1989 Rock Mountain Blizzard Slope

[27motorhead]

@Canuckbiker I always enjoy your well documented and "never finished" builds (because there is always a tweak/upgrade that might happen along the line!) .

Aside from the bikes themselves I'm always interested in the various set-ups we all have from pristine garages/workshops to small sheds and front rooms of houses or apartments. Loving the furnace room!!! Quite some set-up there vs. a typical UK central heated house. We could all do with a furnace room to allow all painted frames to harden!

I'd be tempted to leave it weeks, but as @Dr Dremel said a finger nail test in an inconspicuous (had to spell check that!) area every few days to check on progress.

Once again you have done an amazing job restoring this gorgeous RM whilst retaining as much originality as possible. It's gonna be another beautiful build based on your stash of components and lovely cockpit with XC Pro thumbies and SS5 levers. Nice choice!

 

[Canuckbiker]

Thanks as always @27motorhead, for the kind words and detailed observations

I’m itching to get this done but have decided to wait two weeks for the final complete build, hasn’t stopped me mounting the front U Brake c/w Brodie booster to check out the look

I figure decals are safe to apply this weekend but all clamping to paint will wait til the Easter long weekend

 

[Canuckbiker]

I made an amazing score today. I have been checking FleeBay regularly over the last few months hoping to source some NOS or nicer condition tubular 26" tires. They do seem very rare and I wonder if other manufacturers other than Wolber even produced MTB versions.

As noted early in the thread this Blizzard has Wolber 26" tubular wheels. Hard to say if the original buyer wanted them with their purchase or if it was an upgrade later but these wheels would have been sold around the same time or shortly after 1989. For those unfamiliar tubular tires have the tube sewn in and are glued on to special profile rims. Used exclusively in professional road racing until clinchers got good enough and still used by some pros today along with cyclocross riders still using them today, I had never heard of their use on an MTB.

I rode tubs for a couple years in the late 80s early 90s but became fed up after a couple flats and switched to clinchers on my road bike. They do have a very nice ride. I've seen modern tire sealant can be used now a days to deal with flats. Unstitching and then stitching back up is not something I'd ever attempt.

But yes! I snagged two NOS Wolber Avoriaz tubulars today which we expensive but not to crazy. All I had been seeing for sale were NOS tire/rim combos which still needed spokes & hubs c/w the build for really big bucks.

Good things come to those who wait I guess

My plan is to build and ride the Blizzard this weekend, these will come in the mail in a couple weeks when I can enjoy the process of gluing them on

The somewhat tired looking existing tubulars still safe to ride (good to keep as spares):



The NOS ones:

 

[27motorhead]

May I remind you what you wrote on the first page:

This build will be on the cheap as much as possible as it is under the radar with regards to my better half

I don’t think that Suntour cassette would have been that cheap either!!! Love the ever evolving builds!!!

 

[Canuckbiker]

May I remind you what you wrote on the first page:

, Ahh yes... The best of intentions!

Sometimes the rabbit hole ends up being just a little bit deeper than anticipated

 

[zonoskar]

For my tubulars, I got some Tufo rim tape and they went on with only a small fight But I guess it's a way smaller fight than when you actually glue them on. Also, Tufo still make new 26" tubulars.

 

[Canuckbiker]

For my tubulars, I got some Tufo rim tape and they went on with only a small fight But I guess it's a way smaller fight than when you actually glue them on. Also, Tufo still make new 26" tubulars.

Thanks for chiming in @zonoskar, I'd never heard of Tufo tires but just did some digging. Interesting offerings they have including a couple 26" options, too bad black wall only but good to know about these. It's funny how sometimes we talk about our vintage stuff being expensive especially NOS stuff only to see modern equivalents costing even more lol. I'm sure these modern versions are superior though and the claimed weights are amazing, 495g including inner tube for the 2.0 XC2 model.

This tape vs glue thing came up with a buddy yesterday and I kind of dismissed it after watching a video of one opinion. This opinion figured tape was fine for 100+ psi road applications but questionable for much lower psi applications like cyclocross suggesting the tire could come loose.

I also watched the application video on the Tufo website and yes, using this tape looks like the easiest & best way to go regarding install, easy post mounting centering by leaving most of the tape backing on until perfectly centered.

Would you say that you have no concerns riding an MTB in anger running 40 psi using this tape?

I found a couple Tufo rolls and they are the MTB width

 

[zonoskar]

I have the XC4 model. They are on a bike I'm not going to ride much. And like you, I'm a bit afraid for punctures. I don't want to shell out another 80 euro to get a new tire. But I struggled enough getting them on that I would just ride them, just maybe not that hard as I ride my modern bikes.

If you're getting tape, I would go with one that matches your rim width. I got the MTB rim tape, but it was almost 4mm too wide for the rim. I tried cutting it down to match the rim, but then the protective film would tear at random places, making seating the tire a pain in the behind. So the second wheel I just kept the original width of the tape, but it doesn't look that great with the black sidewalls. On tan sidewalls it might not matter.

But yes, I'm also a bit skeptical about the use of tape. But I have the same reservation about glue Normally I would avoid tubulars, but I got a great deal on the spinergy rims, so I could pass that.

 

[Canuckbiker]

I have the XC4 model. They are on a bike I'm not going to ride much. And like you, I'm a bit afraid for punctures. I don't want to shell out another 80 euro to get a new tire. But I struggled enough getting them on that I would just ride them, just maybe not that hard as I ride my modern bikes.

If you're getting tape, I would go with one that matches your rim width. I got the MTB rim tape, but it was almost 4mm too wide for the rim. I tried cutting it down to match the rim, but then the protective film would tear at random places, making seating the tire a pain in the behind. So the second wheel I just kept the original width of the tape, but it doesn't look that great with the black sidewalls. On tan sidewalls it might not matter.

But yes, I'm also a bit skeptical about the use of tape. But I have the same reservation about glue Normally I would avoid tubulars, but I got a great deal on the spinergy rims, so I could pass that.

Okay, cool. I've since read a few posts on another site where many roadies have fully switched to tape so I'll give it a go. Will cost more than glue but think its worth it with all the other benefits.

My Wolber TR1s are pretty wide at around 25.5mm wide, I just ordered two rolls of the Tufo brand (MTB version) tape. Based on your experience does the Tufo MTB tape width better match my rim width?

 

[zonoskar]

I thought the MTB tape was 25mm, so should fit well.