This is not the best bike in the world, this is just a tribute
Like many, I really got into bicycles in 2020. Being a tinkerer (previously with longboards, turntables, and more), and not wanting to wait 6 weeks to have my bicycles worked on, I also learned how to fix my own bikes that year too. I reconnected with an old friend from college Austin, who was between Big Boy Jobs. He had a garage full of 90s mountain bikes, and had the tools to work on them. I was out of work due to the pandemic, so we spent many an hour bonding over bikes and beers.
I remember the first time I watched him remove square taper cranks with a puller— it was like magic. It was also when I first realized how many single-use bicycle-specific tools I was going to have to get my hands on.
He had a couple of sparkle green with gold text Bridgestones that really caught my eye. I didn’t know anything about Grant Petersen at the time, but the way he had these bikes built up was unlike anything I’ve ever seen— namely René Herse Rat Trap Pass tires, Velocity wheels, really luscious Nitto x Rivendell handlebars, a tringle speed drivetrain (3x up front with a tensioner out back for the single cog), and a friction shifter. This was the first time I was properly introduced to friction shifting, trying out your own drivetrain, supple rubber, and gorgeous Nitto handlebars. Austin’s bikes changed my life! I had no idea about the XO, MB, RB, CB, and beyond. Austin’s sparkle green and gold text Bridgestones were the coolest 90s mountain bikes to me— maybe even the best bike in the world!
In late 2023 Austin called me up to ask if I wanted one of those Bridgestones— for free. It was a little small for him and he didn’t need a bunch of tringle speed bikes. I immediately said yes, though my bike fleet was getting a little ridiculous at that point, but I couldn’t say no to the exact frame that set this renaissance of 2 wheel riding and tinkering thing in motion for me.
you might be able to predict where this is headed
The bike in question is an NB-26. As far as I can tell it’s the least coveted bike Grant ever produced. This makes me love it so much more— my love for it is intrinsic, and it isn’t coveted by collectors and old heads like the old lugged Bridgestones.
NB-26 stands for “No Brainer 26””, because it was the only bike Bridgestone put out with indexed shifting (fact check: apparently most, if not all, Bridgestones were index shifting by this time, except for maybe the BUB. Thanks Dr. Welby, and literally anyone who is willing, for the fact check). And you need a little bit of brains to friction shift, but no brains to index shift— get it? It was his attempt to sell as many Bridgestones as possible in the early 90s right as they were on a down slide. It’s tigged, the top tube is small, and the geometry is totally normal for that era. Nothing too fancy to write about other than the paint sure is sparkly and I suspect that even for being the lowest end model it is still pretty decent tubing.
So now I had this NB-26 frame/fork/headset, and a pretty robust parts bin. Given the number of bikes we have, I really wanted to differentiate it from the rest of my bikes. At the time I was drooling over coaster brake ATBs via Mone and the 2023 Single Speed USA coverage in Kansas City. I also saw just how cheap the Shimano CB-E110 hub is. But alas it’s 36 hole only. Oh wait— I have a 36h Velocity Cliffhanger wheelset collecting dust after replacing my wife’s city bike with far lighter Quills— time for a hub swap and to really lean into into the “No Brainer” thing.
Dr Welby recommended I use spoke washers. They’re brass, so they add a little flair and are a bit of a tribute to Mone again. Simworks had just released their brass nipples too, so it looked like I had a bit of a theme going on. My buddy calls it Shreddy Bauer, given its aesthetics.
After lacing up the most essential part of the bike, I proceeded to throw the parts bin at it: Dixna La 165mm cranks, Spa Cycles 46t chainring, Canfield Crampon pedals, René Herse tires, and a tasty Nitto bar and stem. I only had to buy a seatpost, saddle, and single speed chain.
The NB-26 had enough horizontal movement in the dropouts to tension the chain once I removed the derailer hanger. I put on some janky spacers to get it to the 132ish mm rear spacing the NB-26 somehow arrived at. Then I went pedaling!
I ended up putting about 33 miles on it last year before I somehow completely roached the hub. Sometimes you gotta leave it to the professionals and not try to jank your way around everything. Local mechanic mastermind Kyle Dalton said he had experience with the CB-110, so he grabbed the bike and made it so much better. You’re the man, Kyle!
While Kyle was working on it I laced in a Shimano dynamo hub to the front hoop. 36 hole radial spokes with brass washers and nipples, Mone style again eh? Also I changed the cockpit up a bunch to give it more of a big kid BMX (aka Klunker?!) vibe. I swapped out the quill stem for a 1” threadless adapter so that I could use this sick Darren Larkin made Crust 1” 31.8mm clamp threadless stem I was originally running on my Clydesdale before swapping it to Ortho bars and a 130mm stem. I’ve been wanting to run the Nitto x Crust Harvey Mushman bars again (cut down to a reasonable 750mm), and I put the extra long Vans BMX grips on it. I also wanted to save the René Herse tires for either my Stooge or to sell, so I put a Schwalbe Big Ben liteskin (criminally underrated tire by the Supple Life community!) on the rear and a [gigantic] Surly Extraterrestrial 2.5” up front, which clears the super simple 90’s unicrown MTB fork with even a tiny room for mud, not that I ride in much mud.
Shreddy Bauer getting dirty
Last night I ended up putting a good 20 miles on it, mostly paved, some dirt, some mud. And it rides even better than it did at the end of last year. Mechanically the axle/hub interface is far less janky than it was before, mercifully. But I think something happened to the geometry with all parts choices. Unlike most 90s mountain bikes the stack is right where I need it to be— sure this comes from the slightly stall stack stem and riser bars, but I think the extra height from the 2.5” tire helps with that too. The bike also feels way less nervous and more planted over roots and jank, which I attribute to the rollover and cushion of the 2.5” front tire + wider bars + getting further back on the bike thanks to the shorter stem and bar backsweep. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it feels less like a 90s mountain bike and more like a modern flat bar ATB, which I’m super stoked on!
I can’t wait to put more miles on this bike, whether it’s slow rolling around town, country biking on some dirt roads, or getting silly on some singletrack mountain bike trails. Thank you Austin for teaching me about bikes and gifting me this beaut.
Now maybe it’s time to grind the housing guides off and go full No Brainer…
#itsfine