Quotama
Dirt Disciple
Hi Guys.
Finally got down to this project again. I got this bike late December last year. It popped up on the local marketplace. Of course it somehow spoke to me even though I am mostly into Road bikes. It was built up with a terrible suspension fork ( stuck as well ) and of course it had a stuck seatpost. Frame number is 14899W, which should make it a late 89? so probably a 90s model year. I have checked the 1990 catalog on here and it is in there in this colour.
Luckily after some contact with the seller he managed to find the original front forks. It was a little bit of a sad story. The original owner had recently passed away and the seller was his old friend helping the family clear the house. It probably had been sitting for a while though and the cranks wouldnt even turn over. It is rare to find these in the Netherlands, although the local Mtb museum has a couple of them ( defenitely worth a visit -> https://mountainbikemuseum.nl/home )
I wrestled with the seatpost for quite a while. I had it sitting upside down for two weeks.
The first centimeters were a struggle.
But at some point I could clamp it in the vise and twist it out using the frame.
The axle and bearings require some forcefull removal as well. Both the axle to bearing as well as the bearing to frame being mostly stuck.
Luckily the axle appears to be in decent enough shape, not great but it feels reasonably smooth, I can still polish it a little bit.
The bike was fitted with a strange mix of a 105-7sp rear derailleur and deore index shifters. It ran deore brake levers, but XTR cantilevers front and rear. I have some parts which are probably original to the bike. I have the suntour xc pro crankset, the xc pro front derailleur, a stem and the seatpost clamp. Unfortunately the seatpost clamp has a crack in it, so that is not safe to reuse, the seapost was damaged while removing it. A 26.4 seatpost is on order. The headset is an 'unknown' black needle bearing, cant remember the brand right now, but it will do. The wheels came with the bike, some deore hubs on a ritchey and a specialized rimruim. The rear hub has 130 rear spacing and HG 7 speed freehub, while the frame spacing is 135. It was run with two spacers with on either side of the hub on the skewer, dont ask me why...
These wheels can't stay, although the front hub is reasonably smooth. Stem seems to be a simple black chromoly stem, not the same as in the catalog, but functional and sturdy. It can be reused.
This is the current status of the bike, it sat like this for the last few months and finished another project first. I have ordered the press fit bearings and new collars for it two weeks ago, they should be here next week according to tracking and customs ( The collars were stuck on too, and I had no other option than to cut them off ). It is a bit unsure how exactly it will be built or whether it will be painted. I know its only original once and I do like patina, but the metal needs protecting too. Especially the area with the chain suck damage doesnt look too pretty. The only problem is all the colour differences and stickers placed on the frame under which more original colour is present. A tune sticker, a cooks bros sticker on the NDS chainstay. And there are some parts of the fat chance sticker set missing. The orange appears to be powder coat to me, which would make it significantly cheaper to redo it.
And to be fair I'm not a huge fan of fluorescent orange. Especially since I know how much brighter it should be than it is now! Other original colours are Porsche red, Black and Candy wild cherry. Of which the last on is wet paint I, i have seen pictures of black and red bikes which also do look like they were powdercoated. Red is an option to me.
I'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions regarding the build, available parts etc.
Lets see if I can keep you updated.
Have fun riding!
Lukas
Finally got down to this project again. I got this bike late December last year. It popped up on the local marketplace. Of course it somehow spoke to me even though I am mostly into Road bikes. It was built up with a terrible suspension fork ( stuck as well ) and of course it had a stuck seatpost. Frame number is 14899W, which should make it a late 89? so probably a 90s model year. I have checked the 1990 catalog on here and it is in there in this colour.
Luckily after some contact with the seller he managed to find the original front forks. It was a little bit of a sad story. The original owner had recently passed away and the seller was his old friend helping the family clear the house. It probably had been sitting for a while though and the cranks wouldnt even turn over. It is rare to find these in the Netherlands, although the local Mtb museum has a couple of them ( defenitely worth a visit -> https://mountainbikemuseum.nl/home )
I wrestled with the seatpost for quite a while. I had it sitting upside down for two weeks.
The first centimeters were a struggle.
But at some point I could clamp it in the vise and twist it out using the frame.
The axle and bearings require some forcefull removal as well. Both the axle to bearing as well as the bearing to frame being mostly stuck.
Luckily the axle appears to be in decent enough shape, not great but it feels reasonably smooth, I can still polish it a little bit.
The bike was fitted with a strange mix of a 105-7sp rear derailleur and deore index shifters. It ran deore brake levers, but XTR cantilevers front and rear. I have some parts which are probably original to the bike. I have the suntour xc pro crankset, the xc pro front derailleur, a stem and the seatpost clamp. Unfortunately the seatpost clamp has a crack in it, so that is not safe to reuse, the seapost was damaged while removing it. A 26.4 seatpost is on order. The headset is an 'unknown' black needle bearing, cant remember the brand right now, but it will do. The wheels came with the bike, some deore hubs on a ritchey and a specialized rimruim. The rear hub has 130 rear spacing and HG 7 speed freehub, while the frame spacing is 135. It was run with two spacers with on either side of the hub on the skewer, dont ask me why...
These wheels can't stay, although the front hub is reasonably smooth. Stem seems to be a simple black chromoly stem, not the same as in the catalog, but functional and sturdy. It can be reused.
This is the current status of the bike, it sat like this for the last few months and finished another project first. I have ordered the press fit bearings and new collars for it two weeks ago, they should be here next week according to tracking and customs ( The collars were stuck on too, and I had no other option than to cut them off ). It is a bit unsure how exactly it will be built or whether it will be painted. I know its only original once and I do like patina, but the metal needs protecting too. Especially the area with the chain suck damage doesnt look too pretty. The only problem is all the colour differences and stickers placed on the frame under which more original colour is present. A tune sticker, a cooks bros sticker on the NDS chainstay. And there are some parts of the fat chance sticker set missing. The orange appears to be powder coat to me, which would make it significantly cheaper to redo it.
And to be fair I'm not a huge fan of fluorescent orange. Especially since I know how much brighter it should be than it is now! Other original colours are Porsche red, Black and Candy wild cherry. Of which the last on is wet paint I, i have seen pictures of black and red bikes which also do look like they were powdercoated. Red is an option to me.
I'd like to hear your thoughts and suggestions regarding the build, available parts etc.
Lets see if I can keep you updated.
Have fun riding!
Lukas
