1993 (?) K2 comp 1 restoration

[PaintedDesert]

Just picked this up locally: a K2 Comp-1, a bike I lusted after as a teenager but far too expensive back then. K2 is not at all known for their bikes in the early 90s (well before the Proflex buy-out), but here on mainland Europe they sold some fairly high-end bikes. There's little history on the web though.

The frame is crack and dent free but the clearcoat is damaged in several places. Most (but not all) original decals (under the clearcoat) are well preserved, with just a bit of fading. The state of drivetrain, brakes and fork (none original I believe) do indicate it's been well used.

I'm not sure about the exact age. Color scheme (similar to: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=272536 ) and M730 front mech place it around 1993, but the tubing seems to be larger diameter and a lot of the components correspond to 1994 or 1995, although I doubt these are original. There's a code engraved on the seat tube, starting with C98, but for sure it isn't a 1998 bike. By that time, K2 had taken over Proflex, and the logo was entirely different.

Weight of the bike, 90s mud included, is 12.1kg, so the frame itself should be reasonably light.

The goal is to strip it down first and weigh the frame, just to be able to judge what level of restoration it deserves. In any case, I'll renew the clearcoat and decals. I have some NOS M900 parts in boxes, but perhaps these are too valuable for this frame. We'll see.

Apologies for the poor phone photos.

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[PaintedDesert]

ok, so I'm facing quite a hurdle with this restoration: the seat post. I knew it was stuck when I bought it, but with so much of the post outside of the frame, I didn't think it would be such a pain getting it out. I've tried the usual steps:

- WD40 + trying to twist the saddle: nothing
- boiling water + ice: nothing
- finish line chill zone + big mole grip: nothing, except for the head of the post rotating w.r.t. the post itself
- seatpost in bench vice + using frame for leverage + more hot and cold: nothing except for a broken seatpost and now only about 2 inches of post left above the seat tube.
- some guys at work are considering welding something to the remains to try to hammer it out. They don't like the idea of sawing it out because the risk of sawing into the seat tube itself is large (alu in alu, so hard to feel when to stop).

Any tips?

 

[ted andkilde]

Re:

There was a thread a few months back where a member had made up some threaded adapters to allow the use of a slide hammer. IIRC, he has good success with a number of otherwise intractable posts.

Cheers, Ted

 

[PaintedDesert]

Thanks Ted, that sounds like a good idea, I'll have a look at said thread.

 

[PaintedDesert]

Re:

ok, I made some progress, not on the seatpost, but in determining what year it's from and how it fitted into the K2 range. On my bookshelf, I found an old Belgian buyers guide for 1993, and it has several K2's with pictures in there, plus a list of the models with their spec. See below for the scans.
Apparently, there were 3 versions of the Comp-1: LX, XT and XTR. For the rigid frames, the Comp-1 was the top model, while the Comp-99,88,77 etc seem to have been lower range, with Cro-mo instead of alu forks.
With a price of 99000 BEF for the XTR Comp-1, it was among the most expensive bikes available on the Belgian market, costing about the same as a Marin Team Issue. I think this bikes deserves a proper restoration.

 

[PaintedDesert]

It's out!

So, after not finding anyone with a slide hammer, and after going to the LBS only to be told that they don't have an adjustable reamer nor any other tips, I decided to take the long way: sawing it out. 4 hours, a few blisters and many worn saw blades later, it's out The moment it said "pop" was quite enjoyable

I also took the BB out, which is a UN70, suggesting 1992, although they may have used a left-over 1992 part for 1993.

 

[PaintedDesert]

Finally managed to complete the strip down and give the frame a thorough cleaning.

Weight including bolts and canti studs is 2080 grams, so it's a rather sturdy frame.

As shown in the last photo, there's a clearcoat on the aluminium. The alu seems to be somewhat polished before the clearcoat was applied as it looks rather mirror-like. Any advice from the paint experts on here on how to redo this? Media blast + some sanding + some polishing before applying a clear powdercoat? Will the paint stick if I do some polishing?

All advice is welcome!

 

[k-rod]

ahhh ... that wonderful "POP" !

 

[cogtopus]

Re:

@PaintedDesert I have a pretty similar frame but slightly different... Th top tube is narrowing when it hits the steertube, which leads to the fact that the cableguides doesn´t fit on the top but have to be positioned on the left side of the frame! I guess that I have the 93 Model and yours is the 92 Model. But I do only find the pictures and info on it. The serial number doesn´t even take me further... Can you look up yours? It might start with C98... Does it? Mine starts with M28.
regards Moritz

 

[mudwiggle]

Re:

This is a K2 I found paid $1.00 NZ for it serial number is M981021183