2022 Bike S rebuild?

Riding the 1998 Porsche Bike S today made me realize that the thousands of miles are beginning to take a toll on this bicycle. That was always the plan though. I have a 1996 all-original Bike S in pristine condition. I haven't ridden that bike much since it's in great shape. The 1998 on the other hand was purchased and rebuilt to be my daily Porsche mountain bike. It has served that purpose well. But now it's getting a little worn out. I hope it can complete one more epic ride ... the 340-mile C&O GAP ride. A friend of mine is riding the 1998 Bike S while I'll be on my 2004 Porsche Bike X. I hope the Bike S holds together for him!

With this Porsche bike in dire need of some attention, I am pondering a full rebuild with modern parts and even a repaint. As I mentioned, I already have an all-original Bike S, so why not go crazy and build a modern day Porsche Bike S? I don't ever intend to sell it, so why not modify it?

If money was no worry, here's what I'd change out:

First, I'd upgrade from the original Magura hydraulic rim brakes to the current Magura HS33 hydraulic rim brakes. Easy decision.

Next, I'd like to replace the entire Sachs 3x8 gear train with the SRAM German engineered NX Eagle groupset. This would upgrade the 1996 bike to modern gearing and shifting and the engineering team responsible for this product came from the original Sachs team.

I would probably get new rims and seat post too. But I'm having a hard time replacing the forks as they provide much of the character of this retro bike. I would definitely refresh the elastomers though!

And as the topper, I'm thinking a repaint would be cool. Maybe a color that the Bike S was never produced in? How about PCA's Club Blau? 

This would be a fun 2022 project!

Bike S test ride

With the 1998 Porsche Bike S finally back together, I was able to sneak in a 14-mile neighborhood test ride this morning. Replacing the two missing chainring bolts and installing new Crankbrothers Stamp 1 pedals, I was excited to try out the Bike S. After 14 miles, the bike felt good. I did hear a slight clicking sound occasionally. Might be seat post or bottom bracket issues, as I've had squeaking from both before. But since I don't recall hearing that prior to the changes, I'm thinking chain or chain alignment. I'll check it out across this week.

Bike S chainring bolts installed

The chainring bolts I ordered for the 1998 Bike S arrived today. Not wasting any time, I installed the two missing bolts tonight. Not sure how they fell out, probably when I crashed. I’ll take the Bike S out for a test ride tomorrow morning. 

"I can do this all day" - Steve Rogers

Longest ride of the year. At least I think so. So many miles, I don't remember them all! My goal today was 50-60 miles, but felt good so I pushed it to 76. It was a cooler than average day, that sure helped. I needed this long ride to gain confidence for the upcoming late-September 340-mile C&O/GAP ride. The 2004 Porsche Bike X performed excellent and I completed the 76 miles without too much agony. I'll try for another long ride next weekend and then begin to taper.

Trail mascot

 

Added a Porsche Motorsport Bear to the back of the 2004 Porsche Bike X in preparation for the 340-mile C&O/GAP ride at the end of September. Seems silly, but that’s how I roll. Rode 19 miles this morning to make sure he stays put. 

Bike X neighborhood ride

14-mile neighborhood ride again on the 2004 Porsche Bike X. Great morning weather and the bike is riding so well. Sure hope it performs like this on the 340-mile C&O/GAP September ride! Also detailed the inside of the 2001 Boxster.

More Bike X while awaiting parts for the Bike S

 

While I love riding the 2004 Porsche Bike X, I do like switching between the Bike X and Bike S. But since I'm still waiting for the delivery of the front chainring bolts for the Bike S, I'm limited to riding only one Porsche bicycle. Oh darn! I did degrease and re-lube the Bike X chain and gears yesterday so the 14-mile ride this morning was smooth as German butter! Again, great weather and great ride. Another lucky day.

Another morning ride, again

 

Porsche Bike X 14-miler this morning. Great weather. Great ride.

Bike X morning ride

With another warm summer day, I got out early for another morning 14-mile ride, again on the 2004 Porsche Bike X. Rode with the new Porsche water bottles and touched up a few paint chips for this ride. After the ride, I needed to pick up something from Lowes and found I created a "Porsche Parking" area when I returned to my 2006 Cayenne S. 

New shoes for the 1998 Bike S

 

Installed new Crankbrothers Stamp 1 flat pedals on the 1998 Porsche Bike S tonight. Crankbrothers products are used heavily on the latest generation of Porsche Bikes. I needed new pedals since one of the original pedals busted a bearing. I still need to replace the missing chainring bolts. But after that, it will be test ride time!

Hoping for a Le Mans win morning ride

Snuck out for a quick 14 miles on the 2004 Porsche Bike X before the end of this year's 24 hours of Le Mans. Top Porsche RSR is in third place. Hoping for a strong podium finish today!

1998 Bike S pedal woes

The 1998 Porsche Bike S is getting a little worn out. I have ridden this bike thousands of miles and routinely have had to replace parts. I try to find original parts. In many cases I can. On my last ride on this Bike S, I found I'm missing two chainring bolts. Those may have been ejected when I crashed a couple months ago.  I couldn't find original bolts, so I ordered aftermarket and should arrive later next week. But on that same ride, one of the pedals started seizing up. Taking the pedal apart, the small bearings fell out. So those pedals are toast. Looking online, I can't find anyone still selling original 1990s Porsche Bike pedals. I could take the pedals off my still all-original and in pristine condition 1996 Bike S, but I want to leave that in original condition. So instead, I just ordered Crankbrothers Stamp 1 flat pedals in red. Crankbrothers products are all over the latest generation of Porsche bicycles, so I figured that is OEM equipment on Porsche Bikes. I also thought the red color would look good on the Guards Red Bike S and match the red OEM Sachs grip shifters I added to this bike. I can't wait to try this out!

Early ride to watch Le Mans start

 

Got a start before sunrise to get in my 40-mile training ride before the start of the Le Mans 24-Hour race. My pace felt strong and the 2004 Porsche Bike X performed well. My confidence in the upcoming 340-mile ride is improving.

After rain ride

It rained heavily this morning. But after the sun came out and dried the roads nicely so I jumped on the 1998 Porsche Bike S for a quick 14-miler. After the ride I noticed that not one, but two chain ring bolts are missing. Not sure how that happened … other than hard riding! So now I need to research getting replacement bolts. 

Feeling good in my neighborhood, part two

Starting to get my cycling legs back. 20 miler on the 2004 Porsche Bike X this morning riding around my neighborhood. Today was the first test ride after swapping out a new rear Continental SpeedRide 700c x 42c tire. New tire and bike performed well. Great ride, but I definitely don't feel ready for 340 miles. I'll need to cram some training in the next 30 days.

Porsche Bike ST for sale

There is a Porsche Bike ST for sale in Jersey, Channel Island. From the photos, the bike is all original. The Bike ST is a "touring" version of the Bike S. If you're interested in this bike, reply here and I'll connect you with the seller.

SpeedRide replacement

 

I swapped out the worn back tire on the 2004 Porsche Bike X for a new 700c x 42c Continental SpeedRide touring tire. The back tire got smashed walking the bike home after a flat tube incident a couple months ago. The tire rides fine, but my confidence in it for 340 miles was low. So I ordered a new one and installed with a fresh tube today. I’ll use the old tire and tube as back ups for the C&O/GAP ride. I'll take the Bike X for a short test ride tomorrow morning.

Feeling good in my neighborhood

 

Feeling about 97% on this morning's post-covid 14-mile ride on the 1998 Porsche Bike S. Lungs and legs feel better than I expected averaging 15 miles per hour. Planning to ride as much as possible this week to build back some endurance before the big 340-mile ride in late September.

Sequins

The owner of a new Porsche 911 covered the exterior with two-sided sequins. One side gold, the other black. Run your hand across the car and you can change its color. Crazy. This was also at the Consorso Italiano event. Maybe I should do this with one of my Porsche Bikes?!?