Restoration of the old Soviet Start Highway of the Kharkov Bicycle Plant (31 photos)

Always in the depths of my soul I dreamed of restoring an old car to such a state that you look at it and everything freezes inside)). I even considered the option of purchasing a VAZ 2101 or VAZ 2103. But I understood that buying a car was only a hundredth part of the final result. You also need finance for spare parts, painting, and storing the car is also a considerable expense.

And this despite the fact that VAZ junk and spare parts for them are inexpensive. Gradually, this dream was shattered by common sense and family life with many children)).

I've always really liked bicycles :-). There were a three-wheeled steel bike, then Lyovushka, then Shkolnik, Stork... there was a break of 6 years... Forward, Kross, GT.

While riding, sometimes I came across crocodiles like Tourist, Start-Shosse or Ural, and something made me turn around and follow them with my eyes. At that moment I still didn’t understand what it was :-). Until in 2015, while participating in the VIII Baikal Cycling Marathon, I saw a restored KhVZ bicycle in person. And then I immediately understood what to do :-). After returning from the marathon, I started reading a bunch of forums, watching videos on YouTube.com and realized that restoring a bike is quite possible, including money, and most importantly, I want it. Plus, it would be nice to have a road bike, and a road bike that combines a beautiful retro bike is even better.

Original frame

Slava from BikeService helped with the frame. At first I thought that it was made in 1981, but when preparing for painting, when they peeled off the old one, it turned out that it was made in 1987.

On the advice of a colleague, I came to an auto repair center, where master Dima took over the frame: they stripped everything down to the metal, primed it and painted it. I bought the paint and chose the color myself.

Stickers

I found a mockup of original stickers on the internet. I took the dimensions on the frame and wrote the dimensions in mm directly in MS Paint. And it was in this form that he sent it to the advertising agency.

In three days they made very high-quality stickers, with good colors. For which we thank them very much.

I took the stickers and paint to the service station and the agonizing wait began. I asked Dima the master: “Will it work out well?” to which he answered me: “It will turn out to be a bitch” (vocabulary preserved) and he turned out to be right! )))

Updated frame

The stickers are glued to the paint, and then several layers of varnish are applied to everything (frame and stickers).

Wheels

Slava ordered wheels

Bushings

Since the black bushings were out of design, they had to be replaced with white bushings on industrial bearings (Novatec D041SB):

Wheels with white hubs

After assembly.

Tires

Kenda Kwest slicks

General view of wheels and tires

General view of the bike

And this is how the bike has already begun to take on the proper appearance (the saddle will be different, the handlebars will have modern switches and a white winding)

Saddle

On AliExpress I grabbed a quality saddle for free with an 85% discount

Winding

There I ordered two sets of steering wheel wraps for pennies.

Pedals

I also ordered inexpensive original lightweight pedals there.

Bottom line

And then, after a long, tedious wait, the day came when Slava simply sent me a photo.

As it turned out that day, in the morning, all the missing parts (carriage, connecting rods, system, cassette, switches, monoblocks, etc.) arrived to him. All Shimano Sora. This miracle was assembled in a few hours.

Of course, I immediately went to BikeService to feel, see, sit down...

On this day, unfortunately, it was not possible to run it in, it was raining.

But for tomorrow...

Run-in

I skated for about 40 minutes during my lunch break.

First impressions on the asphalt and on the plain, rushing like a bullet. At times it even feels old, especially when you realize that the brakes are in an unusual place for your hand (after all, I rode only MTB for several years). It goes silently and quickly! If earlier I often used the expression - “The sound of tires and the sound of wind in the ears,” then here, due to slicks, there is only wind noise in the ears))). Downhill on small bumps I felt with the back of my neck that a road bike with its speed and severity would not forgive mistakes! If a mountain hardtail can swallow your inaccuracy (driving off the edge of the asphalt, or getting into a pothole), then a road bike is critical to this.

I'm happy as a mammoth!!! Exactly what I imagined in my head came true. I am one hundred percent satisfied with the appearance! Driving still takes some getting used to.

I experienced the most positive emotions!

Well, a few more days of testing have passed. The impressions remain only positive. I got used to the switches, brakes and steering wheel, and began to feel more confident. The speed of acceleration and movement continues to impress. For moving on smooth asphalt, this is certainly the bike you need. I went to the first maintenance after assembly, Slava adjusted the switches, everything works like a clock. We weighed it, it turned out to be 11,800 grams. Still, in comparison with my MTB GT Karakoram Elite 2014 it seems like fluff))). It’s very pleasant to pick up everything sophisticated when you go up to the floor. I can't wait to test it on the long-distance highway. The total cost of the project is $500.