Bontrager Race Lite rebuild, interesting history...

[Paul R]

very clever laquer that shame it didnt work out for you though

 

[Elfman]

Pushing pause on the Mag 21s to give a few updates on the rest of the build. Chris King nothreadset installed (old, near mint but was previously used in the Bonty).

 

[slackboy]

That's coming together nicely. I do like the headbadge, makes it really special

 

[Elfman]

Next came the bottom bracket. NOS Ultimate Machine Co. black anodized cups with new 1530 (15mm x 30mm x 7mm) enduro sealed bearings mated to a Sampson Stratics Ti 68 x 112mm spindle. I was previously using a 113mm Race Face spindle with no chainline or chainstay clearance issues, so I'm hoping the 112mm will be essentially the same fit.

 

[Elfman]

Some additional Ti hardware: bottle cage bolts. I have a color matched orange NOS Bontrager cage that will go on later.

 

[Elfman]

That's coming together nicely. I do like the headbadge, makes it really special

Thank you. It was a bit of a design risk, deviating from the standard round decal, but it has a unique provenance and I like the way it came out. It does make this Bonty a little special!

 

[Elfman]

The bottom bracket took a little muscle to install, and the powder coating needed little shaving around the bottom bracket shell face to get the threads of the cups to bite, but all is well. On to the cranks and rings: a late 90s Bontrager 4-bolt 104BCD affair with champagne silver Bonty rings (44-32-22). The cranks were bought new and riden on the Bonty as a single speed, but are in remarkable shape, with only a few small blemishes. Only the middle ring has seen any miles, and it is also in very good shape. Black anodized alloy chainring bolts all around.

 

[Elfman]

The crankset now installed, with a nice tight stance and what looks like plenty of clearance (and I'm relatively straight-footed and never had heel rub issues with the 113mm spindle, so I think this will do). Looks like the chainline won't be bad either.

 

[Elfman]

OK, strike two! Second attempt at lacquering the Mag 21 SL lowers failed. This time I used Duplicolor Metalcast Yellow directly over the raw magnesium legs (with an acetone rinse to remove any residue). The acetone removes the Metalcast easily, so I tried 5 or 6 different attempts to try to get the right amount of spray covering. But even light coats go on pretty heavy and leave a slightly lemon gold color. Its an improvement over the Nikolas gold tinted lacquer, but not quite what I'm looking for. I have some additional products arriving this week in time for a third college try this weekend. I'm obviously hoping this next attempt works better and is satisfactory. Apart from a professional chrome job with gold candy at a paint shop ($$$), I'm not sure what I'll do if the third attempt fails. Maybe powder coat is orange to match the frame? Well, we're not there yet and I'm getting ahead of myself...

 

[Elfman]

I'll have some pics tomorrow of the progress with the Mag 21 SLs, but in the meantime I've been working on the wheels that will go on the Bonty. The original wheels that I used with this bike, which I originally purchased new from Colorado Cyclist in 1994/95 (and were used on my early Procaliber) were White Industries Tracker Ti hubs on Mavic 231s. The rims are tired and the rear has a bent rimwall (from a rock), so I won't be using those, but I will use the White hubs. Here's the current state:



A little gungy but the internals are solid (I've rebuilt them several times, which is super easy to do with these hubs).

Time to clean them up on the benchtop grinder with the some polishing wheels.