I had been looking for a bike to refurbish for some time, ideally a Kona.
I was taking rubbish down the local tip one day, and noticed a bike, I was about to carry on walking past it when I noticed the XT front mech, then the XT shifters. There were a couple of parts missing, stem bolt being one of them, but I found a box of bike parts not far from it with the rest of the parts in!
It cost me £5!
This was it:
About 3 months later I managed to find the time to start work on it (after moving house etc).
It turned out not to be in bad condition.
There were a couple of patches of paint missing on the frame, but these were painted with a generic white paint.
Most parts were on the bike or in the box, the only parts missing were: chain, rear mech and saddle. Everything else seemed to be the original (or same as) parts.
After several weeks of a complete strip and clean, touching up and replacing a couple of broken parts she was ready for the Cannock Chase RetroBike ride, which was the first time I had ridden her.
I was very surprised how good this bike was to ride (apart from the squealing front brake). Probably the best frame I have ridden. It was good to use thumbshifters again! Everything performed perfectly on this first ride, nothing broke or needed adjusting.
The only thing I didn’t like was the head angle. The front wheel kept trying to wash out as it felt like there was too much body weight too far forward. The forks are too vertical, I am hoping a shorter stem will help to reduce this.
Frame: Diamondback Axis XT Tange Prestige DB main tubes
Fork: Tange straight blade Diamondback forks.
Headset: M730 Deore XT
Stem: Tioga T Bone 110mm
Handlebar: Tioga
Grips: Unknown Foam
Barends: Onza
Brakes: M730 Deore XT
Brake Pads: XT rear, Kool Stop front
Brake Cables: Oversize
Cantilever cable hangers: Shimano
Brake Levers: M733 Deore XT
Shifters: M730 Deore XT thumbshifters
Front Derailleur: M730 Deore XT
Rear Derailleur: STX-RC (LOOKING FOR M730 XT!)
Derailleur Cables: Jagwire
Cassette: 7 Speed Shimano
Chain: Shimano 7 speed
Cranks: M730 Deore XT
Crank Bolts: Yes!
Chainrings: Specialized
Chainring bolts: Yes.
Bottom Bracket: Unknown cartridge bearing square taper
Pedals: Shimano DX (modern!)
Hub Skewers: Shimano
Rims: Araya RM-20
Hubs: M730 Deore XT
Nipples: Yes.
Spokes: Stainless
Tyres: Farmer John rear, Farmers John’s Cousin front
Tubes: Cheap.
Saddle: Tioga
Seatpost: SR Sakae
Seatpost Binder: Shimano
Weight: 27.5lb
I was taking rubbish down the local tip one day, and noticed a bike, I was about to carry on walking past it when I noticed the XT front mech, then the XT shifters. There were a couple of parts missing, stem bolt being one of them, but I found a box of bike parts not far from it with the rest of the parts in!
It cost me £5!
This was it:
About 3 months later I managed to find the time to start work on it (after moving house etc).
It turned out not to be in bad condition.
There were a couple of patches of paint missing on the frame, but these were painted with a generic white paint.
Most parts were on the bike or in the box, the only parts missing were: chain, rear mech and saddle. Everything else seemed to be the original (or same as) parts.
After several weeks of a complete strip and clean, touching up and replacing a couple of broken parts she was ready for the Cannock Chase RetroBike ride, which was the first time I had ridden her.
I was very surprised how good this bike was to ride (apart from the squealing front brake). Probably the best frame I have ridden. It was good to use thumbshifters again! Everything performed perfectly on this first ride, nothing broke or needed adjusting.
The only thing I didn’t like was the head angle. The front wheel kept trying to wash out as it felt like there was too much body weight too far forward. The forks are too vertical, I am hoping a shorter stem will help to reduce this.
Frame: Diamondback Axis XT Tange Prestige DB main tubes
Fork: Tange straight blade Diamondback forks.
Headset: M730 Deore XT
Stem: Tioga T Bone 110mm
Handlebar: Tioga
Grips: Unknown Foam
Barends: Onza
Brakes: M730 Deore XT
Brake Pads: XT rear, Kool Stop front
Brake Cables: Oversize
Cantilever cable hangers: Shimano
Brake Levers: M733 Deore XT
Shifters: M730 Deore XT thumbshifters
Front Derailleur: M730 Deore XT
Rear Derailleur: STX-RC (LOOKING FOR M730 XT!)
Derailleur Cables: Jagwire
Cassette: 7 Speed Shimano
Chain: Shimano 7 speed
Cranks: M730 Deore XT
Crank Bolts: Yes!
Chainrings: Specialized
Chainring bolts: Yes.
Bottom Bracket: Unknown cartridge bearing square taper
Pedals: Shimano DX (modern!)
Hub Skewers: Shimano
Rims: Araya RM-20
Hubs: M730 Deore XT
Nipples: Yes.
Spokes: Stainless
Tyres: Farmer John rear, Farmers John’s Cousin front
Tubes: Cheap.
Saddle: Tioga
Seatpost: SR Sakae
Seatpost Binder: Shimano
Weight: 27.5lb
