Early 90's Bontrager Race Lite OR - Restoration

[bonty98]

Go to the gallery on this forum and check out the Bontrager manuals.
The geometry are in those.

Looks a nice bike
Seeing as you are going period more or less, maybe an XTR M900 seat post?
I use one myself and it´s really light, period and steel...
/J

 

[rjsdavis]

:xmas-big-grin:

Go to the gallery on this forum and check out the Bontrager manuals.
The geometry are in those.

Looks a nice bike
Seeing as you are going period more or less, maybe an XTR M900 seat post?
I use one myself and it´s really light, period and steel...
/J

Thanks Bonty 98. Have just downloaded both '94 catalogues from the archive, but they're both in German! Therefore, although there's a table of numbers that I can see, I'm still none the wiser if these frames were built assuming they'd get a suspension fork or rigid fork on the front end? Could it be either and im right to try to find out, or is it a completely irrelevant point and I can just stick any old fork on it?

I've been advised specifically that if the frame was built for suspension forks, sticking a standard rigid fork on it will completely balls up the handling. Is this correct?

Agree with the XTR seatpost, but the Bonty has a 26.8 seattube so a bit more limited in general availability. I do have a carbon Titec/Bontrager seatpin ready for it, but it's sadly missing the lower half of the seatclamp so presently trying to source a broken donor for the spares.... I think I've also got a 26.8 Syncros seatpin kicking about in the garage somewhere if not.

 

[bonty98]

Yeah, Syncros would work well.
Or maybe a Ritchey Nitto.
Frames like these deserve what´s coming too ´em!
Hope you get it sorted, will keep an eye on this thread
/J

 

[rjsdavis]

Thanks Bonty98 - appreciated.

Sorry to bang on about it, but do you happen to know the answer to the geometry question? I'm guessing that you're into your Bonty's from your handle....

 

[hollister]

I dug through my dealer book

 

[rjsdavis]

I dug through my dealer book

Thanks Hollister - that looks really useful.

Am I reading it right, that depending on the seattube angle determines whether it's been set up for suspension or not?

Assuming that to be correct, how does one tell which one it is? If I'm missing something really obvious here - massive apols!

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Measure the seat tube centre to centre, that will give you a size, then measure the top tube centre to centre - whatever that distance is will relate to the above chart and tell you whether it is a standard or sus corrected frame.

Eg. If the seat tube measures 17" and the top tube measures 23.2" then it is a standard frame.

 

[rjsdavis]

Measure the seat tube centre to centre, that will give you a size, then measure the top tube centre to centre - whatever that distance is will relate to the above chart and tell you whether it is a standard or sus corrected frame.

Eg. If the seat tube measures 17" and the top tube measures 23.2" then it is a standard frame.

I feel quite thick now. I hadn't spotted the two columns for the TT length!

 

[rjsdavis]

Measure the seat tube centre to centre, that will give you a size, then measure the top tube centre to centre - whatever that distance is will relate to the above chart and tell you whether it is a standard or sus corrected frame.

Eg. If the seat tube measures 17" and the top tube measures 23.2" then it is a standard frame.

Am now confused....

My seattube very clearly measures up at 17" (or a Large frame) - this is centre to centre and is bang on.

Using the exact same centre to centre technique, my top tube is shorter than both of the manual columns! My top tube is very slightly more than 22" but not quite as long as 22.25" (again centre to centre) - therefore, am still none the wiser. It's certainly not either 23" or 23.2"! :?:

Could it be a '93 frame that was sold "late" and with '94 decals in place by some chance or something like that?

 

[rjsdavis]

Okey dokey - first job is now done... Managed to source some lovely Deore XT / M231CD wheels, but they were covered in 20+ years of oil and grime. Had a good go at cleaning as they were, but I hate it when you can't clean the eyelets and around the hub flanges as you just can't get near to them with spokes in place - full strip down and rebuild was the only way to get those hubs & rims really gleaming again....

Next job - frame paint. Am having difficulty as I had thought that I had found a local'ish painter that seemed to come highly recommended on these very pages - after a couple of messages I was told it was "not his thing"! Strange, strange and strange response, but there you go - I'll find a more loving home for the respray.

I'm tempted to send her to the pro's at Argos, as they just seem to knock out such lovely work all of the time, but Colourtech in Dartford is relatively close to me, but I've heard such mixed reviews about the quality - I know that they do Chas Roberts' & Condor's frames, so it really should be pretty decent.... ho hum, who to use?

I think I've decided on the battleship grey single base colour, with the white/light blue decal colour scheme so that I can get the Shimano blue SLR and SIS cabling to pull out the colour accent. Thanks to one of the members here on RB, I'm currently awaiting the arrival of some genuine Bonty composite forks, which will finish her off perfectly once painted. Can't wait.