"Good for jumps in Miggy woods"

[kanerdog1x1]

I have no idea where Miggy woods are, but it is entirely possible there are or were jumps there. While I used to read MBUK, and I used to enjoy MTB Pro/MTB World, I never would have imagined that I would own one of the bikes featured in those pages. Meet the newest addition to the stable, the Santacruz Tazmon.



I am really sorry I dont have any good pics, I will try and get some better ones over the weekend.

The bike was owned by Paul Smith, who at the time was a contributing mechanic at MBUK/MTBWorld, and the bike was pictured in quite a few editions of the mags, and was also on the cover in June '97:-





The bike comes to me on the proviso that I don't sell it, and that I take care of it. It was given to me by a friend who is a journalist, who used to work in the same offices as the MBUK/MTBWorld team. When I first saw pics of the bike, I had a suspicion of its history, this was confirmed when I received the bike. After all, how many SC Tazmon were there in this colour scheme......

If anyone has scans, or any info on this bike, please share it here.

 

[Gruff]

Phill77 on here has one in that colour scheme

 

[kanerdog1x1]

some better fotos.







i cant get over how well the rear suspension works, this thing is almost 20 years old! the only point that lets it down is its inherent flexibility, the thing just wanders off line too easily, and when stood up the wheels dont track too well, and ghost shifting is stopping me riding too hard.

it is good fun to ride too. i am looking to strip it down completely, give it a good clean and reassemble with new cables. i am trying not to change anything on it, but the forks are dire. i have some early bomber z1's, they would be perfect on the front.

 

[kanerdog1x1]

found some more pics, from mbuk in '97.





i was going to change the forks out as i thought they were wrong, turns out they are the right ones all along.

 

[marc two tone]

So, where does 'miggy woods' feature? a mag?

I live a mile from some 'miggy woods' i.e middleton park leeds but, there must be other parks with that sort of title.

As it goes there are some short, techy descents in there and dare i say it jumps.

 

[ryan_is]

Signing up to watch this with interest! For me it was exactly this era when I was buying every edition of the magazine and was when the sport was really taking off.

I remember MBUK running a piece on the RS Judy double clamp upgrade that is picture in the top few photos you have posted. I dare say you can get hold of a pair of those, but IMO they would suit the colour scheme better than the RSTs.

Can't wait to see more.

 

[spacehopper]

I always wondered what happened to Paul Smith.. and that Tazmon!

oh.. and Miggy Woods is in Leeds..

i'd ditch the RST's as they where truly AWFUL forks back then...! and they will have only been put onto the bike to test them for a review in mbuk anyway..

stick some Period correct Judys on it like he has in the other pictures.. (but use 80mm.. and get a spring upgrade)

or.. for the best suspension performance of a fork from that era... find some 80mm or 100mm bombers..

its only what the bike deserves...

 

[spacehopper]

i vaguely remember that triple clamp conversion kit too..

the name sidewinder springs to mind... and i think it'll be VERY rare nowadays.. i think it used CNC'ed crowns and was made by a small firm in the UK..

especially as i think the DHO came out around the same time and then the other cheaper 4 inch travel triple clamp judys followed soon after..

 

[ryan_is]

spacehopper is spot on, it was a third party kit that was quickly replaced by 'the real thing'.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

I much prefer RST Mozo Pro's to Judys...

...MCU/spring stacks and effective air dampers; easy to maintain and 'customise' to whichever build they're for. Perform better too, just overshadowed by the stigma of the 2/381 and subsequent entry-level dross!