Rocky Mountain Blizzard 1996

[mike_eb]

I have managed to buy this Blizzard on Trade Me (NZ's ebay) for $30.00 however I pushed the button Wednesday and still no contact from the seller.

I am hoping contact will be made and I will be able to pick it up soon.

Does anyone have any idea what travel forks these had? I will need to source a suitable rigid fork as I plan to use this as my daily singlespeed commuter moving parts over from my current elevated chainstay commuter. It will undoubtedly build into a much lighter bike than that.

 

[troje]

nice win!

 

[Jupke]

Travel would be 63 mm. Original came with a Rock Shox Judy XC.

 

[FluffyChicken]

It's in the Archive catalogue.
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/1 ... 9d440ea64e
But what's' the white chunk between the top tube and seat tube ?

Hope it turns up, not a bad price at all.

 

[mike_eb]

I had assumed that it was a feature on the larger sizes, hence being worried it may be bigger than advertised. It could be a repair, which I have no problem with for the equivalent of 15 pounds.

The seller has now got in touch and I will be picking this up during the week and investigating.

 

[FluffyChicken]

20" (or 19 if my measure slightly differently)
What was the quoted ?

and no it's not a feature I know of. Be interesting to find out. See if he has the chain suck plate still when you collected it and anything else

 

[mike_eb]

Quoted as a 19, apparently they came in 18.5 and 19.5 flavours, the preference for me I think would be an 18.5. Though ultimately it will depend on the top tube length and I cannot make out the TT length in the scan of the catalogue. Pick up is tomorrow so I will figure it out then and give it a mock build for size.

The bloke is also throwing in a 1992 scott pro MTB. Not sure what I will do with that I am meant to be having a shed clear out!

 

[Anthony]

Quoted as a 19, apparently they came in 18.5 and 19.5 flavours, the preference for me I think would be an 18.5. Though ultimately it will depend on the top tube length and I cannot make out the TT length in the scan of the catalogue. Pick up is tomorrow so I will figure it out then and give it a mock build for size.

It's most likely a 19.5, certainly not an 18.5. I don't think it's a 20.5, but it could be. The top tubes were on the short side compared to other brands, so maybe a larger size with the longer head tube may be no bad thing for a commuter.

Hopefully the wedge is just something to balance the frame for the photo. It certainly isn't part of the design.

 

[mike_eb]

Ok, I can confirm this is a 19.5 bike. Very low standover and slightly longer than my normal commuter an unknown 18 inch e-stay and modern Voodoo D-jab in 18. So it looks like I will not be using the long Ikon stem from the e-stay.

There is in fact a welded plate between the top tube and the seat tube. I am currently removing the paint it is not completely clean yet but so far so good it seems like a good repair or strengthening option. I will ensure i use a full length post on it. Photos will be posted once I have cleaned the final bits of paint on this.

To do, finish removing paint.
Check the frame for straightness.
Confirm a good option fork a to c what do the good folks on retrobike think of 413 mm as a good option?

I still think this will make a good commuter providing the rest of the welded plate looks as good as the parts uncovered so far, overall it is a nice fairly light steel frame.

 

[mike_eb]

Ok both dropouts are within 1mm of each other after my measure using the string from headtube to dropout method and measuring at the seat tube. The plate between the seat tube and top tube has been brazed not welded. It looks ok to me, not super tidy but no obvious pinholes or cracks where I have removed the paint.

My conclusion is remove the rest of the white paint which has been brushed on around half of the top tube and 3cm of the seat tube and tidy it up with spray paint. A bit of kurust in the tubes to be sure to be sure. From there I will build it up with an appropriate fork and make it my work bike.