My 1997 Rockhopper came home!

[Apollo13]

Quick update: wheels completely cleaned and stripped down and don't seem too bad. The Acera X rear hub is in good nick and the (not too worn) rim just needs a true. Sadly neither rim retains its sticker... The front is straight as a die though (similar brake wear). What model rims were/are these originally? Both wheels' bearings still had perfect seals with the original orange grease in from new (shame on me for not rebuilding in 14 years!) All the grit has been washed out in the work parts washer and now awaiting new balls and a rebuild.
Freewheel seems in good nick, probably pop one shim out and repack. Not sure about the rivetted rear cassette. Teeth not too pointy, but it's very grubby. And the 'dork disc' has seen far better days. It's severely cracked. It's a 4 lug job which says "FREEWHEEL PROTECTOR" in embossed lettering. Not sure where to bag a matching replacement from (I know those things are marmite, but the aim to begin with is to clean, rebuild and preserve and see how she turns out). This is just a bit of fun to fill my lunchtimes at present, though we'll see how things develop...

Have emailed Gil regarding stickers, but he's currently away on hols...

Cheers all!

 

[Apollo13]

Great story and nice to see another frame like mine. Your rust looks less severe than mine albeit photos sometimes make frames look better than they are.

I know what you mean about worrying about powdercoat being too 'thick'. I'm not really sure of the alternatives but someone should be able to help.

I like the fact u have mostly original parts, not an option for me as I was given the frame only. Son of strongarm cranks come up quite often so u should be able to source some.

Watching this with obvious interest!

Cheers superstu. Would love it if my paint was nice, but sadly there are many scratches and rust spots. Some across the decals... Grrr! Shouldn't have ever sold it!

Keen to get an original set of cranks and rings. Have scoured eBay daily, but nothing doing so far and nothing on here this week as far as I can tell... anyone care to offer me a set?!

 

[gerryattrick]

I have a very similar bike which I got as a tip find a few months back. Other than some scratches it's in very good condition, I think it's all original. It's under a tarpaulin out the garden for now, but I'll have a look tomorrow to see what rims are on it and let you know.

 

[Apollo13]

Aha! Another one comes out of the woodwork! It's a different shade of blue to mine, which I guess makes it a different year? Anyways, be interested to know what bits and pieces are on it. Looks very tidy!

Another day of labouring at the parts cleaner. Pedals (horrible plastic bodied rubbish by VP) now stripped and cleaned. Very tempted to chuck them in the bin, but we'll start by making the old girl all original and go from there.

Bagged some cranks this afternoon, so looking forward to them arriving. Fingers firmly crossed that they're the ones I'm after. Cheers to development_cycle for spotting my wanted ad and cheers to daj also for his offer of a black set.

 

[Apollo13]

Here's a shiny red version of my old steed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43882912@N ... 731528044/

Now slightly perturbed that the cranks on this one (which just looks, well, spot on authentic and is otherwise identical to mine, bar the colour) are 5 arm. Can't remember what mine were when new and as I said above, they're long since departed...

Oh well! Live and learn!

Can anyone confirm? (picture me kicking myself having wished I'd asked this simple question before spending £17 earlier!!)

Cheers all.

 

[gerryattrick]

Sorry for late reply. The kit on my bike above is:

Front rim – Ritchey OCR Comp
Rear rim – Ritchey Rock Comp
Gears & shifters Deore LX
V-brakes & Levers – Dia Compe DP7 & Dia Compe VC733
Tange Aheadset

 

[Apollo13]

Cool, thanks for checking that out for me! Some great help on here.

Today's progress: freewheel fully rebuilt. Bearings in amazing condition, so re-used. 1 x thin shim removed and all back together good as new.

Pedal shafts cleaned up and de-rusted. Said it before, but these pedals are such low quality compared with everything else! Waiting for enough 1/8" bearing balls to come into stock to complete the rebuild. Got new wheel bearings ready to go together, but the cone nuts need some rework. JB's hopefully gonna wield his magic on the lathe tomorrow. Sure, I could buy new ones, but where's the fun in that?!

Cheers.

 

[Apollo13]

Progress update:

Both wheels and pedals rebuilt with new bearing balls but re-used everything else. Wheels yet to be trued (front 99% there, rear needs a little work!). Braking surfaces cleaned up with scotchbrite.

Seatpost cleaned up in the lathe using scotchbrite and Autosol. A few scars remain, but it's good enough for me.

Frame now fully stripped, except headset cups. New bottom bracket on order (73 - 107 stamped on old one, so this is at odds with Bikepedia which says it should have a 68mm cup :? ). Ordered a UN55 73-107. Also ordered new jockey wheels and an IG70 chain and Connex-Wipperman links.

Postman has delivered 3 sets of cranks and rings (don't ask!), so choices to be made when rebuild time rolls around.

Still not heard from Gil regarding whether he can do transfers, so not sure if he's still away? Popped into Banbury Bikes on Saturday for some new Shimano cables and V-brake blocks, though, and saw a restored gloss black 1994? Kona Hahana (sold) in the window with some of his transfers on it - looked absolutely great, so here's hoping...

Anyway, back to the grind-stone!!

Cheers all.