Well, trying out that M900 RD sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole
It got me thinking, wouldn’t more M900 be even better?
Realizing this frame is a 91’ (apparently serial numbers moved to the bottom bracket on 92’ frames, the serial number on my new frame is on the dropout) the 91’ & 92’ Pinnacle frames are basically built identical making M900 technically too new if I was worried about that.
Also, the Pinnacle is not top of the range but now that I have some minty factory Klein paint using M900 seems totally justified.
I also had a minty XT seatpost needing a new home and think it suits my new build better than the Syncros unit.
I’ve now got an almost full M900 build for the first time, only missing the headset & seatpost. Added all three XTR skewers, derailleurs, wheels, cassette, brifters, cranks & brakes.
I can always keep on eye out for a headset but really like the XT seatpost so it’s staying.
Managed to get ahold of some NOS Ritchey dark ano rims. These rims are a bit new (around 96’) but have that good ol’ Mavic style profile I was wanting and paired to M900 hubs look fantastic IMHO. I generally prefer dark ano rims against tan wall tires. I think I’m getting better at wheel building with about three sets under my belt now
A couple other minor tweaks: Klein chainstay protector & proper ALL white stem decals (no black outline typically used against paint which is not black which came with my previous frame decal set)
As with many M900 brifters 30 year old gummy internal grease required them to be fully rebuilt.
I had got the brifters back functioning using WD-40 and a toothbrush after removing the housings to scrub out the gummy grease. They felt like they could use some grease though so aided by Youtube videos took the plunge and completed a full rebuild of each shifter. I found a partially broken pawl in the front shifter. Luckly I have a set of DX brifters of the same era kicking around and stole a replacement part from it to replace the broken piece, see photo.
I have to admit that riding a full M900 drivetrain for the first time was very impressive. It doesn’t just look great but really does live up to all the hype from BITD
