Firstly, apologies for the very long post but I thought that I'd start a thread for my rebuild of an old Cannondale Beast of the East.
Secondly this isn't going to be a period correct build because in its current state it's not really the sort of thing that I'd normally ride.
This frame means an awful lot to me because I inherited it from an uncle who passed away at a relatively young age. He got into mountain biking in the very early nineties, a fair while before I had any interest in bikes. Ironically it was the move from Dalby to the South East that got me into bikes; I met some new friends at school who were into bikes and the rest is history.
When I first got I into bikes I thought this bikes was the coolest thing ever; RC35 forks, original Hope disc brake (cable jobbie with a small disc with a massive braking surface), XT rear mech, LX front mech and STI's all finished with purple bits like USE post and bar ends, rear cantos etc. However once I started riding it didn't take me and my friends to move away from XC to more DH / jumps. Lets face it a teenagers this sort if stuff is far more fun.
As my uncle got older he rode less due yo work, family etc and I paid less attention to his bike because it was now retro in my eyes. My bikes got more and more silly and not long after he passed away my aunt asked if I wanted it and I jumped at the chance, however since then (around 2007/
it's just sat in my garage because I didn't really know what to do with it. I'd moved with the times ad it were so all of my bikes for a long time have had 130 plus mm forks, discs, riser bars and my riding has been quite gravity focused. I planned to do something with it but what? The RC35's barely move any more the headset was goosed, the polished frame was badly tarnished so it continued to sit in the garage.
Here are a couple of pics of the pice before I started getting it ready for painting.
Then earlier this year I decided that this would be the year that I did something with it and to make it different to my other bikes I decided that a single speed rebuild would be the way forward. So here are my plans....
Due to to the bare aluminium being very tarnished I've decided to have the frame powdercoated in gloss grey with new decals from Gil_M in white. I've then started collected some of the parts, mostly things that I liked when I first started riding but couldn't afford mixed in with some newer things. The spec list so far is:
1997 Marzocchi Z3 Lights (thread less steerer needed)
BETD reducer cups so I can run a 1 1/8 fork)
Race Face Deus headset
Race Face Turbine stem
Race Race Atlas bars (purple)
OGK grips (originally on the bike)
Race Face Ride seat post
Selle Italia Flite, ti rails (may be swapped for a white Charge Knife)
Coda seat clamp (originally with the bike)
Race Face North Shore DH cranks
Shimano UN51 BB (originally with the bike and still smooth!)
Hope Bulb hubs (rims TBC)
XTR v brake levers
Pics of the stuff that I've collected to date:
I decided to go for grey because its quite subtle and I thought that it'd look good with purple bits like the bike originally had, a theme that I'll carry on with the odd bit of white added to match the decals.
Plans for the rest of the bike are a BETD chainring, Mavic rims (probably 317's), KMC single speed chain, brakes will either be modern XT brake or XTR to match the levers, Superstar wide based rear cog and spacer kit with one of their pro tensioners. The Surly stuff is lovely but is mega expensive so I'll wait until I've tried single speeding before investing too much money.
Pics of the frame before being taken for powder coating:
Those old decals were a nightmare to get off!
From the serial number, can anyone help give me an idea of its age?
I've never been able to find a catalogue picture of a polished Beast of the East and I'm sure it was never painted. My uncle said that it was polished by the Harley Davidson factory, which part of me can believe because in its day it was super, super shiny. I don't think it's been stripped of paint because there is no paint residue in the normal places around and in cable guides.
Thanks for reading my essay! Updates will be quite slow because the cost of the wheels is likely to slow me down a tad.
Secondly this isn't going to be a period correct build because in its current state it's not really the sort of thing that I'd normally ride.
This frame means an awful lot to me because I inherited it from an uncle who passed away at a relatively young age. He got into mountain biking in the very early nineties, a fair while before I had any interest in bikes. Ironically it was the move from Dalby to the South East that got me into bikes; I met some new friends at school who were into bikes and the rest is history.
When I first got I into bikes I thought this bikes was the coolest thing ever; RC35 forks, original Hope disc brake (cable jobbie with a small disc with a massive braking surface), XT rear mech, LX front mech and STI's all finished with purple bits like USE post and bar ends, rear cantos etc. However once I started riding it didn't take me and my friends to move away from XC to more DH / jumps. Lets face it a teenagers this sort if stuff is far more fun.
As my uncle got older he rode less due yo work, family etc and I paid less attention to his bike because it was now retro in my eyes. My bikes got more and more silly and not long after he passed away my aunt asked if I wanted it and I jumped at the chance, however since then (around 2007/
it's just sat in my garage because I didn't really know what to do with it. I'd moved with the times ad it were so all of my bikes for a long time have had 130 plus mm forks, discs, riser bars and my riding has been quite gravity focused. I planned to do something with it but what? The RC35's barely move any more the headset was goosed, the polished frame was badly tarnished so it continued to sit in the garage.Here are a couple of pics of the pice before I started getting it ready for painting.
Then earlier this year I decided that this would be the year that I did something with it and to make it different to my other bikes I decided that a single speed rebuild would be the way forward. So here are my plans....
Due to to the bare aluminium being very tarnished I've decided to have the frame powdercoated in gloss grey with new decals from Gil_M in white. I've then started collected some of the parts, mostly things that I liked when I first started riding but couldn't afford mixed in with some newer things. The spec list so far is:
1997 Marzocchi Z3 Lights (thread less steerer needed)
BETD reducer cups so I can run a 1 1/8 fork)
Race Face Deus headset
Race Face Turbine stem
Race Race Atlas bars (purple)
OGK grips (originally on the bike)
Race Face Ride seat post
Selle Italia Flite, ti rails (may be swapped for a white Charge Knife)
Coda seat clamp (originally with the bike)
Race Face North Shore DH cranks
Shimano UN51 BB (originally with the bike and still smooth!)
Hope Bulb hubs (rims TBC)
XTR v brake levers
Pics of the stuff that I've collected to date:
I decided to go for grey because its quite subtle and I thought that it'd look good with purple bits like the bike originally had, a theme that I'll carry on with the odd bit of white added to match the decals.
Plans for the rest of the bike are a BETD chainring, Mavic rims (probably 317's), KMC single speed chain, brakes will either be modern XT brake or XTR to match the levers, Superstar wide based rear cog and spacer kit with one of their pro tensioners. The Surly stuff is lovely but is mega expensive so I'll wait until I've tried single speeding before investing too much money.
Pics of the frame before being taken for powder coating:
Those old decals were a nightmare to get off!
From the serial number, can anyone help give me an idea of its age?
I've never been able to find a catalogue picture of a polished Beast of the East and I'm sure it was never painted. My uncle said that it was polished by the Harley Davidson factory, which part of me can believe because in its day it was super, super shiny. I don't think it's been stripped of paint because there is no paint residue in the normal places around and in cable guides.
Thanks for reading my essay! Updates will be quite slow because the cost of the wheels is likely to slow me down a tad.
