Brace yourself: we have an actual project development that involves the build
Over the last six months I started extended searches and feelers for full/part bikes/builds of the era to obtain the parts I need, sharing on multiple channels. Unlike the traditional retro XC market, the downhill market is brutal. As mentioned many times, folks rode these bikes to the point of destruction, therefore the pool of good quality parts is much, much smaller. Add me and many others who have projects like this, and the worldwide enthusiasm for this era of the sport, demand for components is white-hot.
A few weeks ago a strong candidate came up for sale on Facebook. I've not officially bought anything through Facebook, only through trusted individuals on the platform (like here basically). Buying and selling through Facebook ads is like the wild-west, so I had zero expectations any transaction would go ahead. However, the universe aligned since the seller was based in the south-west and didn't want to be ship it. Long story short and a 7 hour round trip later yesterday, and a notably lighter wallet
I now own a tank.
Do you know what make and model it is?
To be honest, I don't really care
it's the most extravagant donor bike! What I do care about are the wheels, brakes and callipers, levers, chain guard (possibly), seat-post (maybe). Particularly the wheelset, it's pristine and - fingers crossed - exactly what I need, and worth over half of what I paid total yesterday. The rest, frame, forks, chain-set, etc. will be sold to recoup funds for the rest of the build.
The next few weekends are packed, but I will get to this in August in advance of the Malverns Classic.