'90 Bontrager OR

[br0qn]

Finally got around to getting some decent photos of the OR. This will be a photo dump for now with a bit more about the bike/build to follow.

I picked this up from a different seller on the same morning as the 94/7 Race Lite. The initial plan was to harvest the fork and move the frame on as I thought it was too big for me.




Of the many things wrong with it the most egregious were the rear specific tire up front and the seatpost cable hanger completely ignoring the brazed on stop.

It's an 18" OR which turned out to fit me better than the Medium (~17.5") '92 Marin Team Issue I had initially bought to build as a 1 bike commuter with trail capabilities. The Team Issue had a super long top tube and this OR turned out to fit me better and to be more special than I realized and I found I could make it fit.

Everything on the build apart from the headset and bar/stem was originally destined for the Marin Team Issue so it appears more random than it is, though I don't know that how much you lot will appreciate it in any case.

A few snaps I took while my buddy and I built it up





First trail outing - Mt Sutro in San Francisco





Another on a very different day on Sutro

 

[br0qn]

And these I took today now that the bike is with me at home in LA ( @pw_pw_la )























The deer head shifters weren't working for me. They shifted fine though after shifting to lower gears I'd take my hand off the shifter and the tension from the 952 rear mech would pull the chain back to the tallest gear so I was having to hold my thumb on the shifter to climb. Rather than try and figure out what was wrong I decided they were too chunky and swapped them for the XC pro thumbies that are working great.

Still a work in progress. There is a frightening front fork jitter that I don't know the cause of. I raised the straddle cable and it maybe helped a little. I still need a pulley and a front mech and everything needs to be dialed and the cables trimmed.

At the very least I want to switch the chain and dust caps for silver which is what I initially wanted but the crank seller shipped the wrong color and my buddy lent me the chain while mine was still in transit. Maybe a black seatpost. Halfway toying with the idea of putting an XC Pro group on it but everything on it is really nice and works great so I think I'll just enjoy it like this for now.

 

[Canuckbiker]

I had lot's of front fork brake jitter on my 93' Kilauea after swapping to NOS 987 canties c/w stock DiaCompe brake pads.

The thought the triple butted fork might have been flexing? But no jitter with the old set and Kool-Stop Eagle Claw pads.

I was confident in my canty setup, everything felt solid and tight. The jittering was driving me nuts. I wondered if the old school DiaCompe NOS pads were to blame.

Ended up adding a fair bit more toe in to the DiaCompe pads and solved it. Might be worth a try

I trust the headset & front wheel bearings are tight...

 

[Elfman]

Fantastic looking ride, right there, @br0qn !

 

[benjabbi]

I had the same thing with 987s on my Bonty fork, really disconcerting judder, toeing the pads in lessened it a bit, swapping to a Shimano brake got rid of it completely. Bikes looking great.

 

[br0qn]

Ended up adding a fair bit more toe in to the DiaCompe pads and solved it. Might be worth a try

I trust the headset & front wheel bearings are tight...

I had the jitter problem to a slightly lesser degree with the found setup with a pretty spent Specialized headset and Tektro calipers. I thought one of those two were the culprit but it's worse as is now. Under heavy front breaking the fork flexes fore/aft wildly.

These have loads of toe, but I need to revisit the whole setup. Headset was new and installed properly but I should check again the front wheel.

Fantastic looking ride

Thank you! I'm pretty pleased riding it too.

swapping to a Shimano brake got rid of it completely. Bikes looking great.

Thank you! Maybe that's it, swap the calipers.

As she sits

Frame	1990 Bontrager OR
Headset	1" LX
Wheelset	26" Mavic 220 w/ White Industries front/rear hubs
Tires	UltraDynamico Mars Race 26x2.22??
Front Derailleur
Rear Derailleur	Shimano XTR RD-M952 long cage
Cassette	SRAM pg990
Bottom Bracket	whatever was in there
Crank Set	White Industries eno 165 w/ 24/42 VBC
Handlebars	Nitto fillet brazed Bullmoose bar/stem
Grips	Ergon GA2 black
Shifters	Suntour XC PRO 7spd in friction
Seatpost	not sure, nitto?
Saddle	Berthoud Ti railed Aravis
Pedals	Stampd 2
Levers	Paul canti levers
Brakes	Paul Touring w/ Moon Unit hangers
Cables	Yokozuna
Skewers	Shimano XT M756
Bottle cage	King Cage Ti

It comes out around 23lbs I think.

 

[Prodigal Son]

I would try a brake stiffener arch and see if the jitter goes away.

 

[ferrus]

Lots to like there, cool bike!

 

[pw_pw_la]

Really glad to have played some small part in getting this wonderful machine back in your hands mate!

And I can confirm first hand that that fork chatter is the most frightening of any bike I've ever ridden!

Perhaps the Paul's are just too much for it? But that too still seems odd to me.

I've had no trouble with them on the Brodie's Gatorblade (completely different fork, I know) and like others in here, have had no issue running a classic M732/35 caliper on my Bontrager.

I would definitely make sure that headset is airtight, the stem too, and all the bolts on the Composite crown.

I suppose you could also bang in a traditional welded fork of some kind with that brake on it to compare?

It's fun problem solving some of this stuff sometimes. Other times it's soul destroying, which has been my weekend!

Anyway, definitely get that roller and a front mech on, that 2x9 setup working and all those cable ends shortened up!

As I've said before, I really love this bike. It's unexpected and all kinds of awesome, in my opinion. I'm stoked for you that you have it.

 

[slackboy]

That's gorgeous. I need to get myself an XL bonty.