So back when I was about 12 or 13, I made my first purchase towards my freedom and transportation. My best friend and I really like riding our bikes out in the country. And he found a power light from my next-door neighbor and needed $20. So after gathering up all of my allowance, it was mine! A very used, 1996 dino nsx. This bike is what really started my love for modifying thing and going fast.
Fast forward a few years, and then I got a license. Saying that a bicycle did not fit inside of a Camaro very well, I picked up skateboarding and the bicycle just kind of laid around for the next several years.
Which brings us to current time. after talking with my 12-year-old son, We decided to bring this bike back to its former glory. No, he was writing this before we decided to do this project, but I really wanted him to see how things work and to see some hard work pays off. So here it is. He worked hard to pay for everything on here, even though I helped with exactly half, and doing research on what it was supposed to have can it was fun, but it's still not quite done. It's surprising to me that period Correct wheels are kind of hard to fine without spending a lot. We still need to decide on a seat, and I'm waiting for reproduction decals to be Made.
Was that old crank really the one that came with it? Seems like it has really short arms for a bike shop bike.
In reply to GCrites80s :
Honestly, not sure. I was never super invested in these bikes back then. Learning as i go now. The new ones are 175?mm. Old were too. Unsure if they were original or not. Replacement cranks had 170 and 175 options.
Maybe I'll add a little more background. They bike was well used when i got it. From the little i can find online, it appears the sprocket and spider? Were already replaced when i picked it up. The front forks were replaced at one time as well. The one catalog picture i can find, suggests the same. Not sure about the brakes, but proponent seems to be period correct.
we ended up going with sealed crank bearings, 44t aluminum sprocket, new crank, new chain,
new headset, and had to get new fork with stem. Aluminum seatpost, Front and rear proponent brakes, with stainless cables. Lots of steel wool action and a trip to urgent care(rust in my boys eye, even had safety glasses!) So this isn't a super detailed restore, more like period inspired.
84FSP
UltraDork
3/31/21 9:22 p.m.
Looking great sir! Find some super fine steel wool and a nice thick paste wax and bring back the bling!
In reply to 84FSP :
We used super fine steel wool and some polish i had laying around. Might be the best we can do. We put a clear coat on the welds where the chrome is gone.
i dont suppose that anyone has some old 36 spoke bmx wheels laying around do they? looking for a set that doesnt cost an arm and a leg. the freewheel is slipping, and as i can replace that and be on our way, new wheels might come with that.
Looks like you're missing the bushing between the crank and spider. Seems like it's 19-22mm if I remember correctly. The BMX places sell them.
Additionally, the spider and chain ring aren't assembled properly and the spider is inside out. That's why the chain ring is almost touching the frame and the chain line is most likely angled if you look at it from the back of the bike. As a hint, look at the first pic in the thread to see the spider/chain ring when it was stock.
Great catch!!
I thought that we paid attention to any washers and had it all set up correctly, but i see what you guys are talking about
Nice to see someone else still has an old dyno. Here's mine I got new around 96 and still have.
When you get it assembled properly, roll the crank around to the point where the chain gets tight. Loosen the chain ring bolts and squeeze the chain together between the the crank and freewheel while tightening the bolts back up. This will help center the chain ring on the crank so you can reset the rear wheel and have minimal tight/loose points in the chain while pedaling. New chains stretch, so check it after it's been ridden a bit, doesn't take much riding.
Put a better master link on that chain if it's a 1/8" chain, one that has a slide on spring clip OR be ready for broken toes.
In reply to NOT A TA :
Great tip!! Still need to look into the crank issue again. The bike appears to be a "base" model and someone already replaced the crank, and we did it again the bike is currently down, as the freewheel needs replaced (did i say that already?)
to be honest, this is the furthest I've ever gone into these bikes. When i got this bike as a kid, i just rode it around in dirt roads and through pastures.
the chain was a basic chain without the c clip? If that makes sense.
In reply to BionicTigerShark (Forum Supporter) :
That's really cool!!
im currently excited to hear back from a guy in Australia that said he is going to make some replacement decals. That will really set this bike apart from the others in the neighborhood!
Where did you get the sealed crank bearings? I cleaned greased and reused the crank bearings in my GT and they aren't great. I would like to upgrade if there is a better option out there.
In reply to New York Nick :
They are from pork chop bmx.
I don't know if they are sealed in the traditional sense, but they have a dust shield that makes them better than it was
New York Nick said:
Where did you get the sealed crank bearings? I cleaned greased and reused the crank bearings in my GT and they aren't great. I would like to upgrade if there is a better option out there.
The upgrade is to replace the caged bearings with higher quality ones that have an additional ball bearing, Tioga sold them back in the day and included them in their "Beartrap" bearing sets. OR eliminate the cages and add a couple extra ball bearings. You use the grease to hold the ball bearings in the cups during assembly. Install the balls in the right side cup, install crank through the frame and then grease and install the left side bearings then finish assembly of the threaded outer race, keyed washer, and lock nut. The additional bearings reduce friction and if combined with light weight grease slightly reduce the effort required to spin the cranks. The "sealed tech" BB set up is usually just a plastic shield on the left side. True sealed bearings aren't used on one piece cranks.
In reply to NOT A TA :
seeing that i need to take this apart... how do i know how much preload to have? im assuming not too much that its hard to turn... and not too loose.
yes, this is not a true sealed bearing, just a plastic cover.
very excited!!! just got an email that repo NSX decals are made!!! kinda funny to ask for a "base" model to restore.... nerveless..... they are ordered! coming from the land down under.
Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:
Looks like you're missing the bushing between the crank and spider. Seems like it's 19-22mm if I remember correctly. The BMX places sell them.
the spider is backwards. i think the spacer is on the other side of the spider in this pic.
