Ridgeback comet story, how to make a low-end bike sexy

Hey guys,

I wanted to share with you one of the build i have done cause I think it's worth sharing.

First of all, context. This bike was my girlfriend bike and she wanted a new bike, it was during lockdown and I was looking for bikes for ages but couldn't find any that would fit the budget.

Then after a bit of tinkering I decided to use the current bike and make it sexy and more suitable for my gf needs. The initial bike was very banal and quite low-end but the frame was made of decent alumnium which was a good start. The bike is a Ridgeback Comet.

Sadly I didn't took proper pics of the bike before but I have attached a pic of how it looked like.

After stripping the bike I started to chemically remove the paint of the frame and fell in love with the raw look of aluminium. I decided to keep it like this and polished the frame. I painted the steel fork in bright orange for good contrast. I wanted the bike to be simple and easy to use. So I said goodbye to the awful triple crankset and ugly rapidshifters and replaced it by a clean 1x Sora transmission with 9 speeds (actually bought from you @Oddo). Equipped with 32C tyres for the rough London road and steel mudguards for the ever rainning weather. I kept most of the original components to save on costs.

Overall I think it costed me a £100 to build it with lots of elbow grease to remove the paint!It is a very pleasant bike to ride and it stands out from the crowd. Hope you like it :)

You can see more pictures on my instagram.

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Nice 👍 it helps you started with a decent bike.

Great work! Just needs a rack or basket now for maximum utility.

@Chaley Yeah they're not too bad! I actually see so many ridgeback in London!
@si_mon628 indeed, there is a rear rack now but it'll look much cooler with a front rack ;)

Nice job. But you’re gonna lose your chain without a chain guide. It might be fine for ages, until it isn’t, in traffic, been there.

Yes true, I might just get a narrowide chainring

Really good build

Looks fab, great job.

Yes more steps throughs !

awesome!

Thanks guys! I do appretiate step through more and more @Thrasher !

that step through ridgeback would get you instant access into the LFGSS premium members club right now

Great build, what did you use to strip the paint?

Can't remember the name of the product but it was a chemical spray from Leyland. It was extremely effective!

Super late reply but found it, it's called Peel Tec

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Nice, thanks!

Hello everyone! The bike got another makeover last winter but now I am thinking of converting it to a more gravel/adventure bike. But before i do that I want to get your opinion if this frame is suitable for such a conversion. It's a city bike so not really the best base to start with, would the geometry be really off for a gravel?

I am thinking 1x10 speed groupset, and drop handlebars. And maybe update the steel fork for a carbon one. The tyres have already been upgraded to 32C

What do you think? Waste of time and money?

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It's a city bike so not really the best base to start with

Gravel bikes are hybrids with thru axels. But don't tell anyone.

What do you think?

Thoughts:

1. The fork - first up what is the fork, 1 1/8"? If yes, the you have options and carbon forks are brilliant. Not loads but some. If there's not much response here in what sort of axle to crown measurement you need ask in the any questions thread. If it's 1" forget it and stick with what you've got.
   
2. Brakes - get on the hunt for some mini-v brakes. Or if you have you're own mechanic some cantilever brakes. Regular V brakes won't work with road brake levers.
   
3. Gears - you've already got a 1x9, don't over complicate it/over spend. Just get some shimano 9 speed shifters and a bigger range Deore cassette.
   
   

If you're on a budget, I'm sure you'll be able to get a free drop bar and stem off someone here via the wanted ads. The biggest throwaway financially is a carbon cx fork as hardly anyone wants a rim brake 1 1/8" carbon fork anymore. Everything else you change you shouldn't take much of a loss on if you flip them.

Here's one for £5o https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/365102901022?

Thank you so much, very helpful advices here, I am just scared that the frame geometry won't be great for the purpose of the bike, I want something a bit faster and responsive

Headset is defo 1 1/8 but with a 1inch fork, can replace the whole system with a proper 1 1/8 headset and threadless fork

The head angle looks pretty slack as it is so it should be fine off road. The only thing that something like your bike might have is a lower BB than something designed for off road use. But if you are aware of it and don't go ragging it round corners pedalling or trying to bunny hop over roots it will be fine.

If those sora cranks are triples, just whack a small inner ring on and a shifter, of course. Maybe a bigger cassette, 2x9 is great!

I actually have a full carbon kinesis fork for sale at the moment with v/canti mounts, 400mm a2c. I think it would look pretty bad ass with the raw frame

Cheers, yeah 2x9 sounds like it would be a great setup, where is your fork listing?

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/397642/