My rebuilt Viking Giro D'Italia

[mark st1]

Think it looks cool mate well done to ya least you have a bike u designed and with that colour scheme you must save a fortune on batteries lol

 

[DaveK]

Thanks for that Chris. I'd love to land £1k on a new bike but it will have to wait till summer or so. Upgrading will make the bike seem new again and will fun doing it too

Upgrading the brakes make a big difference yeah? They are actually scary at the moment haha.

 

[DaveK]

I've just found an old 90mm stem from my mountain bike, fitted to the viking now and its made a nice difference. Cant believe its taken me so long to do a job i should have done a thousand miles ago lol.....and seat has been ordered......you've started me off now Chris, thanks for the "nudge"

 

[Chris-H]

I've just found an old 90mm stem from my mountain bike, fitted to the viking now and its made a nice difference. Cant believe its taken me so long to do a job i should have done a thousand miles ago lol.....and seat has been ordered......you've started me off now Chris, thanks for the "nudge"

You are more than welcome mate,yep the brakes certainly do improve things 100%,these are the brakes i brought and for £30 money well spent.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160869047846?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[Sunny Portrush]

I`ve just picked one of these up but yet to be out on it properly! I just wish i had your technical abilities - I can change punctures and thats about it!

 

[Spally]

very bright....love it

 

[Chris-H]

I`ve just picked one of these up but yet to be out on it properly! I just wish i had your technical abilities - I can change punctures and thats about it!

Its not hard at al mate,give it a go and if you fall into difficultys i'm sure you lbs will come to your rescue.Also have a look on you tube for videos on the job you want to do,they really do help

 

[DaveK]

I`ve just picked one of these up but yet to be out on it properly! I just wish i had your technical abilities - I can change punctures and thats about it!

Im sure you will love the Viking. I've changed a few parts on mine, mainly bars & stem (to make it actually fit me), saddle and brake calipers. Everything else is as standard. I've just finished my first sportive on it, torrential rain, gale force winds and flooded roads. It handled it all with no complaints. I'm growing very attached to it now, it may be basic but it runs so well I can't justify buying a new one.

One thing I have noticed which makes a big difference is to be sure to keep the gears and derailleurs well cleaned and lubed and it will purr along smoothly. I would also strongly recommend changing the brake calipers to dual pivot ones like Chris has suggested. Mine were £18 from Wiggle (Miche) and literally halved my stopping distance.

 

[Paul Adair]

I got the very same bike it's my 1st bike and I love it the only thing is the gears aren't as smooth as I like but ure bike is the dogs nuts well done mate green with envy

 

[GrumpyGregry]

What matters most is that you love it.

 

[Sunny Portrush]

Im sure you will love the Viking. I've changed a few parts on mine, mainly bars & stem (to make it actually fit me), saddle and brake calipers. Everything else is as standard. I've just finished my first sportive on it, torrential rain, gale force winds and flooded roads. It handled it all with no complaints. I'm growing very attached to it now, it may be basic but it runs so well I can't justify buying a new one.

One thing I have noticed which makes a big difference is to be sure to keep the gears and derailleurs well cleaned and lubed and it will purr along smoothly. I would also strongly recommend changing the brake calipers to dual pivot ones like Chris has suggested. Mine were £18 from Wiggle (Miche) and literally halved my stopping distance.

What did you use for your bars and stem - i`m completely new to the idea of bike building so any help well appreciated. FWIW, I have a 56cm bike and I`m 6ft. However, I`ve yet to be out on the thing as it`s a bit breezy up here, I actually saw someone getting blown over on their bike yesterday, luckily to no injury

 

[DaveK]

I needed a short stem (60mm) to mak the bike fit me, I'm 5ft9 and the bike is a 58/59cm frame.

The stem had an oversize diameter to suit oversize bars, so I bough bars to match. The standard bars are rather long in the reach. I would have left them but I needed to bring the hoods closer to me, so combo of stem + shorter reach bars did the trick nicely. Such a short stem has made the steering a tad twitchy but not too bad.

The Viking has a fairly longer than average reach from seat to hoods, so you might not need to change anything. I will load a pic soon.

 

[DaveK]

Crap quality but hopefully you will see what I mean with the short stem.



The bike is almost standard though and it runs great - just requires TLC from time to time to make sure the gears change smoothly etc.

 

[Sunny Portrush]

Man, you`re allowed your bike in the front room - dead jealous here lol

 

[CycleDazza]

Last september i lost my job.Really wanted my first roadbike but could only scrape together £200 to buy one.I really wanted a modern bike so went for the Viking,purely because i liked its looks.
The bike arrived with the rear wheel out of true,a gash in the seat where it had been forced into the rear spokes for packing up and damaged cable.The shop were great and delivered me a new seat and also £15 to get the wheel trued.
Anyway turned out it was crap buti still loved the look.So decided i would rebuild with better components throughout the winter whilst still using the bike.Now some of you will no doubt say i would have been better saving up for a better quality bike and yep maybe you'd be right but the end result is a bike i absolutely love.Its fast,responsive and a kg lighter.
Its gone from handlebar mounted 7 speed to 105 sti 10 speed double,105 5700 front mech rear mech and spd sl pedals,itm bars,fizik tape,tektro brakes,sram cassette and chain,deda zero seat post and handlebar stem,anodized spacers and cap and seat clamp,super leggerra seat,all new cables,Pro lite como wheels,Zaffiro vitoria tyres.Altogether the rebuild has cost over £400 and i just need a 105 5700 crankset and its fully finished,so total cost of bike,including the savings from selling some of the original parts is going to be £600 ish.
Anyway not to everyones taste no doubt ut heres some pics,would be great to hear your views.

Cheers for looking.

WOW!!!! what a cool bike.
I just recent bought a Viking Sprint bike for mere 200squid.. I wish I never did! It was rubbish.
Still looking at what you done yours here.. has gave me ideas..
Can I ask HOW MUCH you spent doing this to it then??

Daz