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I bought this bike last summer from Stumpjumper1990, who was reluctant to sell.
I ended up making him an offer he couldn't refuse and was already on my way to get a horse's head when he finally agreed to sell it.
I didn't really know what to do with it so I never made a proper topic for it. It was one of those "that's wicked, I gotta have that" buys.
I put everything together and went for a few rides, but there wasn't much good news. The brakes were completely worn and finding new brake shoes seems impossible. I didn't like the cheap and nasty feel of the Suntour XCM groupset either, nevermind its looks.
As a result, I gave up on the bike and put it for sale ... and then noticed that the rear of the frame was slightly warped as well. Of course I mentioned this in the sales topic, and as a result nobody bought the bike.
After a while, I stopped bumping the thread and completely forgot about the bike.
Fast forward 6 months and I suddenly remembered that the bike is still in my closet (not enough space in the bike room). So I put it back together.
After a few rides, I decided to strip the bike down again and rebuild it with new cables and some replacement parts.
The DiaCompe levers and shifter pods were swapped for a nice set of Shimano STI's, but I kept the Suntour mechs. The Suntour Crankset received some Shimano XT M735 rings because the original oval ones were killing my knees.
A couple of bottle holders, a new (second-hand) saddle, new pedals and new foam grips, and I was ready to hit the road.
While I was cleaning the fork, the outer decal started to dissolve and fall apart. So I had to remove that completely.
No worries, I have excellent pics of the inside decal, so I can always commission Gil to make a new set.
A few niggles still.
- Despite my best setup efforts, the shifting is quite sloppy in some of the gears, so it looks like Shimano STI and Suntour Mechs aren't entirely compatible. The indexing seems slightly different
A set of XT thumbies in friction mode should solve that, so I'll be looking into that option.
- The chain won't engage the middle chainring properly and will try to wedge itself between the middle and big one.
- The brakes still don't do much and feel weird. I have set them to the point where they're almost dragging constantly, yet I can still pull both levers all the way to the grips wit just one finger. If I pull both brakes all the way, it'll stop nearly as quickly as any other bike does on the rear brake alone.
- The warping isn't that bad, but it means I always have to keep one hand on the handlebar because it will pull to the left. I'm not equipped to deal with this, so I'm looking for options here. It must be possible.
But just look at it !
For now I'll do some minor modifications and tweaks and then ride it during the summer.
Next winter I'll probably have the frame straightened, the rust inside the tubes treated, the chrome redone and the drum shoes refinished. Then a nice selection of Shimano parts and it'll be good to go for another decade or two.
I ended up making him an offer he couldn't refuse and was already on my way to get a horse's head when he finally agreed to sell it.
I didn't really know what to do with it so I never made a proper topic for it. It was one of those "that's wicked, I gotta have that" buys.
I put everything together and went for a few rides, but there wasn't much good news. The brakes were completely worn and finding new brake shoes seems impossible. I didn't like the cheap and nasty feel of the Suntour XCM groupset either, nevermind its looks.
As a result, I gave up on the bike and put it for sale ... and then noticed that the rear of the frame was slightly warped as well. Of course I mentioned this in the sales topic, and as a result nobody bought the bike.
After a while, I stopped bumping the thread and completely forgot about the bike.
Fast forward 6 months and I suddenly remembered that the bike is still in my closet (not enough space in the bike room). So I put it back together.
After a few rides, I decided to strip the bike down again and rebuild it with new cables and some replacement parts.
The DiaCompe levers and shifter pods were swapped for a nice set of Shimano STI's, but I kept the Suntour mechs. The Suntour Crankset received some Shimano XT M735 rings because the original oval ones were killing my knees.
A couple of bottle holders, a new (second-hand) saddle, new pedals and new foam grips, and I was ready to hit the road.
While I was cleaning the fork, the outer decal started to dissolve and fall apart. So I had to remove that completely.
No worries, I have excellent pics of the inside decal, so I can always commission Gil to make a new set.
A few niggles still.
- Despite my best setup efforts, the shifting is quite sloppy in some of the gears, so it looks like Shimano STI and Suntour Mechs aren't entirely compatible. The indexing seems slightly different
A set of XT thumbies in friction mode should solve that, so I'll be looking into that option.
- The chain won't engage the middle chainring properly and will try to wedge itself between the middle and big one.
- The brakes still don't do much and feel weird. I have set them to the point where they're almost dragging constantly, yet I can still pull both levers all the way to the grips wit just one finger. If I pull both brakes all the way, it'll stop nearly as quickly as any other bike does on the rear brake alone.
- The warping isn't that bad, but it means I always have to keep one hand on the handlebar because it will pull to the left. I'm not equipped to deal with this, so I'm looking for options here. It must be possible.
But just look at it !
For now I'll do some minor modifications and tweaks and then ride it during the summer.
Next winter I'll probably have the frame straightened, the rust inside the tubes treated, the chrome redone and the drum shoes refinished. Then a nice selection of Shimano parts and it'll be good to go for another decade or two.
