First Post - My Retro-ish Orange MsIsle

[stormer410]

Hi all,

I have been browsing the forum for a while now and thought that it was time to say hi.

I am 24, live in the West Midlands, and have recently got back into the world of 26" wheels after leaving it 10 years ago in favour of the 20" wheel.

Not knowing anything about the new world of 26" wheels, I went in search of, and found the bike I always wanted as a kid, the Identiti Dr Jeckyl. I found a well used one and used it for a few rides around Cannock Chase and my local woods.



I then decided that perhaps having a bike that has a 42t Front chainring, weighs as much as a small car, and has a tiny frame wasn't the best for trail centre riding (well going up) so i decided to get something else.

I then found myself on the M5 heading south to collect a Specialized Stumpjumper Comp.



I thought that I had found the bike for me, it was light, had 27 gears, i could get the seat high enough, but then I took it to Cannock Chase and hated the bike. I found that I was enjoying ups more than downs. This was just not me...the bike felt twitchy, low on teh front end, and I couldnt hop things like on the Identiti. I hated the bike that much, i sold it!

I then decided that, as always, i needed to build something specificly for me, but where to start. Scouring the local classifieds, i stumbled upon an Orange Msisle. I had never even considered one of these as a kid because they were a fortune! It was mine for £120.



A bit of a state, and not how I wanted it, but it was a starting point. It had working HS33's, a set of 1998 Marzocchi QR20's a Shimano Deore crank that was broken, a rear Mavic rim brake wheel, and a front Sun Rim. All of which had to go.

First up where the wheels, forks and brakes. I had some Rockshox Psylos hanging around which I picked up cheap, some Hayes Comp disk brakes and bought some cool yellow Vuelta rims with Diatech hubs from my local bike shop. I also changed the broken Deore Cranks for some used Hollowtech 2's.



However, the hubs were that old that the disk mounts were not the current iso standard so the wheels had to go back.

I then sourced a set of Rockshox Pike 454 air U-Turn forks as the Psylos wern't really up for the abuse the bike was going to recieve.

With the new forks, I needed a QR20 front wheel, so after some research, I got some prebuild, superstar AM wheels in their clearance section for just over 100 notes.





I then changed the broken XT mech to a Tiagra road mech, got an 8 speed road cassette and 8 speed shifter, a pair of Avid Juicy 7's as the hoses were too short on the Hayes with the Pikes, a Ritchey seat post, Salsa seat clamp and a set of Superstar Lock On Grips



This is how the bike stands at current. I have had to use the bash guard and front mech as a chain device, but that is the only bodge at the moment, and after yesterdays maiden voyage, everything seems to be working well.



I also have a set of truvativ external bb cranks but dont know if it is worth fitting them or not? Anyone know the advantages of externall BB over Octalink?



Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed my mindless rambling

Ben

 

[*AJ*]

Nice MsIsle! I do love the MsIsle I use mine as a daily commuter, its great fun.

 

[Mindmap3]

Good looking bike that and a bargain at £120.

With regards to the cranks and bottom bracket, the external ones are stiffer due to the larger axle but the bearings wear out quicker because they are more eased to the elements. My Octalink BB's used to last for ages...and then some.

Cheeky question...are you keeping or selling the Maguras? If you're getting shot, I could be interested.

 

[stormer410]

Thanks for the reply, i love the bike at the moment, and the octalink bb is brand new so I think i will stick with the cranks that i have on it.

I sold the HS33s to fund the avids but everything else i took off it i still have if anyone is interested. If not i will just keep the parts until they come in for some other build.

 

[wynne]

Good write up.
That bike looks brilliant - maybe I just have a thing for orange coloured long travel hardtails.

 

[Barneyballbags]

I really do like MsIsles

I had an Airo when they first came out and loved it.

With regard to the front mech/bashguard "bodge" - a lot of dedicated chain devices are just glorified versions of that anyway so I wouldn't worry about it too much

 

[reanimation]

A Very familiar story!

I bought my Brand new Dr Jekyll 10 years ago, I was about your age and I was getting back into MTB/riding in general and the bike was so appealing as it looked like a big BMX type thing with MTB. I had 2 XLs in the end, I had my moments but didn't fully get on with it. since then I've been mucking around with bikes that are too small, heavy, too well built for what I need, but then a true XC or road bike feels strange and unweildy to chuck about a little bit! MsIsle looks fun, make the most of it, I still like riding bikes like these, but there are middle ground bikes for longer Swiss Army Knife missions that make a longer journey easier! Almost there...
Keep us posted.