93 A2L Limited rescued
Posted: October 26th, 2014, 11:55 am
A kindhearted bike mechanic friend Zach at the other end of my state pointed me to this 1993 A2L Limited when I visited him as Winter turned to Spring this year. He said "We got something in you would like I want to show you!" thinking I would definitely want it for the thumb shifters and parts for other bike projects. The previous owner had used the bike as a commuter with slicks for the last 10 years and the bike was dirty. He brought it in over the winter for tuneup and repairs but did not like the $125 estimate and did not want to put any money into the bike,telling them to just keep it there. He got a Cannondale commuter bike and was happy as could be! Upon seeing this bike(it being the only A2L I have ever seen in person) I was very interested in the unique color scheme and the faded gold Mavic rims which were pretty unscared, so I told my friend,"No... I'm interested in it as a bike to ride." I put some money down and picked it up on another trip there in October.
Zach helped me set the bike right again by going thru it with me there.It looked like the bike was ridden off-road in the early years and maintenance neglected as a commmuter in the later years. The drivetrain was totally worn out except for a fresh chain so it got a new cassette,2 chainrings,crank bolts,wheel true,some nice pedals to replace the clip-ins on it,bar ends,and obligatory Shark Fin. The icing on the cake was it came with 40mm of Plush Occasional travel with the fork!! So I put on my favorite 2.3 sticky tires with low pressure to bring the grand total up to 53mm for the Hucker in me!!
I will probably use it some in winter with a set of winter wheels and studded Darts I have as I like the fact that it is not a pristine bike I feel a need to baby. The sticky new tires made a wonderful pinging symphony during the first ride flinging tiny pebbles onto the down tube.
Zach helped me set the bike right again by going thru it with me there.It looked like the bike was ridden off-road in the early years and maintenance neglected as a commmuter in the later years. The drivetrain was totally worn out except for a fresh chain so it got a new cassette,2 chainrings,crank bolts,wheel true,some nice pedals to replace the clip-ins on it,bar ends,and obligatory Shark Fin. The icing on the cake was it came with 40mm of Plush Occasional travel with the fork!! So I put on my favorite 2.3 sticky tires with low pressure to bring the grand total up to 53mm for the Hucker in me!!
I will probably use it some in winter with a set of winter wheels and studded Darts I have as I like the fact that it is not a pristine bike I feel a need to baby. The sticky new tires made a wonderful pinging symphony during the first ride flinging tiny pebbles onto the down tube.