This vintage Tange MTB Steel 90s Novara Aspen bike, designed as a rigid mountain bike with 26” wheels, has been converted into a drop bar commuting or gravel bike by the previous owner, with some lovely investment parts such as Velo Orange aluminum fenders to protect you from rain and mud, Shimano Dura-Ace bar-end shifters, Tektro brake levers, brown Brooks microfiber bar tape with a brown saddle to match, and a two tier rear rack, making it an ideal bike to use with panniers while keeping room to strap extra items to the top of the rack - a perfect setup for commuting, hauling, bike touring, bikepacking and bike camping. The front fork has mid way mounting points making it a good bike for a front mounted rack — another great feature for these activities.
It has some gently used but pretty new 26x1.75” Panaracer Pasela tires with tan sidewall, making for a comfortable ride on bumpy roads and some off-roading. Araya rims, Shimano Exage groupset: hubs, brakes (rear chainstay mounted U brake, and front cantilever brakes), front & rear derailleurs and crankset, with Shimano biopace chainrings. Comfortably geared for hills and speedier rides with a 3x7 setup.
The colorway is a playful yellow and teal combination, with pink accents, and a decorative lug at the seat tube/top tube juncture. Most likely made in Taiwan for REI in the early 90s, this bike‘s previous home was in Portland.
Measurements:
- Seat tube length (center of BB to center of top tube): 46cm
- Top tube length (center of seat tube to center of head tube): 55cm
- Standover height: 74cm
Sizing Note: The geometry of this bike would be best for someone with a longer torso/shorter leg ratio. It would fit a taller rider than a typical 46cm bike would, because of the long reach.
