98 clockwork - rebuild take 2

[Captain Stupido]

Re: Re:

Makes sense, it’s in the perfect place for a rear guard, nice chuck around bike btw

Thanks, yeah, "chuck around bike" is the idea.

Been enjoying making stuff recently... so in the absence of anything better available I thought I'd try a DIY rear guard. I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up with a similar idea, have seen water bottle guards on bikes around town, so repurposed a plastic milk bottle and a lolly stick to make this:







Very quick to make, and also remarkably easy to fit! The only tricky bit was drilling a hole in the lolly stick (predictably enough it split down the middle, but the gaffa has hopefully fixed that).

Not yet tested it in anger... we'll see if it helps or turns out to be less than useless. Already got big plans for the MK2 version (longer at the back and replace the lolly stick with a strip of aluminium). In fact I'm so pleased I'm considering replacing the front crud guard with the other half of the water bottle... Still not sure how it all sits with the gold bling though. :mrgreen:

 

[Captain Stupido]

Not been riding this because the rockshox had got a little flunky. With a house move and other bikes this got put into storage.

Finally got round to fitting the serviced pace forks and took it for a ride. Lovely - super plush and more agile and chuckable than ever. This bike is absolutely a keeper. Never let me sell it, ok?

I have a stash of m739 parts, some nice 8 speed wheels, and other “upgrades” which I had intended to fit but i”m inclined to leave it alone unless something wears out/goes wrong... it just feels so right... so I think I might just use the bits on something else...

Interestingly although the pace forks steer really well they’re less keen on going in a straight like than the rockshox were... I might give the indys a service... they’re so light that they’re worth rescuing I think.

 

[Captain Stupido]

I've been on a bit of a journey (no pun intended) since I signed up to RB years ago. Back then, my main interest in retro MTBs was that they looked like a cheap way to build a rugged tourer... old MTBs looked nice, and were relatively cheap while the London hipsters were buying up all the old road bikes... I had MTBs when I was a kid but they were kerbhoppers rather than stumpjumpers.

But gradually I got curious.

I moved out west this summer. Got awesome trails just down the road. I'm absolutely loving it - it's becoming my number one "thing".

I always lusted after an Orange Clockwork BITD, but I never really knew what it was for. This morning I think I "got it" more than ever before.

Now all I need to do is keep it "Retro" and avoid the temptation to buy a new MTB... I'm hooked.

Thanks to everyone here who's helped me on this journey!

Haldon this morning.

 

[Captain Stupido]

Back to square one... this has done sterling service and seen enough riding and weather to get through a couple of chains. It has recently donated a few parts to other builds, so rather than chop and change I decided to strip it in preparation for a proper rebuild at some point in the future.

It’s a little worse for wear, a shame that I managed to over tighten the front mech - skinny tubes on these! You live and learn... but while the tube is dented, the spirit of the bike is not!

Have a nice rest, grey Clockwork.

 

[Captain Stupido]

Been feeling inspired to build this up again... actually I'm going to blame this photo, I'm unsure where it's from but it's currently acting as some kind of inspiration.

 

[pw_pw_la]

Yeah, get on it!

I'm sure in the year plus it's been put away you've had all sorts of new ideas and purchases!

 

[pw_pw_la]

Oh, and I can see why the above would provide great inspiration.

Looks proper.

Seatpost/saddle aside!

 

[Captain Stupido]

finally made a start…

 

[Captain Stupido]

Slow progress...bad photo...but I think it will be a nice bike.

 

[velofrog]

Clockwork in a frock…. shouldn’t that be a Frockwork…?!