Retro mtb - 1989 Diamondback Ascent, Dinglespeed build! 

Hey everyone! This video took way longer than expected, was having file issues and then audio issues (some still persisted but it’s now somewhat watchable). Hope you enjoy! Have some sweet builds coming up 🤌 😎

Daaamn! That is a hefty rebuild! I would have been ready to call the priest for the last rites!

I bought an Ascent in 86-87 while in the Marine Corps, and still ride it today. Canary yellow

I really enjoyed this build - but I especially want to thank you for the ride video at the end. It was so cool to see it in action and really brought the whole thing together for the viewer.

Brilliant job of getting the bottom bracket off the bike with a vice. Very clever tip. The front brake cable through the stem is funky Cole Madena.

Great build! I had the same bike new in 1989, did many many miles on it, and still have it today! It's all still running fine on original components. My son has just started riding it and loves it too, and to think it's now seeing it's 5th decade!!!

I love how you try to keep it as much as possible as it is, I mean paint and parts, that's my philosophy too.

That was a fun one!! Here the smoke frame is valuable,about 650.00 us.rare to see& they go fast!! Love to afford one to build!

really glad you show how you use the rust converter, just used it on a bike and was not sure if i was doing it right 👌

Wow, what a transformation!! From what it started as to what it turned out as is pretty impressive. Keep up the great work.

Nice work, love those old Smoke paint jobs, remember seeing them in the stores in the 80's. Yokota did a bunch too.

One of your best builds. The janky state it was in to the finished product was impressive. The arabesque derailleur a nice touch.

I have a 94 or 95 ascent ex. Bought it new. Appreciate how you left it old school. I’ve always liked the look and ride of this bike. I’m a pretty casual rider and it has suited me well.

A few years ago i build a dual speed based on an old bianchi bike. I used a sram automatix gear hib. This hub will change the internal gearing automatically when you drive over 20 km/h. Very clean snd works great

I worked in a bike shop, early 90’s assembling DB’s. I remember that ‘smoke’ paint jobs.

I just did a 86 Accent. Also converted to 1x using og chainring. Such a cool bike, probably my favorite restoration so far.

That's a Thun style BB from SKF. Other companies made them too. They pop up a lot here in Germany on older bikes as replacements. But the only benefit I can see to them is that the plastic cups come out easily, even on corroded frames.

Nice build mate! Waiting on some parts to finish my specialized stumpjumper 8spd commuter bike, your videos are keeping me going until then lol

Dayum, what a build! 🔥 Great to see that chainring in action 😁

Good job I've never heard of a dinglespeed before I ride a singlespeed!awesome rehaul

ayyyyy nice build! i always wondered about how the dingle speed would work in real world applications. its cool that you can just roll the barrel adjuster and ride. agree with your sediments around single/no chain tensioner as well, although keen to try a dingle speed build in the future!! thanks for the video!!

Awesome build. Love this bike ❤

The pink tinge is in the clearcoat. They even painted some Yamaha guitars that way.

nice restauration & great idea with the derailleur!

Very cool this bike 🤩

Very nice I like your idea 👌👌👌👌👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Someone with too much money owned that bike, it's in terrible cosmetic condition but with an interesting array of parts, those red cantilevers were pricey from my memory, cannot believe you replaced them, a shame their original paint job was knackered as was awesome, I am sure its the same frame as my biking mate had (his first anyway, he upgraded a couple of times) and I had one of those SKF cartridge bottom brackets

I like the video. I have found, living in a hilly town, that a single speed works best with a 38/22 gear ratio.

16:28 mechanics coffee 🤣🤣

That’s an interesting gear idea. I think I saw someone do the smoke effect by kissing the frame with a blow torch once it’s painted.

Fore that old of a bike it's still looking pretty good. The worst part are probably the grips and the bolts

Great build

nice build! i remember my local bike shop full of these smoke paint DBs. wow. the smoke / dart combo brings back memories. that cant be original?!?

Bravo 👏

Did you notice that the DB frames from this era use like a vinyl coat, not really painted? I think the bare metal spots occurs because the vinyl has rubbed off. I have a DB Ascent frame in blue/black swirl with plenty of rust spots. Luckily the rust converter turning those spots black will blend in well. Plan to singlespeed with bullhorns.

dank build

Rewatching videos while patiently waiting for the video drop lol

Awesome

Just picked up a 1993 topanga I'm building now

The bike looked in a very sorry state to begin with but it bounced back well, good job. I'm guessing 3 speed would be a tingle, I have never thought about custom transmissions before but it seems like a lot of fun😃

After about 3 years the last Keurig stopped working ru-vid.comUgkxBrV-RbF5Nk0Rlt9i15aao-YMzqzTG8Vf initially was able to unblock, however eventually we couldn't fix. That one was a replacement unit sent by the manufacturer after we had problems with our very first Keurig. This works fine (lol, at least for now) however I didn't realize the water reservoir was so much smaller than our prior unit. With 2 people having one or two cups of coffee each morning, it seems like I'm refilling it daily. Otherwise just happy to have the convenience of pod coffee vs. making a morning pot.

I like that beat-up look, but this Shimano 600 rear derailleur is an overkill. It's too classy for this bike, please find some vintage road frame to make this poor six-hundred a home! :)

hey Toasty Rides from Australia.. love the channel being in NZ aren't you meant to have the front brake on the left hand side like the rest of the world ( no including the USA )?

Hey! What about a dingle speed with two chainrings and one cog? I'm thinking about an ATB-ish tourer. I could use the second as a bail out and gear up a bit the first for speed. Chain-tensioner and front derailleur. :)

😎👍👍👍👍

Nice build. But i don't understand the choice of very close 2 speeds.

That’s really cool. I’m looking at an 89 Ascent EX at the moment. Similar condition but without wheels. We’re your wheels original?

Hi, name of the rear brake? I love that spherical joint retaining the brake pad holder

I just picked up a 90's diamondback ascend frame that I'm wanting to build a tracklocross bike out of. I definitely want to run at least 38mm tires, other than that, idk 🤷‍♂️. BB housing measures at 68mm and rear frame spacing measures 130mm. Would you have any recommendations on bb spindle length/ rear hub so that the chain line is as close to perfect as possible?

I 'da splurged for 8 mm Allen crank bolts

Очень интересно!

I know this video is old, but I don't care. I don't know a whole lot about bicycles, I mostly do dirt bikes, but I always thought about doing a 1x2 drivetrain, but with a pretty large difference in the gearing. Having one for speed, and having a crawler gear for steep hills. Is there any reason this couldn't be done?

im about to completely rebuild an old diamondback ambition. can barely find anything on it but its has some nice parts and it has 700c wheels, one of the early bikes. i think its a 95 or 96 but its an ugly color and ive been wanting to paint a bike.

T cut the frame, then Owatrol.

Interesting 🧐 my 89 Ascent doesn’t have that cable guide around the seatpost clamp 🤨

no need to hack away at the bottom bracket if you are not gonna use it again. just smash it in the vice n turn,,,

You sound a lot like VaatiVidya

Dingle 😅

Great job?

Not sure I'd ever build a dingle speed that wasn't with a flip-flop hub...Seems like this kind of setup has all the cons of single speed bikes and derailleur bikes (can't shift on the go, doesn't have the nice direct drive feeling of a single/fixed) and none of the pros. Why not just go 1x7/8/9 if you're installing a derailleur and more than one cog on the hub?

she needs a fresh paint job

What's with the porno music playing in the background?