1997 Salsa El Kaboing

[Tizumo]

Run out of camera battery after taking just one pic.. I'm testing how it's going to work with a WTB titanium bar but I also have a black Raceface riser to try, not from the right years though . NOS WTB ti saddle and Raceface XY seatpost already fitted, and the bottom bracket + some ti bolts for the Paul brakes are on the way .

The Z2 is also in mint condition, quite early one.

 

[blilrat]

Looking good! I think my next bike will be orange. It's such a great color.

How did you date it to '97? I have an El Kaboing that I'm guessing is a '96, but I'm not really sure.

 

[Tizumo]

To be honest the frame must be originally 1996. Easy to date without the frame number as:
- it's for sale in a finnish mtb magazine from 1996
- according to the shop owner it's the only Kaboing frame imported here

The frame itself remained the same from 1996 to 1998 so I took the freedom to build it as close to 1997 as possible. Really wanted to use a Z2 too which was first available late 1996. Somehow thought it would be an interesting mixture of skinny steel tubes, first real suspension fork and the aluminum rear end. Times were changing!

Btw, the frame number is 1920!

 

[Tizumo]

Ha!
After a couple of years I managed to complete this Salsa, but writing about it took even longer. The bike was already at the Fiskars Vintage Bike Expo in 2023 and here's the rest what happened after 2013 .

I was lucky to find a set of NOS "El Kaboing" decals from Ebay, and the headtube decal is also NOS. Paul Components and Raceface (also NOS) stickers are in the same places as the original ones.

This was the first completed version. The only difference is the crankset, green Carambas with yellow spider. Unfortunately the drive side cracked when I was just riding along.. (the reason for that was the threads of the spider. When tightening the spider, it stretched the aluminium and all it took was just a sunny day and a cycle path..)



Later I got a set of black RF Turbines in good condition, but I would be happier with the green ones.

The parts list is kind of homage to the original owner and his bike shop in the 1990's, R-Cycles. The brakes are not easy to adjust, Paul's hex screw/nut combination is a nightmare, Grip Shifts work badly with the Paul rear mech as mentioned already in the MBA review in the 90's, but never mind, the bike is no-shima-no.
I also wanted to combine as much "non-classical" looking components with the classic steel front triangle as possible. It already begins from the Chumba Wumba rear.

Stem: Salsa
Bar: Raceface Airalloy
Aheadset: Chris King 1”, original part
Fork: Marzocchi Z2
Rear shock: Risse Racing Elroy
Seatpost: Raceface XY
Saddle: WTB SST ti
Crankset: Raceface Turbine
Chainrings: Raceface
Pedals: Speedplay Frog
BB: Raceface Taperlock
Cassette: Goldtec titanium
Chain: Sachs PC91
Derailleurs: Paul Components Powerglide & 409
Shifters: Grip Shift SRT-800
Brake levers: Paul Components Love Levers
Front brake: Paul Components Stoplight MC
Rear brake: Paul Components Crosstop
Cable hangers: Paul Moon Units
Brake pads: Kool Stop Eagle II
Brake booster: Paul Components Brake Buddy
Rims: Sun Rims 0XC
Spokes: DT Competition, red alu nipples
Hubs: Adventure Components
QR's: Salsa
Tires: Geax Grid 200
Inner tubes: Michelin Ultralight
Presta valve caps: AC

Some more pics:

 

[slimjoe]

That is awesome! really wish id kept mine

 

[Stylus]

very cool bike!

 

[moonlite]

Kudos on an excellent build!

 

[minor_LEGEND]

Cool build. I never knew these existed.

 

[Tizumo]

Fresh pics:

 

[Tizumo]