Good COVID project, typically I get a chance to save at least one good bike from the dumpster in Birch Bay Washington (USA) for free, where I have a summer trailer, but living in Vancouver Canada I haven’t been able to go there since March. Feeling bored & wanting a project I started cruising local Craigslist and noticed a sweet Rocky Mountain for $250 CAD in very good shape with full Deore LX (I already have a 93’ Kona Kilauea, 91’ Bianchi Sika, 94’ Specialized Stumpjumper & 96’ GT Zaskar so don’t really need another 90s MTB) . I could have sworn I’d recommended it to a friend a couple months back when reading it had been posted three days ago (my friend was not interested). I think that low seat height and sad looking comfort saddle threw buyers off? I low balled the seller with $150 stating I knew it had been on the market for a couple months, he countered $175 and we had a deal. The Marzocchi XC51 was kind of intriguing but basically a pogo stick (holds air but must have lost all oil) I may rebuild it if I can figure out how to. I wanted a rigid fork and thought “no problem, I can find a used fork for less than $50”, nope! Very few forks were available and good ones not cheap. I was looking for a 410mm axle to crown corrected unit as the XC51 measured about that without any sag. I then came across a grail fork: Rocky Mountain Tange Prestige Superlight for $120 on CL. Was only able to get the seller down to $110. Then the steerer ended up being ¼” too short & it’s only 395mm axle to crown. Took a chance that it would not negatively impact the geometry. Hmm, what if I defile the frame? So.. not sure what others will think but ended up hack sawing the top of the headtube ¼”. Have to say I did a good job IMHO, started with a brand new blade holding it in my bare hand (after marking it with a caliper referencing the original top edge) took my time and then added the blade holder to finish, followed but a file. Had to add some paint to the cut area as the upper cup of the Ritchey Logic headset does not sit down tight and the cut seemed more visable. See from the pictures and let me know if you think it was a mistake, I’m quite happy, the fork is 720g and finishes the bike IMHO. So, $285 for a sweet Rocky Mountain? Not too bad in my Vancouver market, I found the old 1994 RM catalog, the Vapor was a mid range model, built to be tough, the frame is reasonably light at 4lb 10oz and looks hardly used, I put on a 170g Zoom bar, polished the Ritchey seatpost (was black) and through on an XT M735 RD, the bike as it sits is just over 24lbs. Took it for a ride last night and man, it’s a sweet ride! I’m confident the Superlight fork takes a lot of the credit compared to how it would ride with that Marzocchi. I now have my first Rocky Mountain! In the 90s a friend bought a Blizzard (around 1990 I think) & I’ve always wanted one.
As purchased:
After Refurbish:
As purchased:
After Refurbish:
