Once A Hero
Old School Grand Master
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About 18months ago I was given a set of used green Michelin Wild Grippers, and I decided they were going to be the basis for a build. A pair of tyres is enough reason to build a bike, right? In fact, a pair of tyres is enough reason to source an entire bike for, right? 
I’ve been meaning to build a fast mid nineties XC bike for some time, and had my sights on it being a Giant MCM Team, a bike on which green Wild Grippers would be considered at home, but I never seem to be in the right place at the right time for one.
Along with the tyres, I’ve always had a rough spec in my mind, but for some reason my main ‘want’ was that the bike had to be Yellow.
I’d been gathering parts for a while in the hope that the right frameset would turn up at some point, and as luck would have it a suitable frameset popped up on here late last year.
Not a Giant MCM Team, but it was yellow and about the right age - so a 1996 Cannondale M900 it was to be!
With each build I do I try to use parts I’ve not used before, so this one features a couple of elements that none of my other bikes have.
1996 lead me straight to an XTR M950 build, but the frameset came with Coda cranks, and I didn’t fancy going down the predictable route of XTR V-brakes or XTR wheels, so both were ditched in favour of Maguras and Mavic CrossMax Ceramics, leaving me with just an M950 drive train.
Bars and stem were OEM items (Coda), as was the Seatpost (Ritchey), but I needed a saddle - a Ti Flite was too predictable so I sourced an Avocet O2 Air 40M, and rounded the build off with a pair of original OnZa Pawcipaws and M747 SPDs.
It’s rapid!
Frame: 16” Cannondale CAD3 M900
Fork: P-Bone
Headset: Dia-Compe Aheadset
Stem: Coda
Stem Cap: Aheadset
Handlebar: Coda Performance
Grips: OnZa Pawcipaws
Barends: N/A
Brakes: Magura Tomac
Brake Pads: Magura
Brake Cables: N/A
Cantilever cable hangers: N/A
Brake Levers: Magura Tomac
Shifters: Shimano XTR M950
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: Shimano XTR M950
Chain: Shimano IG-51
Cranks: Coda 502M
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Coda
Chainring bolts: N/A
Bottom Bracket: Shimano
Pedals: Shimano PD-M747
Hub Skewers: Mavic
Rims: 1st Gen Mavic CrossMax Ceramic
Hubs: 1st Gen Mavic CrossMax
Nipples: Mavic
Spokes: Mavic
Tyres: Michelin Wild Gripper Lite S
Tubes: Yes
Saddle: Avocet O2 Air 40M
Seatpost: Ritchey
Seatpost Binder: Hope
Weight: 10.16kg / 22.4lbs
I’ve been meaning to build a fast mid nineties XC bike for some time, and had my sights on it being a Giant MCM Team, a bike on which green Wild Grippers would be considered at home, but I never seem to be in the right place at the right time for one.
Along with the tyres, I’ve always had a rough spec in my mind, but for some reason my main ‘want’ was that the bike had to be Yellow.
I’d been gathering parts for a while in the hope that the right frameset would turn up at some point, and as luck would have it a suitable frameset popped up on here late last year.
Not a Giant MCM Team, but it was yellow and about the right age - so a 1996 Cannondale M900 it was to be!
With each build I do I try to use parts I’ve not used before, so this one features a couple of elements that none of my other bikes have.
1996 lead me straight to an XTR M950 build, but the frameset came with Coda cranks, and I didn’t fancy going down the predictable route of XTR V-brakes or XTR wheels, so both were ditched in favour of Maguras and Mavic CrossMax Ceramics, leaving me with just an M950 drive train.
Bars and stem were OEM items (Coda), as was the Seatpost (Ritchey), but I needed a saddle - a Ti Flite was too predictable so I sourced an Avocet O2 Air 40M, and rounded the build off with a pair of original OnZa Pawcipaws and M747 SPDs.
It’s rapid!
Frame: 16” Cannondale CAD3 M900
Fork: P-Bone
Headset: Dia-Compe Aheadset
Stem: Coda
Stem Cap: Aheadset
Handlebar: Coda Performance
Grips: OnZa Pawcipaws
Barends: N/A
Brakes: Magura Tomac
Brake Pads: Magura
Brake Cables: N/A
Cantilever cable hangers: N/A
Brake Levers: Magura Tomac
Shifters: Shimano XTR M950
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR M950
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: Shimano XTR M950
Chain: Shimano IG-51
Cranks: Coda 502M
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Coda
Chainring bolts: N/A
Bottom Bracket: Shimano
Pedals: Shimano PD-M747
Hub Skewers: Mavic
Rims: 1st Gen Mavic CrossMax Ceramic
Hubs: 1st Gen Mavic CrossMax
Nipples: Mavic
Spokes: Mavic
Tyres: Michelin Wild Gripper Lite S
Tubes: Yes
Saddle: Avocet O2 Air 40M
Seatpost: Ritchey
Seatpost Binder: Hope
Weight: 10.16kg / 22.4lbs
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