Ryan S’s 1970’s Tiger 10-Speed

Posted

This little beaut was slated for Friday, but you know how things go. I’m post-dating it just so we have a honest 5 this week. Monday’s actual post to come later today.

This is Ryan S’s 1970s Tiger 10-Speed, and another OTSG First!

Hi Cameron,

Ryan S. here with my winter bike build from this fall.

Year 1970’s Make  no idea Model  Tiger

I was in the warehouse of my local bike “kitchen” wandering around and spotted this frame-set , the young wrench working their saw my interest and said “I am tired of looking at that thing its yours for 5 bucks”  how could I say no?  After I got it home and examined it I had to laugh;  it was so dirty it appeared to have just been in a muddy cyclo cross race and it had lots of packing tape wrapped around the tubes (WTF?) some no name brand center pulls, dirt encrusted BB and what appeared to be a velvet saddle.  I decided to build it up from the parts bin as a rough and tumble winter bike with Kenda K161 27X1 3/8 knobbied fatties, fenders and a splash of red for some color.   I could find no references to the Tiger brand on the internets so I have no idea what model, year etc it might be but I do love the tiger head badge. it grrrrrrrreat!  (sorry couldn’t resist.  It ended up going to a nice university kid as a commuter.

Ryan

Related posts:

  1. Robert J’s 1970s Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe
  2. Buddy’s Beacon
  3. Thomas B’s Fuji Sports 10
  4. Mark G.’s 1977 Raleigh Grand Prix
  5. Billnuke1’s Miyata 210
  • BeaterRezQ

    Ryan S.,
    I love it; the cool name, the awesome color , amazing headbadge, and the new life you put into it. Grrrrrrrrrrreat Job!
    BRQ

    Japan/Taiwan, any idea?

  • Ryan Surface

    Hey BRQ thanks, it was a fun project except for pulling the #$%^ packing tape off nearly every tube! Fortunately the frame cleaned up fairly well and a little was brought the yellow back to life. I really wanted to build a bike around the big old knobby Kenda 161’s and they worked great with this frame and its clearance.

    As I recall the frame did have a “Made in Japan” sticker on it so I suspect it was a 70’s model when they were still frame building in Japan rather than Taiwan. I think one of the most fun aspects of the OTS’s is the all the cool head-badges they had up through the late 70’s before they started to get all penny pinching and going to decals.

    • BeaterRezQ

      Dude, I’d rather have a naked frame with a “real” headbadge any day!

  • Hugh

    Hey Ryan, You did a great job bringing the paint back to life. A great head badge, beautiful crank and chrome fork tips. That’s a trifecta in my book! It is amazing what you can come up with when you mix the proper amount of inspiration and perspiration. Nice work.

    • Ryan Surface

      Hugh as a native of Detroit how can you not love the Head Badge? 😉 Thanks for the compliments.

  • JeanineD9

    Great job, Ryan! There’s just something about a yellow 10 speed that appeals to me like no other color. The black fenders really make it pop. Very pretty.

  • Phil11764

    Wow, now that’s a BRIGHT bike. Great color combo. Where did you get the iridescent bar wrap and cable tubing? I just picked up a black Saint Tropez last night, and would love to use similar stuff.

    • Ryan Surface

      Phil Thank you, that is Red XLC brake cable from Amazon.com via Niagara Cycle Works, they also have white blue and of course black. And I think the handlebar tape is probably Origin 8 or SRAM I don’t recall which one I used on this build my guess is the SRAM.

    • BeaterRezQ

      Visit the BMX section of your local bike shop for the latest wild colors in brake cable housings.
      I go directly to that section when in need of something bright and different; hot pink, fluorescent green, yellow, etc.
      BRQ

      • Phil11764

        Thanks for the tip!

  • http://podiumcafe.com/ SWells

    Nice score…and great build.

  • Trailer Park Cyclist

    Very sharp, Ryan. I don’t know where I was Friday that caused me to miss your post. Outer Space, most likely. Good job. From $5 to campus. That is doing Good Work. tj

    • Ryan Surface

      Hey Tim Joe you didn’t miss it on Friday -Cameron posted it on Monday and just back dated it like a bad check 😉

      • Trailer Park Cyclist

        A post-dated post? Har!

        • Trailerparkcyclist

          Oh… duh. I read Cameron’s explanation this morning before I finished my first cup and as everyone knows, reading italics is risky in the morning. So he postponed the post, or he…OK. I get it. Sort of. By the way, what fenders are those and how was clearance with the knobbies? I got mudguards on my mind but looking at my clearances I am doubtful.

          • Ryan Surface

            TJ I think they were SKS fenders and with this particular bike the clearance was fine, as always with Fenders it takes some fiddling but it worked.

  • Ryan Surface

    Thanks all, appreciate the support, something especially satisfying about taking the dirty frame from the corner of the basement and making it functional and appealing.

  • BeaterRezQ

    Ryan,
    I was looking at the frame of your Tiger a bit more closely, and noticed that the frame is just about naked–free of any brazed on cable guides/stops. Even the one for the rear derailleur is a bolt on type….interesting. I would date that as being early to mid 70’s.(?)
    This Centurion that I want to build up is very similar, but with only one brazed on cable stop for the rear derailleur, otherwise a clean frame–albeit in rough condition.
    For the direction of my build that I am headed towards, your Tiger would have been the best candidate, but when it comes to the old and oftentimes neglected..I’ve learned to work with what’s available.
    BRQ

    • Ryan Surface

      You are correct Sir not a braze on cable mount in sight. I was fortunate the frame still had all the clamp on cable guides attached as the zip tie method can look kind of tacky. Perhaps the Tiger manufacturer foresaw the boom of Fixie bikes 30 years hence and knew being able to strip all cable routing off the bike for a conversion would be easier if they clamped on ….;-)

      • BeaterRezQ

        Interesting, and YES..zip ties are “tacky” defined. (imho)
        If it was a newer bike I might consider that someone removed them, then painted over, but that bike looks completely 100% original.
        A bit heavy, more than likely but to compensate–simple build with alloy components/wheels might make it reasonably acceptable.
        BRQ

  • BeaterRezQ

    …or take the best route, what you did–back to it’s glorious original intention. OTS

  • Oso

    I bought a Tiger ten speed in 1972. It looked just like that, only green and the Tiger emblem is indeed engrained in my memory. I got it new for $89.00 at REI in Seattle. At the time it was mentioned it was made by Schwinn. I rode that bike hard as we were just beginning to explore trail and dirt biking.