boy"O"boy's 1989 Serotta Off-road Pro-flex prototype

[markoc]

That looks fab as it is - appreciate it's going to see some paint, but in clearcoat it would really play to the "prototype" vibe. As a former 550 rider, I love this thread!

 

[27motorhead]

Great progress and good to hear there was nothing scary apart from the seat tube crack and hole that you already knew about.

Who's going to do the repair work on the frame? Will they just drill the ends of the crack and then weld & file back?

Does look quite cool stripped back and bare/raw, but bare frames get pretty tatty pretty quick and this doesn't feel like it deserves to be left in an unfinished state. @fguki has done a great job on those Elastomers!

As always look forward to seeing this progress!

 

[TreaderSteve]

I thought I'd followed this excellent thread - I hadn't! Really want to see how the 'hole' repair is taken care of and then really want to see it finished. Popcorn at the ready.

 

[fguki]

Great stuff! And thank you for the kind words. Always glad to help out - especially when it comes to elastomers that arent common! (Besides all the standard models and sets I stock - for Manitoiu, Rockshox, Votec, Paioli & Co.). Looks great!

Dont worry about the hole or the crack. Its steel! Its a pretty easy fix for a good tig-welder.

People like Dan Chambers have perfectly repaired cracks and holes or drilled out cable guides in very fragile and high class KLEIN frames for me. People of his skill level will have this repaired pretty easily. Although I think (!) he only does aluminium.

Very curious to see your progress on this one!

Cheers!

 

[JCS]

Really interesting build thread. Following with interest.

 

[27motorhead]

Great stuff! And thank you for the kind words. Always glad to help out - especially when it comes to elastomers that arent common! (Besides all the standard models and sets I stock - for Manitoiu, Rockshox, Votec, Paioli & Co.). Looks great!

Dont worry about the hole or the crack. Its steel! Its a pretty easy fix for a good tig-welder.

People like Dan Chambers have perfectly repaired cracks and holes or drilled out cable guides in very fragile and high class KLEIN frames for me. People of his skill level will have this repaired pretty easily. Although I think (!) he only does aluminium.

Very curious to see your progress on this one!

Cheers!

I think Dan Chambers does, steel and Titanium too. I know he does Ti as I have spoken to him about a repair on another cracked seat tube!

I was expecting the corrosion to be a lot worse, but it looks like it's pretty solid underneath bar a couple of bits. Always thought these first generation Pro-flex's looked really cool. Ben is doing a cracking job as ever both in terms of execution and documentation.

 

[boy"O"boy]

That looks fab as it is - appreciate it's going to see some paint, but in clearcoat it would really play to the "prototype" vibe. As a former 550 rider, I love this thread!

Glad you like the thread @markoc - get where you're coming from with the 'prototype vibe'
Although it's interesting to see it warts and all...I'm still aiming for that MBUK Jan 1990 advert vision. Unpainted feels not finished if you know what I mean.

Great progress and good to hear there was nothing scary apart from the seat tube crack and hole that you already knew about.

Who's going to do the repair work on the frame? Will they just drill the ends of the crack and then weld & file back?

Does look quite cool stripped back and bare/raw, but bare frames get pretty tatty pretty quick and this doesn't feel like it deserves to be left in an unfinished state. @fguki has done a great job on those Elastomers!

As always look forward to seeing this progress!

As above @27motorhead ∆
I'm going to have a go myself on the frame repair....just need to find some time at the moment! I have a back-up plan for repair if I feel I'm out of my depth.

I thought I'd followed this excellent thread - I hadn't! Really want to see how the 'hole' repair is taken care of and then really want to see it finished. Popcorn at the ready.

@TreaderSteve thanks for endorsement!
As above, I'll definitely be documenting the repair. Maybe with heat involved - I could do a batch of popcorn at the same time!

Great stuff! And thank you for the kind words. Always glad to help out - especially when it comes to elastomers that arent common! (Besides all the standard models and sets I stock - for Manitoiu, Rockshox, Votec, Paioli & Co.). Looks great!

Dont worry about the hole or the crack. Its steel! Its a pretty easy fix for a good tig-welder.

People like Dan Chambers have perfectly repaired cracks and holes or drilled out cable guides in very fragile and high class KLEIN frames for me. People of his skill level will have this repaired pretty easily. Although I think (!) he only does aluminium.

Very curious to see your progress on this one!

Cheers!

Thanks @fguki
The replacement elastomers are key for this project. Your efforts in getting these 'just right' are superb. Greatly appreciated.
As you say too.... it's Steel! ......Should be much easier to repair. If this was aluminium or titanium....it would be going away for repair with a professional like Dan.

Progress is slow but hopefully some repair updates and into paint soon

Really interesting build thread. Following with interest.

Thanks James. I've also another Serotta Off-road Pro-flex thread running at the same time too.
This prototype warrants it's own thread rather than adding to the other.

I've added these scans from Mountain Biker International (midsummer 1990) to my other thread.....but it's pretty relevant to this thread too, so I'm also adding it here -








Cheers all.
More updates soon

boy"O"boy