New Bike Day: Mid-Eighties Ross

[DrRumack80]

Ross was an interesting company. My local Schwinn dealership used to carry Ross, and the owner recalled taking a tour of the Allentown PA factory back in the 70's when he was just a mechanic there. Ross made their own steel rims for a number of models. I seem to remember him also saying that Ross dipped the frames in a salt bath, and some would actually be rusting when removed from the shipping box!

The site of the former factory is heavily contaminated.

Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Conewago Equities (Formerly: Chain Bike Corporation, Ross Bicycles) in Allentown, Pennsylvania | US EPA

RCRA Corrective Action Site Conewago Equities (Formerly: Chain Bike Corporation, Ross Bicycles) in Allentown, Pennsylvania Currently First Industrial Realty Trust

www.epa.gov

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

Ross was an interesting company. My local Schwinn dealership used to carry Ross, and the owner recalled taking a tour of the Allentown PA factory back in the 70's when he was just a mechanic there. Ross made their own steel rims for a number of models. I seem to remember him also saying that Ross dipped the frames in a salt bath, and some would actually be rusting when removed from the shipping box!

The site of the former factory is heavily contaminated.

Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Conewago Equities (Formerly: Chain Bike Corporation, Ross Bicycles) in Allentown, Pennsylvania | US EPA

RCRA Corrective Action Site Conewago Equities (Formerly: Chain Bike Corporation, Ross Bicycles) in Allentown, Pennsylvania Currently First Industrial Realty Trust

www.epa.gov

Why in hell would they have given the frames a salt bath?

 

[DrRumack80]

Found this online. I had the story wrong, going from memory of something I was told nearly 30 years ago. Now it makes more sense - the "bath" part probably came into play after the frame was brazed, to remove the residue. As the shop owner related, they were not always successful in removing all of the residue, as occasionally a new bike would come out of the box with a rusting top tube, etc.

"The "tempered" frame is interesting and so far as I know, unique to Ross bikes. How Ross built these frames, was instead of conventionally brazing one tube at a time, they clamped the entire frame together, with brass fillets in the lugs - and then dipped the entire frame into molten salt. So every joint was brazed at the same time, and the steel was tempered as well..."

 

[WillWork4Parts]

Found this online. I had the story wrong, going from memory of something I was told nearly 30 years ago. Now it makes more sense - the "bath" part probably came into play after the frame was brazed, to remove the residue. As the shop owner related, they were not always successful in removing all of the residue, as occasionally a new bike come out of the box with a rusting top tube, etc.

"The "tempered" frame is interesting and so far as I know, unique to Ross bikes. How Ross built these frames, was instead of conventionally brazing one tube at a time, they clamped the entire frame together, with brass fillets in the lugs - and then dipped the entire frame into molten salt. So every joint was brazed at the same time, and the steel was tempered as well..."

I'm glad I did throw that HI-TEN Mt Hood frame I had away then. It was starting to get the pizza crust kind of rust going on around the lugs, just a very faint line bubbling under the paint. I think it was a 20" frame but came with 83 stamped hubs, cranks, and caliper brakes, the pedals were painted blue factory, but everything else is blue ano. Great parts on a horrible looking frame!

There is a 22" chrome cro-moly frame bike for sale a couple hours from me that I want to go get, but it's about an inch too tall for me I think. Only thing stopping me from getting it to flip is that it has Black ano rims on it. Not so sure they are as desirable as say gold or blue ano. Guessing it's an 85 model by the ads I saw on the link posted here.

 

[DrRumack80]

They are not bad frames, IMHO. A bit heavy, not the prettiest, but they ride well and seem to hold up.

 

[Bryan Akens]

I bought a Ross Mt. St. Helens in 1987.....It was a nice bike but it was very heavy......I eventually sold it and moved on to something else....I would have to agree on the yr. of Your bike....seeing those handlebars......I saw a chrome Ross MTB just the other day!! Those were expensive.....I used to work in a shop that sold Ross Bikes.....They were very durable but sales were marginal at best.....

 

[DrRumack80]

The Mt. St. Helens might have been Ross' entry level mountain bike. To be fair, many of these early mountain bikes were on the heavy side. They were built with bombing down mountain roads in mind. Durability was prioritized over weight. The '83 Trek 850, '82 Stumpjumper, '84 Schwinn Sierra and '85 Mongoose ATB I own are all on the heavy side

The chrome Ross bikes, like the Mt Whitney, command high prices today. Ross had a tough time shedding its image as a maker of low-end gas pipe quality bikes. Also, the name Ross does not conjure up excitement either!

 

[WillWork4Parts]

The Mt. St. Helens might have been Ross' entry level mountain bike. To be fair, many of these early mountain bikes were on the heavy side. They were built with bombing down mountain roads in mind. Durability was prioritized over weight. The '83 Trek 850, '82 Stumpjumper, '84 Schwinn Sierra and '85 Mongoose ATB I own are all on the heavy side

The chrome Ross bikes, like the Mt Whitney, command high prices today. Ross had a tough time shedding its image as a maker of low-end gas pipe quality bikes. Also, the name Ross does not conjure up excitement either!

This bike I had was definitely a gas pipe quality frame. Lol The lugs were heavy sand cast, almost like pipe fittings even. I'll post pictures when I find them.

I'm kicking myself in the rear over not going for that chrome one, it was quality chromoly and for $200. Might have even negotiated lower because the bike was too tall for the guy to ride. When I checked on it after posting, it was already sold. I ended up getting an 87ish Mongoose Alta that is Chromoly too and similar appearance size wise, but it fits me. The only downside to the mongoose is that it's got that ridiculous Made in Taiwan label and somebody swapped some cheap comfort bike handlebars and stem onto it. I love the looks of the bullmoose handlebars on any of these, just not sure about the ride of the longer reach versions I've seen on these Ross MTBs.

 

[DrRumack80]

The Alta is a nice bike. I used to have the next model down, an '88 Hill Topper, chromoly and hi-ten, steel hubs.

The bullmoose bars look cool, but are not as wrist-friendly as other bars. Both of my '84 Sierras - I built the smaller-framed bike up from a bare frame, and used early 80's Specialized alloy riser bars with a generous amount of pullback and an SR stem. Much better for all-day riding comfort. The bullmoose bars are a longer reach and have decent pullback, but seem better suited for fast riding on or off road.

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

I’m still looking to get a chrome Ross; there’s been an ‘84 Mt. Whitney posted on our local FB Marketplace for months now, and the seller has finally started lowering his price… maybe soon.