I had offered my decal reproducing services, but just needed to get a picture of the bike straight on. No such luck. The guy had already put the bike in storage. I inquired again and as bike collectors often do, I asked if it was for sale. Now I was going to be able to get a really good look at that decal for reproduction purposes.
Chapter 2 - The Deal
I managed to agree on a price with the seller and had the bike shipped to the border. I'm in Canada and shipping a bike from the US to Canada is never a cheap option. So, I order a whack of stuff and drive an hour and a half to pick it up and make it worth the trip. I've only had to pay tax once so far, and even with my time and gas money, I come out way better than I would if I had to pay shipping and brokerage. Anyway, I use a service called Kinek which accepts parcels at a Hardware store just across the border. When I got there, I got all my packages and was sent out to a barn to find the last one, the bike. It wasn't jumping out at me. I was looking for a bike box, in a stall labeled "N" where a box with Noack written on it should be. Where is my bike? I was a little worried, but then I found the box, and I was a lot worried. At the back of the pile of boxes in the "N" stall was the worst packed bike I have ever seen. I've only ever had two bikes shipped to me, but I imagine this one would rank up there with the worst of many of the ones you have seen too. I started regretting the emails to the seller asking about when he was going ship. He had mentioned that he was having difficulty locating a bike box. I should have been more patient.
Chapter 3 - The Damage
When you see a picture of a bike online it always looks way better than it is. This bike is a perfect example of this fact. The fun of opening the box and revealing the treasure inside was ruined because most of the bike was already poking outside the box. The plastic knob on the classic 5 speed stick shift had found its way through the flimsy cardboard and scraped its way all the way from Indiana. I got all the bits out of the box quite easily and put the carcass on the stand to assessed the damage. When I stepped back and looked at the bike, I was immediately less concerned about the poor packing job, because the bike was really rough to begin with. It was worse than I thought, even though I originally thought it was okay in the pics. Lots of rust, the kind you can't recover from. The forks were bent in several directions. Pitted, brake rubbed rims. Corroded dented fenders. I felt like I had just purchased an expensive frame. Sigh....
Chapter 4 - The Don
I'm pretty hard to rattle. I slept on it for one night, but then I broke and wrote a somewhat harsh message to the seller named Don. I rightfully complained about the poor packing job, and questioned his description of 'good' chrome. I suggested he step up his game for future buyers. No response. I messaged back a day later and apologized for my rant. You take a chance when you buy a bike online. Some sellers won't even bother to give you a chance to be the buyer, and this guy took the time to send a bicycle my way. Initially I was a little hot, but I was still glad that I acquired a pretty rare bike, which is what I'm into. Anyway, after the apology, I did get a response. Don offered to send me the brochure that he received with the bike which highlights some interesting history. I wouldn't have this information if I hadn't cooled down and reflected. Thanks Don! You can't search google and find this stuff out. Heck, you can't even search google and find a picture of this bike....yet.
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