Project Univega

Last weekend my wife warned that some rain was forecast for the week. I had been looking for a project bike beyond my endless loop of 24-inch mountain bikes, so I figured it might be a good week to keep an eye out for something cheap to work on.

Later that day I stopped by the Salvation Army on my way to the grocery store. I stop in semi-regularly to see if any hidden jewels show up, and while I'm not sure it's a jewel, I've been rather impressed with the $8 Univega Mixte I spied that rainy Saturday.

For $8, the fact that every part was there and functioning on a basic level was impressive. From what my cursory internet searching has turned up, my best guess (since there are some stickers/decals missing) is that it's a late 70s "Super Ten" model. It seems the Super Ten was Univega's entry-level assortment of good but basic components with a sort of heavy hi-ten frame.

One thing that seems to be said often of Univegas was that they were good bikes for the money in their day, and I'd have to agree with that, even though it's in a million pieces in my basement right now. The Suntour/SR drivetrain is honest and of good quality.

The Dia-Compe brakes seem like they might get a little finicky, but they are in great condition.

I love the saddle; there's some fraying near the bottom on one side, but it seems to be in pretty good condition.

There's something appealing about mixtes. It's way too small for me, but I guess mixtes were never intended to be thought of strictly as women's bikes. It just seems to have turned out that way. But I love that continuous bisected line from head tube to dropouts--it's like a bike with foul lines. The lugs are elegant and have nice paintwork surounding them.

My plan is to simply put it back together again. I'm repacking the bearings in the bottom bracket and the headset. The Shimano hubs laced to Araya steel rims seem perfect, so I'm not messing with them just yet. If I was going all out for a bike for my wife or something (she did raise an eyebrow of interest, so who knows), I'd switch out the rims, maybe go to an indexed setup in the rear, and replace the turkey levers in front and move to an alloy drop bar. Brooks saddle? Porteur-style bars? The sky's the limit, I guess.

But my limit is limited here. I spent $8, and I shelled out an additional $38 for new tires, bar tape, and cables (I still need tubes). So for around $60 invested, I should be able to turn a profit no problem.

In the meantime, the Univega is pretty much mission accomplished keeping me busy. It has been a joy to work on.