kanerdog1x1
Senior Retro Guru
Evening gang. It has occurred to me in the last few weeks that I never wrote a build thread for my Oreas. I have had it almost as long as I have been a member here, perhaps that is the reason. Back when I joined in 2007 it would have been less than a year old, so hardly a 'retro bike'. But, almost 15 years on, it certainly is starting to appear that way.
I bought the thing in March '06, from Clive Gosling at Bikelab. He managed to find me a frame from the year earlier, as I particularly wanted the older style graphics. Super helpful guy.
The initial build was something of a dream build, after all it was to stay with me forever. Hope brakes, hubs, Thomson stem and post, Fox forks, and of course Raceface cranks. I used the bike extensively for ~two years, in all weathers, and really put some miles in. Raced it at Mountain Mayhem one year in the dry, 2006, and in 2007 in the wet.
I then used it on and off for a few years, mostly in good weather. This pic is after a rebuild, date stamp shows 2011.
I'm ebarassed to admit, that I might not have used it since then. It was put in to storage a few years ago, and has been there ever since. I decided this week that I would fetch it this afternoon, and give it a checkover.
Good job I did. Time hasn't treated it well. The fluids have drained out of the brakes, and everything has a nasty gooey coating. It's quite upsetting really. I have decided to take the day off work tomorrow, and give the thing a bit of attention.
I bought the thing in March '06, from Clive Gosling at Bikelab. He managed to find me a frame from the year earlier, as I particularly wanted the older style graphics. Super helpful guy.
The initial build was something of a dream build, after all it was to stay with me forever. Hope brakes, hubs, Thomson stem and post, Fox forks, and of course Raceface cranks. I used the bike extensively for ~two years, in all weathers, and really put some miles in. Raced it at Mountain Mayhem one year in the dry, 2006, and in 2007 in the wet.
I then used it on and off for a few years, mostly in good weather. This pic is after a rebuild, date stamp shows 2011.
I'm ebarassed to admit, that I might not have used it since then. It was put in to storage a few years ago, and has been there ever since. I decided this week that I would fetch it this afternoon, and give it a checkover.
Good job I did. Time hasn't treated it well. The fluids have drained out of the brakes, and everything has a nasty gooey coating. It's quite upsetting really. I have decided to take the day off work tomorrow, and give the thing a bit of attention.
