The story of my 1994 FSR started long ago when I bought it new while working for a Specialized dealer in high school. I rode and raced it for a couple years, sold it to my dentist/neighbor (Chuck), and moved on to a Mrazek hard tail. A couple months ago, I decided to contact Chuck and see if he would be interested in selling it back to me. We agreed to meet next time I was in town to visit my parents. Last month I met with Chuck to see the bike, and he gave it to me. Free. In return, all he wanted was for me to tune up his (freaking amazing) 3Rensho mountain bike and send him a photo of the bike restored. The FSR had been ridden hard and put away wet and needed a lot of attention. I decided to completely strip it, apply frame saver, rebuild the shock, and will be slowly building it back up. This might irk some of the retro grouches here, but I'll be rebuilding it with modern components since I plan to actually ride it frequently.
This is how the bike looked when I picked it up from Chuck.
The seatpost was very stuck. I inverted the frame and poured white vinegar through the bottle boss and let it sit overnight. Since the seat was already trashed, I wedged a long aluminum tube in the rails and twisted the post free. Surprisingly, it buffed out very well and will stay with the frame since it is an odd size - 29.2mm.
Here is the bottom bracket. I'm pretty sure it had never been removed.
Fox Alps 4 rear shock, freshly rebuilt by Risse Racing.
Here is the bare frame. Without the shock, it weighs 2810 grams. Portly.
As for the rebuild, I will go with either XT or SLX parts for the drivetrain. The fork is a 1996? Judy SL Ti in yellow with speed springs, which might get the Risse Racing makeover after I ride it a bit. It spins on the frame with a Crank Brothers Sage SL headset. For wheels, I found NOS Stans ZTR 355 rims, have ordered green Circus Monkey hubs (really want green but don't want to pay for King), and will use (probably) silver Sapim Laser spokes with green alloy nipples. I'll run Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires because I love them and the other bits are TBD, but will be silver to keep the retro feel. Oh, and I found a NOS Control Tech seat binder bolt in silver to replace the stock quick release.
I'll do my best to keep this thread updated as things progress, but it will be slow!
This is how the bike looked when I picked it up from Chuck.
The seatpost was very stuck. I inverted the frame and poured white vinegar through the bottle boss and let it sit overnight. Since the seat was already trashed, I wedged a long aluminum tube in the rails and twisted the post free. Surprisingly, it buffed out very well and will stay with the frame since it is an odd size - 29.2mm.
Here is the bottom bracket. I'm pretty sure it had never been removed.
Fox Alps 4 rear shock, freshly rebuilt by Risse Racing.
Here is the bare frame. Without the shock, it weighs 2810 grams. Portly.
As for the rebuild, I will go with either XT or SLX parts for the drivetrain. The fork is a 1996? Judy SL Ti in yellow with speed springs, which might get the Risse Racing makeover after I ride it a bit. It spins on the frame with a Crank Brothers Sage SL headset. For wheels, I found NOS Stans ZTR 355 rims, have ordered green Circus Monkey hubs (really want green but don't want to pay for King), and will use (probably) silver Sapim Laser spokes with green alloy nipples. I'll run Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires because I love them and the other bits are TBD, but will be silver to keep the retro feel. Oh, and I found a NOS Control Tech seat binder bolt in silver to replace the stock quick release.
I'll do my best to keep this thread updated as things progress, but it will be slow!
