CCMDoc
BoTM Winner
Long back story:
Through the mid to late 80s I raced bikes made of steel, bikes made of aluminum and bikes that bonded the two. Then I read an article in Bicycle Guide about the magic metal Titanium thus began my lust for a mountain bike made of the stuff of SR-71 fame.
Fort Green Cycles carried Marin bikes who I was told would soon have a Ti mountain bike. I saw specs and a photo of what was to come, but no date of availability. Although I enjoyed visiting and speaking with the woman who ran the store, having no production date plus the longish chainstays (17.25") it was supposed to have forced me to look elsewhere.
I learned that we drove near Merlin when traveling from Brooklyn, NY to race in Lynn Woods and when visiting my wife's grandmother in Winthrop.
"Babe, when we head up to Lynn for the race let's go visit giagia. After the race I'd like to stop at a bike shop for a few minutes then we'll head up to visit your family."
While preparing for the trip I found out that Merlin was about to build John Tomac's new race bike for Mongoose. All I knew were the specs were the same aggressive angles as on his current Mongoose and an artist's rendition of what it was supposed to look like.
The decision was obvious - I had to have that bike. Thus began my regular harassment of the good folk of Merlin ... and the local UPS driver when I was told it had shipped. In fact he soon realized it was easier to stop at my home daily to tell my family "Not yet" than to hear my screeching tires pull up behind his truck - I knew his route.
When the frame with Ti BB spindle arrived, I stripped my current ride to build it up. Mostly Deore and XT parts and Bontrager fork with adjustable dropouts, what I really wanted was XC Pro and a Ti fork. These were on order but I had a race coming up and I wanted to try it out.
With it loaded into the back seat of my cousin's Opel hatchback, I picked up James Bethea. He loaded his Fat into the back and whistled.
"Cool!" said James and we discussed the value of skinny vs. fat tires in the mud we were about to encounter.
I started getting stuff I wanted for it including a Mike Augspurger One-Off fork and raced it at a local NORBA sanctioned event. Waywayanda or Ramapo probably in the photo below:
Our team - Team Brooklyn MTB and 3DV incursion:
NORBA Mount Snow:
Being a weight weenie (not sure that phrase was as yet coined) I swapped the Deore and XT parts for XC Pro components as I could and 3DV parts as they came into vogue. Every bolt and tidbit that I could afford was replaced with Ti. The folk at Roy's (LBS) awaited my weekly visits and would dangle Ti and purple before my eyes like a hypnotist's pocket watch.
I raced that bike continuously pretty much as pictured though eventually swapping the toe clips for Grafton Speed Traps (3DV of course) and the One-Off fork for a Mag 20.
I still have and ride it with some minor changes in tires, brakes and levers. Here it is as I rode it a couple of months ago in Lewis Morris Park.
My plan was to put the original brakes, levers, bar ends and fork on(all of which i still have) and submit it for BOTM competition. I may be too late for this month but the plan will be the same.
Here's the build list of the bike in the Mount Snow photos:
Frame: All Titanium Merlin fabricated1989 Mongoose John Tomac Signature
Fork: One-Off
Headset: Ritchey
Stem: no idea - generic nickel plated steel
Handlebar: Sakae Titanium Powerbulge
Grips: ODI Attack
Barends: Onza
Brakes: DiaCompe 986
Brake Pads: Mathauser rear/DiaCompe front
Brake Cables: generic
Cantilever cable hangers: DiaCompe
Brake Levers: DiaCompe
Shifters: Suntour XCPro
Front Derailleur: Suntour XCPro
Rear Derailleur: Suntour XCPro
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: Aluminum
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: TopLine
Crank Bolts: SRP Ti
Chainrings: Shimano
Chainring bolts: Aluminum
Bottom Bracket: Ti spindle
Pedals: Suntour Superbe Pro track pedals
Toe Clips: Specialized Mountain clips
Bottle Cage: Specialized
Hub Skewers: Ringle
Rims: Sun Mistral
Hubs: Shimano Deore XT
Nipples: Aluminum
Spokes: Titanium
Tyres: Panaracer Smoke Comp Lite
Tubes: Pink Latex
Saddle: Flite Ti
Seatpost: Easton Carbon
Seatpost Binder: Ringle
Pump: Mount Zefal
Weight: 20.48lbs
Some updated photos taken after putting my old stuff back on.
These are all my own original components as per my '91 race setup except toe straps - only have one of the originals from 1991. It holds a spare tube in place under another Sig bike's saddle. I had a yellow and a pink Mt. Zefal pump at that time. Gave the yellow to a team mate so only had the pink left.
Through the mid to late 80s I raced bikes made of steel, bikes made of aluminum and bikes that bonded the two. Then I read an article in Bicycle Guide about the magic metal Titanium thus began my lust for a mountain bike made of the stuff of SR-71 fame.
Fort Green Cycles carried Marin bikes who I was told would soon have a Ti mountain bike. I saw specs and a photo of what was to come, but no date of availability. Although I enjoyed visiting and speaking with the woman who ran the store, having no production date plus the longish chainstays (17.25") it was supposed to have forced me to look elsewhere.
I learned that we drove near Merlin when traveling from Brooklyn, NY to race in Lynn Woods and when visiting my wife's grandmother in Winthrop.
"Babe, when we head up to Lynn for the race let's go visit giagia. After the race I'd like to stop at a bike shop for a few minutes then we'll head up to visit your family."
While preparing for the trip I found out that Merlin was about to build John Tomac's new race bike for Mongoose. All I knew were the specs were the same aggressive angles as on his current Mongoose and an artist's rendition of what it was supposed to look like.
The decision was obvious - I had to have that bike. Thus began my regular harassment of the good folk of Merlin ... and the local UPS driver when I was told it had shipped. In fact he soon realized it was easier to stop at my home daily to tell my family "Not yet" than to hear my screeching tires pull up behind his truck - I knew his route.
When the frame with Ti BB spindle arrived, I stripped my current ride to build it up. Mostly Deore and XT parts and Bontrager fork with adjustable dropouts, what I really wanted was XC Pro and a Ti fork. These were on order but I had a race coming up and I wanted to try it out.
With it loaded into the back seat of my cousin's Opel hatchback, I picked up James Bethea. He loaded his Fat into the back and whistled.
"Cool!" said James and we discussed the value of skinny vs. fat tires in the mud we were about to encounter.
I started getting stuff I wanted for it including a Mike Augspurger One-Off fork and raced it at a local NORBA sanctioned event. Waywayanda or Ramapo probably in the photo below:
Our team - Team Brooklyn MTB and 3DV incursion:
NORBA Mount Snow:
Being a weight weenie (not sure that phrase was as yet coined) I swapped the Deore and XT parts for XC Pro components as I could and 3DV parts as they came into vogue. Every bolt and tidbit that I could afford was replaced with Ti. The folk at Roy's (LBS) awaited my weekly visits and would dangle Ti and purple before my eyes like a hypnotist's pocket watch.
I raced that bike continuously pretty much as pictured though eventually swapping the toe clips for Grafton Speed Traps (3DV of course) and the One-Off fork for a Mag 20.
I still have and ride it with some minor changes in tires, brakes and levers. Here it is as I rode it a couple of months ago in Lewis Morris Park.
My plan was to put the original brakes, levers, bar ends and fork on(all of which i still have) and submit it for BOTM competition. I may be too late for this month but the plan will be the same.
Here's the build list of the bike in the Mount Snow photos:
Frame: All Titanium Merlin fabricated1989 Mongoose John Tomac Signature
Fork: One-Off
Headset: Ritchey
Stem: no idea - generic nickel plated steel
Handlebar: Sakae Titanium Powerbulge
Grips: ODI Attack
Barends: Onza
Brakes: DiaCompe 986
Brake Pads: Mathauser rear/DiaCompe front
Brake Cables: generic
Cantilever cable hangers: DiaCompe
Brake Levers: DiaCompe
Shifters: Suntour XCPro
Front Derailleur: Suntour XCPro
Rear Derailleur: Suntour XCPro
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: Aluminum
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: TopLine
Crank Bolts: SRP Ti
Chainrings: Shimano
Chainring bolts: Aluminum
Bottom Bracket: Ti spindle
Pedals: Suntour Superbe Pro track pedals
Toe Clips: Specialized Mountain clips
Bottle Cage: Specialized
Hub Skewers: Ringle
Rims: Sun Mistral
Hubs: Shimano Deore XT
Nipples: Aluminum
Spokes: Titanium
Tyres: Panaracer Smoke Comp Lite
Tubes: Pink Latex
Saddle: Flite Ti
Seatpost: Easton Carbon
Seatpost Binder: Ringle
Pump: Mount Zefal
Weight: 20.48lbs
Some updated photos taken after putting my old stuff back on.
These are all my own original components as per my '91 race setup except toe straps - only have one of the originals from 1991. It holds a spare tube in place under another Sig bike's saddle. I had a yellow and a pink Mt. Zefal pump at that time. Gave the yellow to a team mate so only had the pink left.
