vt612
Dirt Disciple
I just love building bikes as I have tons of spares from old bikes and from when I was running a workshop in London years ago.
I always wanted a retro bike, nothing too old as I don`t like thumb shifters, so the bike would be ideally `96-97 era. The dream bike would be probably a Yeti or a DeKerf or a Moots/Litespeed/Merlin titanium frame with XTR and turquoise ano bits but I have no budget for that kind of stuff
We are buying a house right now so I probably shouldn`t be spending anything on yet another bike that I don`t really need, so I set myself a limit of max £20 per bike part. I got a red Kona Nunu frame from 2000 (bit younger than what I wanted, but it doesn`t look too modern) from ebay for £11.61. It is well used and scuffed but I class that "patina"
I also got a silver Marzocchi Z5 for £19, but that was a 2001 model year and had the new magnesium M-Arch, so I wasn`t happy with it straight away and regretted it even though it was dirt cheap and in great condition. I put it back on ebay and sold it for £44 plus postage happy days.
In the meantime I found a red 1999 Z3 QR20 that came with a front wheel, so even though it cost me about £30 (with shipping) it is really 2 items so its OK I love the big Marzocchi QR20 hub too
I really liked the old flame design Stab and the rasta colour Stinky frames of the time, so I was hoping to go for that colorful look, so I would have preferred the frame and forks to be different colours. I found a yellow Haro stem, some green grips, but it looks like most other parts will be black.
For now I`m missing a rear wheel, I have a 950 XTR rear mech that is a bit seized up, and I don`t have any brakes. I have some NOS black LX 8 speed cantilever STIs, so I will get some cantis at some point.
For the rear wheel I`m thinking about buying some of these EXAL rims that are going cheap on ebay, anybody have experience with them? I have a silver (polished) parallax XT hub, just need the rim and spokes. The front wheel is OK but could do with a rebuild at some point.
Could do with some help on the BB length too, I have a pair of square taper Specialized Strongarms II cranks, and a BB that is 113.5mm long, but it seems to be too wide. Anybody knows what would be the correct length?
Pics to follow.
I always wanted a retro bike, nothing too old as I don`t like thumb shifters, so the bike would be ideally `96-97 era. The dream bike would be probably a Yeti or a DeKerf or a Moots/Litespeed/Merlin titanium frame with XTR and turquoise ano bits but I have no budget for that kind of stuff
We are buying a house right now so I probably shouldn`t be spending anything on yet another bike that I don`t really need, so I set myself a limit of max £20 per bike part. I got a red Kona Nunu frame from 2000 (bit younger than what I wanted, but it doesn`t look too modern) from ebay for £11.61. It is well used and scuffed but I class that "patina"
I also got a silver Marzocchi Z5 for £19, but that was a 2001 model year and had the new magnesium M-Arch, so I wasn`t happy with it straight away and regretted it even though it was dirt cheap and in great condition. I put it back on ebay and sold it for £44 plus postage
happy days. In the meantime I found a red 1999 Z3 QR20 that came with a front wheel, so even though it cost me about £30 (with shipping) it is really 2 items so its OK
I love the big Marzocchi QR20 hub tooI really liked the old flame design Stab and the rasta colour Stinky frames of the time, so I was hoping to go for that colorful look, so I would have preferred the frame and forks to be different colours. I found a yellow Haro stem, some green grips, but it looks like most other parts will be black.
For now I`m missing a rear wheel, I have a 950 XTR rear mech that is a bit seized up, and I don`t have any brakes. I have some NOS black LX 8 speed cantilever STIs, so I will get some cantis at some point.
For the rear wheel I`m thinking about buying some of these EXAL rims that are going cheap on ebay, anybody have experience with them? I have a silver (polished) parallax XT hub, just need the rim and spokes. The front wheel is OK but could do with a rebuild at some point.
Could do with some help on the BB length too, I have a pair of square taper Specialized Strongarms II cranks, and a BB that is 113.5mm long, but it seems to be too wide. Anybody knows what would be the correct length?
Pics to follow.
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
