1997 Nuke Proof Reactor hardtail

[gis_guru]

I sent the gent that sold the frame and is selling the fork legs a message and told him if the buyer need some measurement I had them and he said he thinks he has the original plans for the frame and fork if I was interested. I told him I was. I will let you all know if he finds them.
Cheers

 

[syncrosfan]

I was the one who bought the frame and now I'm bidding on the fork legs. When I got my other frame it was advertised as a large, but when I got it, it turned out to be a medium. I was quite bummed out about it so I was trying to see if I can work with a super long stem an lay-back seat post, well knowing that I would need a Large. When this new frame popped up on e-bay I asked about the size and bingo, a large frame! so I had to buy it. Now I'm sitting on a medium raw frame as well (maybe someday I'll build it up for the missus, unless somebody here has an interest in a spare). At least I didn't pay a lot for those so it's all good. Does anybody know what was the retail price on the Reactor frame when it was new?
That thing about the plans sounds fantastic! I've been bugging the seller with all kinds of questions about what other goodies did he get from the Nuke Proof liquidation sale, but he doesn't seem to be very communicative. If you get the plans please let me know!

 

[gis_guru]

Wow that is funny, my friend had to talk me out of buying it! I had planned on putting the plans up here if I got them. I thought it was strange that he put the frame and fork up separately? My plan was to buy the frame and paint it the Nuke Proof sky blue they sometimes used on their stems and maybe try to retro fit a Judy XL fork to it. Glad it went to somebody that knew it needed special care. There was also a Nuke Proof ti up that was pretty reasonably priced but just couldn't spend the 1100 plus on it no matter how cool it was. It sounds like he has a big bunch of stuff that he hasn't looked through in a while.

 

[gis_guru]

I think your frames are missing the cool cockroach head badge. If you want I can get some pictures and measurements off of mine this weekend and you can have http://www.headbadges.com/ make you one.
I didn't realize you were here in the US. When you mentioned that you had a couple of Look MTB forks I automatically assumed that you were overseas, being located in the Midwest I have never seen a Look Fournales fork in person they might be a bit more common in California.

 

[syncrosfan]

Well I am from Europe (Germany) but I've lived here in the States for about 11 years, hence the affiliation to some strange euro-gear. I've actually got two Look Fournales forks of the first generation, a third one on the way (second generation), and a ultra rare Hurrycat Vorace fork (which i have to repair, busted steering tube). I've never seen a Look fork out here on the trails either. Most American riders seem to prefer new gear, so you've got quite a few of your usual modern full sussers with the usual Fox gear on them, no exotics, no vintage bikes.
As far as the head tube badge goes, I would love to have some close up pics and measurements. What material are they made out of? Looks like copper, but it could be injection molded plastic that's plated. i could either rebuild one in CAD and rapid prototype it, then plate it, or make it from Aluminum then etch the graphics in it (I've seen a tutorial online about making your own head-tube badge). I'm more of a DIY kind of guy.

 

[gis_guru]

Yes sadly it is a bit of a throw away and buy new culture over here but at least it keeps the cool stuff semi affordable for me!
You should throw up some photos of your stuff when you have time I would love to see some European MTB Unicorns parts!
I believe it solid brass. The legs were super thin I am surprised it held up as well as it did. My buddy James pulled it off the frame with out breaking it and spent a ton of time cleaning it up before reattaching it with some automotive adhesive tape I believe. Good on you if you have the skills and tools for it! We are planing to do some photographing of the bikes we have stored at a local bike shop this weekend and I can try to get you what you need then.

 

[syncrosfan]

Brass does make sense since it's a lot stronger than copper. Will have to check if I can etch brass but it should be possible. I could go the plastic round but that would be kind of lame. Where did you get the decals made? I would need a hookup for that.

 

[gis_guru]

Gil Montague here on the forum (Gil_m I think), I ordered them before I knew he was a member here. Gil Montague gil@thecycleshed.co.uk. Super nice guy and he sent me a low res copy of the decals first to make sure they looked right. They were about $50 with shipping I believe but well worth it. He also has decals for the stem if you need them.

 

[ishaw]

Loving this build. I have just acquired one myself though sadly it is missing some parts I hope I can either track down or have made.

The frame finally arrived today, but annoyingly it had not been packaged very well and the seat tube must have taken a bump as it's no longer round, but slightly oval at the top. Hopefully something I can sort, but the least of my worries, as I also need to sort the following:

Fork braces. None included with the sale (which I knew), but I need to source some.

Fork top caps. Currently they are just open tubes so need something to close them off

Frame and fork brake bosses. A pair was fitted to the frame, but they don't screw in all the way so will be looking for replacements I guess.

Bearing and bolts. Sadly again nothing included so I've no clue what I need or how available such things might be.

BB thread. Threaded on one side only, hopefully properly but I'll need to sort out the other side.

Bottle bosses. Well lack of them, need to fill the holes with threaded rivnuts I assume.

If you have any info that can help me get this built up I'd be really appreciative. I hope I have not bitten off more than I can chew, as I'll be relying on the expertise of others to get this built up.

I'd also be interested in decals and a head tube badge, though again, no idea what I'm missing as I have none to work with.

My plan is to build this up in what is generally my standard/favourite groupset, m952, though I may deviate a bit and run some caramba cranks in black, and possibly some nuke proof carbon hubbed wheels as I have had some hubs for ages that I've never used.

What was the standard stem, bars and post for the frame? I'm not one to go all period correct as a rule, or even catalogue, but I might try to stick as close as possible to the original for this one, but that will depend on what it is. I have a black and a yellow nuke proof stem (wish I had red as it looks great with the red one on your build). Contemplating race lines too, but don't like the idea of drilling out the cable stops, or how things tend to look when using non standard cable runs, as that tends to look a bit ugly.

Quite excited to own one, might try a different shock if I can find one that fits, I do at least have the original noleen, but again will need bolts, bushings and spacers to get this fitted.

It's all sounding very complicated and very expensive at the moment, but hopefully with a bit more info, I can at least get an idea as to what I'm in for.

 

[gis_guru]

Hey I bought another one from the same guy with the same idea. I made contact with a gent that worked at Nuke Proof a little while after they stopped making the Reactor frames. He said all of the bearings were stock from NSK. I totally disassemble my first one and made measurements and drawings before I reassembled it, if you would like I will look for them and send them to you.
A friend has posted all of my bikes and his on a pedal room site and he put a pdf of the catalog on it.
http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/nuke-proo ... r-97-17662
Not to many details but if look closely you can see the front end has some significant differences in the shock assembly.
Decals are pretty simple as one of the members here (Gil_m) has them and they worked well on my build.
I used Yokozuna cable on mine and it is great but not super friendly to install.
As for the seatpost the one that I bought and rebuilt had a sleeve in the seatpost tube that made it 27.0 bu the one that i bought incomplete has no sleeve and probably would take a 27.2 or maybe larger.
The standard stem as far as I can tell was a Nuke Proof and the shock that came with my first one was a Rock Shock Coupe Deluxe I believe it was 5.0" eye to eye and had a 500 pound spring on it with 1.25" of travel. I had Hippietech rebuild mine but he said he could build one from scratch as well. He takes a bit of time but he does great work.
All of the pivot on the front arms use roller bearings that I assume were NSK off-the-shelf as well.
The tops of the forks one my original bike had cnc'd plugs in them. Again I have measurement for all of these items so if you want you could have a shop cnc them.

Cheers and good luck

Chris