1997 Mountain Cycle MOHO Rebirth

[cybernck]

1997 Mountain Cycle MOHO STS - a story of giving this fascinating MTB a new lease of life!


I'll start off from the beginning. I've been riding bicycles from very early age. Then, for my
10th birthday (in 1992) I got my first 26" wheeled 18-speed MTB. It had a steel frame, rigid fork,
basic non-SIS shifters and wheels that used to bend easily, but I've been happy with it until I got
a GT Timberline FS in early 1998. With its CrMo frame, RapidFire shifters, a mixture of 21-speed
Shimano STX-RC and LX components, basic RockShock suspension fork and strong alloy wheels,
it was a revelation and I started enjoying cycling much more from then on .

(Un)fortunately, I didn't get to enjoy it for too long, because in the beginning of 1999 I bought this
utterly fascinating Mountain Cycle MOHO STS. I often refer to it as "the best thing I've ever bought
in my life" - and I'm sure it will stay that way for quite a while. And not only did it look like nothing
I've seen before, but the ride feel was really special (now that pic brings some nice memories!).

It featured a beautiful hand-made 6061-T6 alloy frame with a patented "Softail Traction System"
rear fork, Chris King A-head headset, 24-speed Shimano XT groupset (with an exception of XTR
front derailleur), RockShox Judy XC fork and a very strong Bontrager wheelset with IRC Mythos XC
tyres - all the proper stuff back in the day, plus some very rare bits such as Modolo Pilot stem and
handlebar, Selcof CNC seatpost and Gipiemme Pluma Titanium saddle.

I simply loved riding it and even done some MTB/Cyclocross races on it but have then discovered
road cycling, got into racing etc, so the MOHO became a "secondary bike". That's until I stopped road
racing and dismantled my road bike to build a new one and equipped the MOHO with slick tyres and
started using it more again, mostly on the road though.


It took me a while to gather all the parts for my new road bike - Kovjanic Custom (click here),
but then the MOHO had again "taken the back seat". Although it was still in pretty good shape,
the age has taken its toll and my next mission was to completely restore it to its former glory.
While dreaming about it and slowly gathering parts, in 2007 I came across a Spinergy carbon
wheelset for sale locally, something I've been after for my road bike as it happens. I couldn't
miss such an opportunity, so I've had to buy them:

Nothing has changed much over the next couple of years, as I got back into active road cycling.
I've only been using the bike for short rides in the city and surrounding hills. Also, I managed to
get a Spinergy wheelset in 28" road bike form too - here they are both together:

By now, the bike had developed yet more creeks, squeels and groans and I've been daydreaming
about rebuilding it, as it really deserved it! Since it hasn't seen too much use in its life, perhaps
thorough dismantling, cleaning and regreasing would have been enough to bring it back to its
former glory, but I decided to go a step further...


Read more about it in the following updates!


Full size photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/mcmoho

 

[BikesINPortlandOREGON]

I want a MOHO now. I always kinda wanted one. Nice story man. Gives some history behind the bike and rider. Very nice post man.

 

[beepbeep]

Always been a Moho fan myself. Still on the look out for a small one (if they made them?)

Nice build, looks great polished!

 

[saltyman]

nice to hear you still have it after this time, any bigger pics?

 

[cybernck]

Take a look at the bottom of my first post .

 

[saltyman]

timeless bike.........looks great with those spinergys too, not many bikes do but the moho is one of them

 

[clunker]

Very nice and cool story too. Wish I had kept mine bitd :cry:

 

[MikeD]

I had this (very early) one for quite a while - retired it a couple of years ago on account of cracks developing around the cable stops, and subsequently gave it to someone on here who'd had one stolen. Great bike, and entirely happy with 100mm forks despite its age. Could even run discs on it. Way ahead of its time.

 

[cybernck]

Before I could actually start the rebuild, I've had to make some critical decisions. The first thing
was the type of rebuild I'm going to carry out. I really wanted to do a proper restoration to original
condition, however, I wouldn't be sattisfied with anything less than a brand new bike as a result.
Since it seemed that it would be nigh on impossible to find each and every original component as
brand new old stock, I decided that this will be a "hot rod" type of restoration instead - combining
old with new, to create a retro product with modern appearance and improved performance.

With that in mind, the next thing to decide was whether to go for discs or not. Since going for discs
meant changing the wheels, buying a new fork and making a custom caliper mount for the frame
and since I didn't indend to ride this bike in snow and mud - I decided to stay with the V-brakes.

Then I started thinking about the suspension fork. Firstly, I like my fork and secondly, none of the
better new forks have V-brake mounts. So I decided to stay with my Judy XC. I was thinking of
creating custom graphics to make it more look up to date, but decided I'll stick with retro looks.
The same goes for stickers on the frame - they've had to stay exactly as they are.

Speaking of the frame, my intention was to keep it looking polished, though I couldn't find anyone
who could confirm that it will be possible to do that, due to any eventual protective surface coating.
A small test shown that it might be possible to do it, but still I've had a few colour choices in the back
of my mind, as a backup solution, should polishing fail.

Finally - I've done a mockup of the completed bike in Photoshop, ordered the remaining few bits
and then the restoration, rebuild or more appropriately - rebirth - could commence!


14/Jul/2009 - Day 1 of the Rebirth

Naturally, I had done a few "before" photos (mmm... retrotastic!):

And then took it to my bike builder, who quickly disassembled it and then we assesed the situation:

It was a scary moment - I was without a MTB for the first time in 17 years and there was no going back!

The fork was also disassembled. Since it runs a sealed cartridge insert (that appeared to be fine,
due to not seeing too much use), all we needed to do about it is clean and regrease the internals:

Day 1 complete - the story continues with the following update!


Full size photos here: http://photos.cybernck.com/mcmoho and http://photos.cybernck.com/mcmoho?page=2

 

[MikeD]

making a custom caliper mount for the frame

Mountain Cycle made a fantastic IS bracket that fitted around the stays so it couldn't shift anywhere. That's what was holding the brake on on mine. No idea where you'd find one now, though.