Sorry for multiquoting, but I'm not going to submit 4 posts in a row.
The topic will become long enough anyway.
racer x":1rwtvejl said:
Hay what if that rear end works on you Prototype it mite only need spacing with some spacers or none at all
you could spray the front end up silver to match to rear end or vise versa polish it all
Are the brake and gear cable stops any good for the proto are they the same widths
The 828's rear end fits the proto frame if I really want it to. The pivots are the same width. As long as I use the caps that came with the proto, it should be fine.
However the 828's swingarm has a few (minor) dents in it, and that's enough to ruin it for me, especially for this bike. I'm really not going to cut corners on this kind of build.
Also, the clean welding on the 828's rear end doesn't match the rough welding on the proto frame.
As for the cable stops, those do fit. The main spars are exactly the same width, so I can drill out the rivets on the 828 and use that one's cable stops on the proto.
The 828 frame is broken anyway, so it'll be cannibalized completely and then scrapped.
As for the paintjob, the most common colour for the full suspension Sbikes is the red frame with aluminium-coloured rear section.
Unless I get information about prototype-specific colours, I'll probably go with that.
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mtbdave":1rwtvejl said:
wondering if it wasnt cleaned up/neater welds as its a prototype maybe one of a few?
poss one for the following season,but if you see new models of cars(bmw/audi/merc nearly all car makers) try to desguise the new model from photographers and the competition so are quite low key in apperance b4 they go on public view. :?
Low key in appearance ... I'm afraid that'll be rather difficult for an Sbike.
There's no real reason why they would build the proto to look different than the production model. I've been measuring a bit, and it has the exact same geometry as every other Sbike fully I have data on.
In fact the geometry is the one thing they never really changed throughout the years and models (except for the differences between rigids, hardtails and fullys)
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stumpjumper1990":1rwtvejl said:
So you bought it in the end! That's cool mate! Very glad it's in good hands now!
Love to follow this build!
Yup. I bought it with the intention of selling the fork and hanging the frame on my wall.
However once I started comparing it to the 828, I realized that it might be the real deal and decided to build it.
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MikeD":1rwtvejl said:
The 828's been polished and lacquered. The proto is raw aluminium (plus a bit of oxidation). That's what it looks like
About the bearing/bushing thing: The lack of bearings in the 828 doesn't necessarily mean that your proto doesn't predate the 828. It's entirely possible that protos were made with bearings but production used bushings on cost or weight grounds. It's not as peculiar as it seems to use bushings -- suspension pivots move in a small arc at relatively low speed and take a lot of load, which bushings (especially big ones like those) are good at handling.
And +1 for not worrying about the shock mount -- that's more weld than most shock mounts have.
Thanks, Mike. That could explain the difference indeed. Looks like I'll have to look for a good polisher then. I really don't want a mirror finish, but something similar to the 828's swingarm.
As for the bushings, I was thinking the same thing today. While a ball bearing might be smoother, it needs to handle a lot of stress and will not rotate much.
It could indeed predate the ones with the bushings. Perhaps it was the first one they made, and was never finished because there was "an issue with the styling" and/or because the bearings pushed the price up too much.
However right now that's just speculation. I hope to get an answer soon.
I guess I can stop worrying about the shock mount indeed. The 828 is only welded on the outside too, and the welds were strong enough to withstand whatever hit tore the seat tube in half.
Still is scary though. I really want to lose 20lbs before I get on the proto, just to avoid the above picture.