Ziggurat
Retro Newbie
Hey folks 
I meant to join and post earlier in the evening but I got carried away browsing all the cool bikes I was drooling over as a kid
Here's my contribution to retrebike.co.uk:
I've dusted off my '94 Super V which had about 3 years of (well-maintained) use. After that I had a less valuable junk bike (Saracen Sahara) to trash at Uni, and since graduating I've been in London for another 5 years, miles away from decent riding while the 'dale has just been gathering dust.
I don't know what to do with it at the moment. Money's tight and I need to commute to work by bike if I can (lets me cancel gym membership AND save on tube fares) but I won't be happy riding to work on anything that can't be locked up and left for a day without worry about it being pinched. On top of that, this is London commuting and the last thing I need is something that consists entirely of discontinued and bespoke parts to become my staple transport.
On the other hand, I love this bike and I know if I try to sell it in most places, I'll be lucky to see £250 for it, which leaves me bikeless and looking at maybe a £500 bike as my only bike. I worked as a bike-shop mechanic when I wasn't at college so this was a frame that hadn't sold where I worked - knocked the manager down to £850 and then built using parts of the time. My first build in '96 was STX RC throughout and then as those parts wore out I did a complete LX/XT 24-speed in '98. My Engineering Masters started in 1999 and that was the last time I took a spanner to it.
So, the big question:
1) Is this bike worthless to sell, leaving me better off servicing the rear shock, stripping the moving parts and cabling and replacing with modern Deore or SLX groupset? I'll have to source some decent v-brakes since this thing far predates disc-mounts, and since the hubs/cassette will need changing I might as well change the wheels too. I guess my budget is around £500 for this.
2) Am I likely to sell it for enough that, when added to my £500 budget, I can replace it outright with something better suited to what I have open to me in London (trials, commuting, horsing around). My first looks say that there' are some quite nice hardtails popping up for around the £1K mark.
So, whaddaya reckon? Please bear in mind that I've barely touched it since it was put in storage and it needs a good dust down and tune-up. I did ride it a mile or so the other day and mechanically, it's still sound
- '94 frame (large), decent condition for use, but the odd paint chip.
- HCV440 carbon swingarm. Decals rubbed on right side, but still lookin' gooood.
- Fox Alps 4. Needs a service since it's gone squelchy, but seals are good as it still had 120PSI in it after a decade
- Fatty 50mm headshok, lockable.
- '98 Mavic 517 rims on black '98 LX hubs. Ritchey Stainless DB spokes of course.
- '98 LX brakes (M600's?), chainset, front mech.
- '98 XT rear mech, BB, Combined shifters and brake-levers.
- '98 Ritchey forcelite pin and bar
- '98 CODA seatbolt, bar-ends and stem (i'll admit my crimes, it used to have a riser!)
- Onza Honch black/amber (the one true tyre colourscheme!)
- Pedals undecided yet. I'm not sure I want to use my SPD's anywhere near a bendy bus.
I meant to join and post earlier in the evening but I got carried away browsing all the cool bikes I was drooling over as a kid
Here's my contribution to retrebike.co.uk:
I've dusted off my '94 Super V which had about 3 years of (well-maintained) use. After that I had a less valuable junk bike (Saracen Sahara) to trash at Uni, and since graduating I've been in London for another 5 years, miles away from decent riding while the 'dale has just been gathering dust.
I don't know what to do with it at the moment. Money's tight and I need to commute to work by bike if I can (lets me cancel gym membership AND save on tube fares) but I won't be happy riding to work on anything that can't be locked up and left for a day without worry about it being pinched. On top of that, this is London commuting and the last thing I need is something that consists entirely of discontinued and bespoke parts to become my staple transport.
On the other hand, I love this bike and I know if I try to sell it in most places, I'll be lucky to see £250 for it, which leaves me bikeless and looking at maybe a £500 bike as my only bike. I worked as a bike-shop mechanic when I wasn't at college so this was a frame that hadn't sold where I worked - knocked the manager down to £850 and then built using parts of the time. My first build in '96 was STX RC throughout and then as those parts wore out I did a complete LX/XT 24-speed in '98. My Engineering Masters started in 1999 and that was the last time I took a spanner to it.
So, the big question:
1) Is this bike worthless to sell, leaving me better off servicing the rear shock, stripping the moving parts and cabling and replacing with modern Deore or SLX groupset? I'll have to source some decent v-brakes since this thing far predates disc-mounts, and since the hubs/cassette will need changing I might as well change the wheels too. I guess my budget is around £500 for this.
2) Am I likely to sell it for enough that, when added to my £500 budget, I can replace it outright with something better suited to what I have open to me in London (trials, commuting, horsing around). My first looks say that there' are some quite nice hardtails popping up for around the £1K mark.
So, whaddaya reckon? Please bear in mind that I've barely touched it since it was put in storage and it needs a good dust down and tune-up. I did ride it a mile or so the other day and mechanically, it's still sound
- '94 frame (large), decent condition for use, but the odd paint chip.
- HCV440 carbon swingarm. Decals rubbed on right side, but still lookin' gooood.
- Fox Alps 4. Needs a service since it's gone squelchy, but seals are good as it still had 120PSI in it after a decade
- Fatty 50mm headshok, lockable.
- '98 Mavic 517 rims on black '98 LX hubs. Ritchey Stainless DB spokes of course.
- '98 LX brakes (M600's?), chainset, front mech.
- '98 XT rear mech, BB, Combined shifters and brake-levers.
- '98 Ritchey forcelite pin and bar
- '98 CODA seatbolt, bar-ends and stem (i'll admit my crimes, it used to have a riser!)
- Onza Honch black/amber (the one true tyre colourscheme!)
- Pedals undecided yet. I'm not sure I want to use my SPD's anywhere near a bendy bus.
