Advise Needed Manitou Forks and Quill Stems

[Abbie]

Hi There, I'm back on the bike after a 10 year Gap. And Its like I've landed on another plant. My '95 Orange C16R seems to of entered the retro halls of (nearly) fame. To me its just my bike. But its not that easy. Forks (Manitou mach 5's) aren't suspending much and every avenue to bringing my bike some what up to date hits a problem diameter wise. Someone told me its possible to use my Mach 5 steerer and fit it to another suspension fork. Is this right? Or would it be better to send my forks off to be serviced. And does anyone know of such a person? I've lost the old F7's or whatever they were, and don't want to be bike-less whilst they're away sitting unattended on someone's work bench for months. Are there any suspension forks made today that will fit my 1'' (I think) head tube?The other problem is I require a shorter stem. My reach seems to of shortened or maybe my spine doesn't fold as well. Quill stems seem a thing of the past new. Is it worth getting a stem adaptor and changing to an A-head set stem or get a 2nd hand shorter stem?
Any Advise would be much appreciated
Cheers Abbie

 

[Jussa]

Hi There, I'm back on the bike after a 10 year Gap. And Its like I've landed on another plant. My '95 Orange C16R seems to of entered the retro halls of (nearly) fame. To me its just my bike. But its not that easy. Forks (Manitou mach 5's) aren't suspending much and every avenue to bringing my bike some what up to date hits a problem diameter wise. Someone told me its possible to use my Mach 5 steerer and fit it to another suspension fork. Is this right? Or would it be better to send my forks off to be serviced. And does anyone know of such a person? I've lost the old F7's or whatever they were, and don't want to be bike-less whilst they're away sitting unattended on someone's work bench for months. Are there any suspension forks made today that will fit my 1'' (I think) head tube?The other problem is I require a shorter stem. My reach seems to of shortened or maybe my spine doesn't fold as well. Quill stems seem a thing of the past new. Is it worth getting a stem adaptor and changing to an A-head set stem or get a 2nd hand shorter stem?
Any Advise would be much appreciated
Cheers Abbie

Ok, firstly your Orange C16R is a very capable bike and follows in a long line of pedigree bikes from this great UK manufacturer. For this reason you should have no problems bringing it up to spec to serve you for many years to come. Obviously there are two issues here;

Number 1 - Forks? The first two obvious choices (Budget dependant) are finding a nice set of PACE forks, I currently have 2 C16R's running RC35's and also RC38's both with 1" Steerer and do the job perfectly. The other option is replace or service repair your Manitou's there will be someone who can help you in this area and many have even tackled the task at home. Either way its not a lost cause.

Number 2 - Quill Stems? My First C16R came with 1" Threaded Forks with a Quill Stem adaptor and shim and a KORE Aheadstem (Picture 1) which worked very well and served me until i sourced an original Orange SK8 Quill Stem, ditched the forks and went down the PACE Route (Picture 2). Quill Stems are in abundance and you can still get NOS Stems, I got a cheap NOS Kalloy UNO Stem for £5 short reach aswell, a quick search on evilbay will uncover a plethora of stems to suit your budget and needs. Or put a wanted add on the forum and someone will help you out for sure.

So all is not lost and to help re-ignite you passion here are my two C16R's both very different builds, one 1996 Original Spec, the other 1994 with a Retro Modern feel to it.

Dont be afraid to drop us a line if you need more help

Enjoy

 

[Jussa]

Double post Oopsie

 

[NeilM]

Plethora! Oohhh someone's been using a dictionary

Abbie, welcome to the world of retrobikes, I know exactly how you feel. Up until six months ago, I was an old geezer with a couple of mountain bikes. I then found this site and found my 94 and 97 GT's were not MTB's, but RETRO MTB's... and now I have seven bikes, or is it eight

I have built and rebuilt a number of bikes recently, including a C16R, and as Jussa said, most of what you need is here or on 'the bay'. It is well worth placing an ad in the wanted section for a stem (and anything else you may need). I have found all sorts using that route, including my C16R frame (Going well thanks Jussa).

Have fun with your Orange, and I bet you end up with more retro bikes...it's an addiction you know :twisted:

 

[Jussa]

Plethora! Oohhh someone's been using a dictionary

And early in the morning, i impressed myself lol, glad the C16R is going well You've made it into a great bike

 

[NeilM]

glad the C16R is going well You've made it into a great bike

We are just about to change the pedals (again) from Time cleated to SPuDs, but as she's finished school for the summer (as a teacher, not pupil) she is doing a lot of riding and enjoying it.

She did have one niggle with the gears, and I kept messing with them and finding nothing wrong, until I finally noticed the drive side crank was loose

Like the P7, I think the C16R is an extremely good, and seriously underated bike.

 

[Jussa]

glad the C16R is going well You've made it into a great bike

We are just about to change the pedals (again) from Time cleated to SPuDs, but as she's finished school for the summer (as a teacher, not pupil) she is doing a lot of riding and enjoying it.

She did have one niggle with the gears, and I kept messing with them and finding nothing wrong, until I finally noticed the drive side crank was loose

Like the P7, I think the C16R is an extremely good, and seriously underated bike.

Sometimes its the simplest of fixes that we fail to realise or see, I've been there myself and fustrated to the point that the air in my Man Cave was very Blue!! then it jumps out at you and boy do you feel silly lol. I love the C16R, I am building a 93 Clockwork at the moment, so will be interesting to compare both rides Maybe i will move onto a P7 next :?: nothing like a nice full bowl of fruit