A Delta V Obsession …

[CDV900]

6. Original Spec Bike Refurb​

I did a full strip down, clean and refurb.




The saddle was in poor condition and took work with cleaners, filler, re-colour and conditioning solutions but has come out okay.




Same with the stem; I found an identical rise/length item in excellent original condition to go on this bike; leaving me the option to repaint the other stem myself for the second frameset.



Concerns over the HeadShok subsided slightly when I switched out the valve core and it held air, locked out and moved freely. I cleaned and regrease the exposed section of the bearings as far as possible and then fitted a brand new boot as, no surprise, the original was ripped. The wheels came back really nicely; with just the need for replacement rim decals …




I had the usual ‘touch up or leave’ debate … deciding in the end to paint most of the chips and scratches. The black was an easy match; the purple less so and I’m still not 100% happy with it. A shakedown ride confirmed all was good; with the slight annoyance that the HeadShok has a top out clunk regardless of pressure run. Probably not a surprise given its age and lack of any kind of service.

 

[CDV900]

7. 30th Anniversary ‘Black Edition’ Bike​

Completing the first bike gave Ali and Bex time to get the other frameset painted and for me to source everything I would need.



If you don’t like restomods, or black and purple for that matter, you’re not going to like this build. I’ve tried to keep the spirit of my old bike alive in this one:

- The lure of 3DV was a feature of my early cycling years, plus the original V900 came equipped with a 3DV Ringle seat clamp, so I figured it appropriate to add some tasteful (?) touches.

- I removed the small ring on my first bike as I never used it; preferring to push a higher gear rather than spin out a lower one. Therefore made the decision to try a simpler 1x set-up.

- The front wheel was stolen on my first bike; so I ran with a mismatched wheelset for the remainder of the time I had it. As a nod to this I had the front wheel built with snowflake lacing as a small difference to the rear.

- Royce is local to where I grew up and their quality handcrafted bottom brackets always appealed but I could never afford one; until now! Plus a traditional square taper would help get the best chainline on the 1x set-up.

 

[CDV900]

8. 30th Anniversary ‘Black Edition’ Bike - Final Build​

Components assembled and frameset back from painting … I finally I found the time to build the second bike up. Scheme was full black and purple; trying to eliminate any visible silver.



Given their reputation I was quite nervous about the HeadShok reassembly. The set-up is a hybrid of the slightly newer DD60 oil damper with spring/elastomer internals inside the original Type 1 steerer cartridge (the one with the grub screws). I sourced new needle bearings and a spring / elastomer kit. The damper seemed in good shape so I didn’t touch it. The type 1 bearings run directly on the steerer flats plus one set of standard width outside races with a lip that the grub screws engage against to allow some ‘adjustment’. That means I didn’t have to worry about specific positions for specific width races as per later HeadShoks. As others on this forum have mentioned … not the easiest to assemble but it has eventually gone back together okay. Everything else was easy enough to throw together.

A quick shout out to my local bike shop (MountainTrax in Barkham), Ryan @ RyanBuildsWheels and Ali & Bex @ FatCreations for their help and contributions to these bikes.

And so I am now the owner of two Cannondale Delta V900s. Final build photos to follow in this thread … plus will separately post build details for each bike.