1994 Manitou DH, Beneke Replica

[Skynet]

Re: 1994 Manitou DH

The AC china guide. Part of the low quality pic from the WTB site blown up just to make it even worse quality! Looked through a load of pics and can't find another example. Although it looks like the AC is a cut out it could just be a sticker.

Worked out a few more parts and updated the list. The seatpost is a Shannon, so it's a stylised ON not EN, perhaps a special as I've only seen pics of them in silver and black, this one's blue. Not a name I remember but they're still made so will try and find their site and message them about it. Front tyre IRC Geoclaw, that's going by Jurgen saying it was an IRC and then comparing the label size, only seen a Geoclaw being so short and in black and white. Calculated the chainring sizes to be 56/36. My brother thinks he might know what the guide is.

Have also messaged Answer to see if they have any decent photos in their archives they wouldn't mind sharing. Might go straight to the trash but you never know.

 

[Skynet]

Re: 1994 Manitou DH

Pestered Jurgen again, hopefully for the last time, and asked about the decal on the down tube. He says it's the logo of a now defunct German clothing company call Sunshine that sponsored him back then. So it's back to google image searches, good job sunshine doesn't bring up millions of hits, oh wait.... He also said that a Shannon seatpost rang a bell.

Update: Apparently Shannon haven't a website, trying to find a contact email instead.

 

[Skynet]

Re: 1994 Manitou DH

Not got anywhere with the Sunshine logo yet, will look some more this afternoon, but have been looking at rims. An interview in '94 he said that he was using Ritchey Vantage Pro WCS rims, that would match up the profile of the rear. The front is different, he also used Mavic 117 CD ceramic's which would match that profile and the colour.

All you can glean is that the rear hub's blue, another blow up of the WTB photo. I'm just going to go with it being a Ringle, so a SuperEight. I know earlier he used Kingsberry hubs but from what I've seen they were silver.

 

[unit3]

Re:

You need to ask that guy in the picture, hhe's having a good look :-D

 

[Skynet]

Re: 1994 Manitou DH

Why didn't I think of that!

 

[benjabbi]

Re: 1994 Manitou DH

The chainguide looks like a modified front mech to me.

 

[Skynet]

Re: 1994 Manitou DH

It does although the double vertical sections don't look like a standard mech. Guess that was early days for downhill specific kit so there was still a fair bit of making do.

Forgot to say the orange squiggles on the downtube decal is stylised text that says sunshine. Not found a image match yet so not sure if the purple bit in the middle is just like it looks, a blob, or an actual thing.

 

[boxxer]

Re:

I have a couple of sunshine decals and a catalogue somewhere.....

Would take me a while to dig it out right enough, emblem was a rhino if I recall correctly...

 

[Skynet]

Re: 1994 Manitou DH

That's handy, thanks boxxer. I've been looking through masses of images and not found it. I'll try and add a rhino (strange image choice) to it and see anything pops up but not hopeful.

 

[boxxer]

Re:

Remembered last night that I got my Decals from a guy in the Canary Islands who was working for a MTB guiding company in about 1994/5

He was riding a heavytools FS (looked like an earlier version on a 97 Manitou) but all the clothing they had / sold was Sunshine

I'll be tidying the back room later (chrimbo prep) so let me see if I can find anything