IRIX
Retro Guru
I got my amp about a year ago and quickly decided I wanted to make it unique and my own. This is after all my Unicorn bike and has long been an object of desire.
But it was missing an amp fork so I had to hunt one down. These aren't easy to find I soon found out. But finally I found one for a decent price.
Bought new wheels (Coda) with a 8-9spd hub & a M737 cassette so finally the XT group was complete.
I decided on keeping the rear suspension triangle polished alloy but painting the front triangle Fluorescent Yellow with turquoise & black decals. Fork legs will be fluorescent yellow as well as the Kore stem & handlebars.
Now it was time to get started....
Step 1: Separating the horst link and removing the rear suspension triangle.
NOT so easy.. The bolts on the pivot them selfs where so soft that they rounded out as soon as i touched them. After much research i decided to file the head off, have the bit drilled out and replacing the bolt with a standard 5mm allen bolt.
Finally the thing was appart so I could start the work on the main triangle.
Had the BB removed by a local bikeshop for free since i didnt have the correct tools for it.
Step 2: Paint stripping the main triangle. (Current stage)
It took some guts to take that step... My thoughts were "will I ruin my bike or should i just leave it as is...." Screw it.. Lets do this!
The paint stripping goo was applied and worked well. It was some kind of eco friendly paint stripper so the fumes where really not that strong.
The paint bubbled and melted but the bloody stickers stayed! Took for ever to get them off. The paint stripper doesn't seem to work on vinyl...
Currently the frame is allmost ready for paint. Just need to clean the cable hangers better.
I inspected the frame after stripping and found no cracks at all.
More to follow soon
But it was missing an amp fork so I had to hunt one down. These aren't easy to find I soon found out. But finally I found one for a decent price.
Bought new wheels (Coda) with a 8-9spd hub & a M737 cassette so finally the XT group was complete.
I decided on keeping the rear suspension triangle polished alloy but painting the front triangle Fluorescent Yellow with turquoise & black decals. Fork legs will be fluorescent yellow as well as the Kore stem & handlebars.
Now it was time to get started....
Step 1: Separating the horst link and removing the rear suspension triangle.
NOT so easy.. The bolts on the pivot them selfs where so soft that they rounded out as soon as i touched them. After much research i decided to file the head off, have the bit drilled out and replacing the bolt with a standard 5mm allen bolt.
Finally the thing was appart so I could start the work on the main triangle.
Had the BB removed by a local bikeshop for free since i didnt have the correct tools for it.
Step 2: Paint stripping the main triangle. (Current stage)
It took some guts to take that step... My thoughts were "will I ruin my bike or should i just leave it as is...." Screw it.. Lets do this!
The paint stripping goo was applied and worked well. It was some kind of eco friendly paint stripper so the fumes where really not that strong.
The paint bubbled and melted but the bloody stickers stayed! Took for ever to get them off. The paint stripper doesn't seem to work on vinyl...
Currently the frame is allmost ready for paint. Just need to clean the cable hangers better.
I inspected the frame after stripping and found no cracks at all.
More to follow soon
