Yesterday saw the arrival of Grannygrinders 856 frame and some bits, and I spent a few hours today putting it all together. I might have done it last night, but the wife put it in the shed and forgot to tell me. :? 
So here it is.
Built up either with bits that came from Mike with the frame or stuff in the shed. There's a mixture of aged stuff from the frame/forks of the mid-nineties, through wheels/brakes from the turn of the millenium right up to fairly modern gears.
I'm pretty happy with the build and I'm not really sure what I'd do different. It'd be far too easy to go down the XT/Girvin route or the Syncros/Control Tech look, but I couldn't really justify the spend anyway.
I like the contrast ice blue bars and how they compliment the grey/blue of the LX gears.
I reckon it's just the wheels/tyres that I'd probably change - something pimpier and lighter. Oh and some NOS Onza RAW110 bar ends (anyone?)
Other than that, what I've got is a lovely example of a classic frame, good age related suspension but with brakes and gears that don't look out of place, are a little different but help my ever aging bones up hill and prevent breaking them coming back down.
All that's left to do is source a middle ring (32 or 34t CD in silver PLEASE!) and one more go at adjusting the rear Magura - quite a fiddle on an 856.
Once that's done, I've got a keeper.
Frame: Medium Proflex 856 with ODS
Fork: Judy DH with early '00s crown and internals
Headset: FSA UF
Stem: Specialized OEM
Handlebar: X-Lite
Grips: WTB
Bar Ends: Unbranded silver
Brakes: Magura HS-33 Raceline
Front Derailleur: LX 9 Speed
Rear Derailleur: LX 9 Speed
Cassette: LX 9 Speed
Chain: SRAM PC-91
Cranks: L&M
Chainrings: From the spares box - missing a middle ring
Bottom Bracket: Dunno. It was in the frame.
Pedals: Shimano PDM-636 DX
Rims: Mavic 517
Hubs: XT Front / STX-RC Rear
Tyres: Hutchinson Bulldog
Saddle: Koski
Seatpost: FSA road seatpost
So here it is.
Built up either with bits that came from Mike with the frame or stuff in the shed. There's a mixture of aged stuff from the frame/forks of the mid-nineties, through wheels/brakes from the turn of the millenium right up to fairly modern gears.
I'm pretty happy with the build and I'm not really sure what I'd do different. It'd be far too easy to go down the XT/Girvin route or the Syncros/Control Tech look, but I couldn't really justify the spend anyway.
I like the contrast ice blue bars and how they compliment the grey/blue of the LX gears.
I reckon it's just the wheels/tyres that I'd probably change - something pimpier and lighter. Oh and some NOS Onza RAW110 bar ends (anyone?)
Other than that, what I've got is a lovely example of a classic frame, good age related suspension but with brakes and gears that don't look out of place, are a little different but help my ever aging bones up hill and prevent breaking them coming back down.
All that's left to do is source a middle ring (32 or 34t CD in silver PLEASE!) and one more go at adjusting the rear Magura - quite a fiddle on an 856.
Once that's done, I've got a keeper.
Frame: Medium Proflex 856 with ODS
Fork: Judy DH with early '00s crown and internals
Headset: FSA UF
Stem: Specialized OEM
Handlebar: X-Lite
Grips: WTB
Bar Ends: Unbranded silver
Brakes: Magura HS-33 Raceline
Front Derailleur: LX 9 Speed
Rear Derailleur: LX 9 Speed
Cassette: LX 9 Speed
Chain: SRAM PC-91
Cranks: L&M
Chainrings: From the spares box - missing a middle ring
Bottom Bracket: Dunno. It was in the frame.
Pedals: Shimano PDM-636 DX
Rims: Mavic 517
Hubs: XT Front / STX-RC Rear
Tyres: Hutchinson Bulldog
Saddle: Koski
Seatpost: FSA road seatpost
